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I have had 4 of these upside down catfish for a little over 3 months now in a 20 gallon long with black gravel, and they've been hiding all the time, eating only at night when all the lights are off.

Below is a pic of the tank. Is there anything wrong with the size or arrangement of wood/plants in the tank? Or maybe they don't like dark substrate? I had two batches of 4 usd cats before and they always came out at feeding time. The ones I have now haven't grown at all in the time I've had them, except for one that's grown a tiny bit.

I've been trying to rehome them with no luck, so would like a suggestion on how to make them feel more secure and active.

Can you tell us more about the water, temp, pH, etc?
Ammonia should be 0ppm.
Is there a lot of activity around the aquarium?
What and when are you feeding them, and are there any other fish in the aquarium with them? (I do not see any.)
It may help to have some dither fishes, like a school of neon tetras. This will help them to feel safer, as would some floating plants like Anacharis or an aquarium cover (I did not see one in the pix).

My substrate is black, I have 2 pieces of Mopani driftwood and a couple of swords, Amazon & Oriental.
I have a school of 12 neons, 2 small angelfish, and 1 five-inch plecostomus in the aquarium with them. They play around their driftwood and sword plants all day, even coming out to scrounge around for something to eat (they love Hikari frozen bloodworms and Hikari and Wardley algae wafers).
I have the aquarium near a window (that has blinds and sheers for control of light) for natural daylight.
I left the aquarium light off during the day for a while after I got the up-side-downers.
My pH is 6.8 and the temp. is 78F, the current is medium to gentle. Ammonia is 0ppm.
Hope this gives you some ideas and helps!

S.Nigriventris can behave quite differently in the aquarium depending on a number of factors. The most easily controlled of these are: the number of individuals, the tankmates, the tank decor. Water quality is also important.

Boisterous or aggressive/too inquisitive tank mates will lead them to be reclusive. One or two specimens will often not feel secure, whereas a larger group will feel at ease (check the recent video in catelog).

Tank decor can be tricky to arrange so that they feel comfortable. They favour wood & plants that reach to the surface in smaller tanks, so I'd recommend wood that is more twisty branches than in solid "bog wood" chunks. Some floating plants often help to add to the feeling of security. Your tank seems quite bright, perhaps a dark background to the tank would help along with some more established plants (maybe a java fern 'motherplant').

I used to have a group of 5, kept together with Central American cichlids. Looking back, no wonder I never saw them: too agressive tankmates, too little suitable hiding places and too much light

looking at your tank, I'd suggest more cover: that is, make the back of the tank and the sides dark. Black would work best. You can put black paper on the window without the need to empty the tank for that.

Further, more hiding places will make the tank even more safe.

A lst remark: a few tetras swimming near the surface will tell the cats no birds are around which might eat them. Some floating plants might help too.

So, quite a few suggestions, apoart from the size of the group

Bas, fishes that swim above, salmon like fishes for instance, will feel them also more secure.
Also thegroup size of these Synodontis has influence.

Ik agree with others that agressive cichlids will send them back to there hiding places and will only come out when the lights are out.

Greets, Riny

Think I will be pulling my group of 11 (with possible odd contaminant, will be taking photos next time they move) out of the 48x17x22, since moving in there ~6 weeks ago they have become very reclusive. The slightly odd thing is that the most significant tankmate group in there with them is 2)+ Pareutropius cf. mandevillei, which according to accounts on here should be a great combo.

The S. nigriventris were by themselves in my 620T for ~2 months late summer and were the most active and "happy looking" I've seen them in over two years of keeping the species. This squat tank had a pile of slate and bogwood (with 2 Anubias attached), while I still have a horrible clump of unattached Anubias varieties (coffeefolia; hyterophylla; bateri nana etc.; ~15 decent sized plants) that semi-drifts in the filter current. It did look and still looks a mess, but the catfish loved it! Besides being a bit reclusive from ~1200-1600, they were out and about most of the time, regardless of when the 18W T8 lighting was on or whether they had just been fed.

The slightly odd thing is that the most significant tankmate group in there with them is 2)+ Pareutropius cf. mandevillei

What are the other groups?? Any Cichlids?

Birger

Birger wrote:

The slightly odd thing is that the most significant tankmate group in there with them is 2)+ Pareutropius cf. mandevillei

What are the other groups?? Any Cichlids?

Birger

Oops, that should be 20+ Pareutropius! There are 2 Steatocranus tinanti (might be sp. ultraslender given their growth rate since March, still only ~6cm SL and the girth of a disposable pen); 6 Golden Pencilfish (that came from MatsP's breeding group); 7 Dwarf Chain Loaches; 5 Phenacogrammus nigropterus; 1 Synodontis congica; a mixed species group of 6 Microsynodontis (sp.1 /polli/ batesii); MartinS' old Chaetostoma (pretty sure it is not a milesi these days, best guess is L445 right now).

The long term aim was and still is to add the nigriventris to my oddball tank, I thought I was doing a good thing by upgrading this group to the "peaceful" 48x17x22 from the squat 620T (~25x15x21). I forsee another "fish juggle" coming on when I get chance to set up my most recent tank bargain 72x18x18, for the benfit of my larger African "Congo rapids" fish including a ~25cm TL Synodontis notata and 5 ~14cm TL Euchilichthys spp. (until I resurrect my uninsulated garage 50x24x24 in the spring).

This is completely off topic but I have a very old Striped Rapheal that has been so spoiled you have to put your hand in the tank and feed him at the opening of his cave even though his cave looks out on the whole room.Every once in awile he will swim around the tank to make himself known then back to his lookout.