PlanetCatfish.com

Hi all, Happy new year.

I have a 7" S. angelica in a 6x2x2 (120 gallons)with no other cats. Someone quite near me has a similar sized one for sale...

My questions... assuming I sex both specimens and they are different, what are the chances of them living peacefully together? Would it be better if mine is the female? In other words, are males more aggressive/territorial?

Finally, does anyone have an opinion on why Synos don't breed? The missing 'trigger'? I haven't found much at all online about reproductive behaviour of riverine Synos.

IMO, the 2 adult angelica synos should be okay together in the tank size you describe as long as it has enough separate hiding places. I would recommend doing a water change and moving the tank decorations (driftwood, rocks, etc.) around when you introduce the new specimen. In my experience, females are more aggressive than males.

Synodontis catfish have been bred in captivity. I am not aware of anyone who has bred S. angelica, however, I know people who have bred S. schoutedeni and S. nigriventris. I have three large S. angelica specimens (1 male & 2 females) that I am hoping to try to breed once I have the means to set up a spawning tank. Some of the factors believed to be important are conditioning the breeding individuals in separate tanks, keeping other fish that are spawning in the breeding tank (for pheromones), and introducing the male and female together in the spawning tank right around the same time the barometric pressure drops when a storm front is coming in. Also, it is important to have the right type of substrate in which the fish will spawn. Anacharis/Elodea plants and/or cotton yarn seem to work well. I know of people who have also used a mud substrate to good effect.

Hi Scleropages, I had just read that you have 3 big ones.
IME when you hear of all these multiple factors it's just 'things people did' and not essential. Having said that, I'm no great catfish authority. The pressure drop thing is interesting, presumably that could be acheived by lowering the water level?
Not sure what you mean by substrate and plants. Do they scatter eggs amongst plants? or bury them? Do they guard them?

blackghost wrote: IME when you hear of all these multiple factors it's just 'things people did' and not essential.

This must have read as very arrogant, not to mention unscientific! Absolute nonsense of course, I do apologise to all. New year Rum and pep.
So it sounds like a complex process, rather than just one of compatibility. It's a peaceful tank, I think I'll keep it that way for now. This was a very undernourished fish that is now thriving and not too shy. It's nice to know that with care I might have it for 20 years or more...

blackghost wrote:IME when you hear of all these multiple factors it's just 'things people did' and not essential.

Well, the people I know who successfully bred and reared the syno species I listed mentioned all of these factors as things they considered important in getting the fish to spawn. I can only report what I was informed worked.

blackghost wrote:The pressure drop thing is interesting, presumably that could be acheived by lowering the water level?

No. An atmospheric pressure drop cannot be simulated by changing the water level of the tank.

blackghost wrote:Not sure what you mean by substrate and plants. Do they scatter eggs amongst plants? or bury them? Do they guard them?

Yes and yes. From what I've been told, they root around in the substrate and/or plants while they spawn. I do not know how, if in any way, the parents tend to the eggs/fry.

Thanks Scleropages.

I do not know how, if in any way, the parents tend to the eggs/fry.

These would be egg scatterers...there would be no tending of the eggs or fry in any way...in a closed system like an aquarium you would be lucky if the parents did not turn around and eat the eggs themselves.
They have the potential to spawn, either with dedicated tanks(yes plural) or unless you would be there to actually see them spawn and save eggs they will make a tasty treat for all the tank inhabitants.

Birger