Synodontis decora • Mochokidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

Lateral view
Juvenile
Striped form, formerly S. vittata
Close-up of head

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Synodontis decora** Boulenger, 1899
Common Name(s)	Clown Syno
Type Locality	Nouvelle-Anvers, Zaire.
Synonym(s)	Synodontis decorus, Synodontis vittatus
Pronunciation	sin oh don tiss - deck oh rus
Etymology	Synodontis: From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth. Decora means decorated.
Species Information
Size	270mm (10.6") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	All species in the genus Synodontis have a hardened head cap that has attached a process (humeral process) which is situated behind the gill opening and pointed towards the posterior. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated. Caudal fin is always forked. There is one pair of maxillary barbels, sometimes having membranes and occasionally branched. The two pairs of mandibular barbels are often branched and can have nodes attached. The cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw are short. S-shaped and movable in the lower jaw. These fish produce audible sounds when disturbed rubbing the base of the pectoral spine against the pectoral girdle. Juveniles have a long filament on the leading dorsal fin ray. Tan background colouration with black spots. One of only three Synodontis species (with S. clarias and S. flavitaeniata) with filaments on both maxillary barbels and mandibular barbels.
Sexing	First lay the fish in your hand with its head toward your palm and the tail toward your fingers. Hold the dorsal spine between your middle and ring finger so the fish is belly up and you won't get stuck (Which by the way, hurts like crazy!). The genital pore is in a small furrow of tissue (in healthy fish) and will be obstructed by the pelvic fins. Pull down on the tail gently to arch the fishes spine and the pelvic fins will stand and the furrow open to display the genital pore and the anus of the fish. The male has a somewhat ridged genital papillae on which the spermatoduct is on the back side, facing the tail fin. A gravid female will also show an extended papillae but the oviduct is on the ventral side of the papillae (And may also show a little redness if really gravid). A thin or emaciated female will have just two pink pores, the oviduct and the anus.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Congo basin except Luapula River system. One of the many interesting Synodontis species found in Malebo Pool. African Waters , Congo (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) African Waters , Congo, Lower Congo, Pool Malebo (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
pH	6.0 - 8.0
Temperature	22.0-28.0°C or 71.6-82.4°F (Show others within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Eats crustaceans, algae and insect larvae in the wild. Is not a fussy eater in the aquarium. Will accept flakes and tablet foods. Periodically supplement with frozen food (e.g., krill, brine shrimp and bloodworm) and live food.
Furniture	Rockwork, driftwood, sections of pipe with a diameter of 10-12 cm. Grows to about 30 cm, so will need at least a 200 litre tank when it reaches adulthood. This fish does not like bright lights, but with sufficient cover, such as floating plants, it will make the occasional appearance with the lights on. With bright lights, it will sometimes dash out for food, but will otherwise keep itself hidden until the tank is dark.
Compatibility	Compatible with all but tiny fish. Can hold its own with large, aggressive fish, but best kept away from fin-nippers which might be tempted to pick at the filament on its dorsal fin.
Suggested Tankmates	Large enough to hold it's own in any American cichlid tank, larger individuals will even adapt to African rift lake cichlid tanks. Best kept with larger African characins and barbs.
Breeding	Not reported in the aquarium.
Further Information
References	Ann. Mus. Congo (Ser. Zool.)v. 1 (fasc. 3) - pp49 - Pl. 25
Registered Keepers	(1) synoguy (k: 4), who also notes: "The original Gentle Giant, big but hardly ever boistrous. Pattern tends to fade later in its life, however this is not always the case as I have an adult that is more defined in colour and pattern than any of my younger ones and is by far my mos", (2) natefrog, (3) Lornek8, (4) Silurus, (5) Dave Rinaldo, (6) oldfish, (7) clunkster, (8) synodont_fan (k: 2), who also notes: "Spectacular coloration, even when large (6 inch specimen). Mine have not developed a very long streamer on the dorsal fin, just barely noticeable. Not very active.", (9) Tulio, (10) Occellatus, (11) ranmasan, who also notes: "Feisty, if a bit shy :)", (12) kvnbyl, who also notes: "a big gentle fish, he is at least 12 years old and very handsome", (13) invaderwithkey, (14) RickieH, (15) Junttis, (16) Gump, (17) amazonfishman, (18) syno-kev, who also notes: "stunning fish 8 inch and now bigger than notatus and i think this one is the tank boss judging by its feeding habits ,even comes to the surface to fed when the lid goes up !", (19) jippo, (20) derrickrscott (p: 2), (21) Plunt, (22) vriesea, who also notes: "Bought single Synodontis decorus at San Francisco Aquarium Society for $12.", (23) synodontisjack, (24) Dinyar, (25) mini-fée (p: 2), (26) mante-religieuse, who also notes: "about 15 cm long,no filament on dorsal fin.it is always hiden under a driftwood.It's in my tank for only a week and a half.Very shy for now... Now(July 2008),it doesn't seem shy anymore,always showing up when I feed them!It loves shrimp pellets mo", (27) amergim, (28) glyde (k: 2), (29) LowCat, (30) Marduk (k: 2), (31) MatsP (p: 3, k: 4), who also notes: "Got two more to go with my slightly larger single individual.", "Got a "return" from MA in Bourne End.", (32) Kampfer, (33) Wraith (k: 2), (34) fleahound (k: 2), (35) Moomoo, (36) synofreak (p: 2), (37) earth intruder, (38) scotty105, (39) ariefputranto (k: 5), (40) oliv67 (k: 4), (41) SoCalDiscus, (42) jprp, (43) naturalart, (44) Norbert, (45) Viktor Jarikov, who also notes: "suspected true species but no dorsal extention?; bands in place of spots; good-looking, active during feedings, not shy to attempt steal food from bigger fish", (46) Tony, (47) theviper06, (48) mrfishydude, (49) tspaceace68, (50) tijani, (51) N0body Of The Goat (p: 2, k: 7), who also notes: "Hopefully have some young conspecifics to introduce to it next spring", "Whole group lost to massive Ich infestation, still cannot believe it :(", (52) Sam, (53) snowball (k: 4), (54) arapaimag, who also notes: "Owned for 23 years and 8 months and still very youthful looking. Among the first Syns out to eat when the 15,000 gallon tank is being fed.", (55) maas (k: 3), (56) tutters187, (57) TheCichlidKid15, (58) toby (k: 5), (59) Alisana (p: 2), (60) Apostolis, (61) oneoddfish. Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species. Add this species to your "my cats" page.
Breeding Reports	None.
More Resources	- CotM 2002 March - Search Planet Catfish for more on Synodontis decora - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Synodontis decora on AquaticRepublic.com - Look up Synodontis decora on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	28089 hits.
Last Update	2010 Feb 16 12:40 (species record created: 2001 Apr 21 00:00)

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