Synodontis Multipunctatus tank size?

[CatWhat]

I was wondering what a minimum tank size for Cuckoo catifsh would be? I was hoping to breed them and wanted to make sure what a good size tank would be to do so. Another question I had was about breeding, what cichlids are best to keep with them to see their true breeding behavoir and can these catfish be bred with out having a cichlid parent host? Thank you for your help.

[Birger]

Some of your questions are answered here http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... =8&t=32601

You would most likely end up with

Synodontis grandiops

, I keep a trio in a 18" x 18" x 36" and switch out the Cichlids.
I would not reccomend any smaller and would go to a larger tank with a bigger group.
Also if you do end up with

Synodontis multipunctatus

they do have a larger adult size and should step up the tank size accordingly.

Birger

[corybreed]

I would house them in at least a 3 foot tank, a 4 foot would be better. Lake Victoria Haplochromis obliquidens are commonly used. I know that the University of Colorado has been using Albino zebras as they do not see well and will continue to spawn for more years than the Haps.

Mark

[CatWhat]

Thanks for the info. Before I decide and order them I will get the distributor to take apic of what he has in stcok so I can determine what species they are.
If I do go ahead and get some they would be going into a 75 gallon, I believe it is 4' x 18" x 18".

[CatWhat]

I was wondering if any mouth brooding cichlid would be suffice when it came to breeding these cats? I have read Haps are one way to go, just wondering if there were more options. Also has the Cuckoo cat been bred without using a cichlids help? Thanks for the info.

[CatWhat]

From what I have been reading, it seems I may have a hard time actually getting these cats to breed in the traditional way. If so I don't mind just having the cats in the tank by themselves and try collecting the eggs myself. I'm assuming there is no parental care from the cats themselves even when it is just them in the tank.

[Richard B]

Multis are known to scatter but it is a very uncommon occurance. The easist way to breed them by far (also grandiops) is to use a mouthbrooding cichlid as host.

If you wanna try to breed without a host then you need a multiple tank set-up. One for your stock of fish, one to house your choice male which you condition in isolation, one to house your choice female which you condition in isolation. The choice male is then introduced to the female after a period of conditioning and post spawning both fish are removed to prevent them eating the eggs - this could also be achieved by using a grated raised flooring to the tank like some mesh etc

[CatWhat]

Perhaps I will go with the host method. I am much more interested in going that route anyway. Would Yellow or white Labs be a good choice for a host? From what I have read it seems that pretty much any mouth brooder will be fine.

[sidguppy]

if you use a small mouthbrooder, you must strip!

otherwise the spiny fry cannot be spat out by the female cichlid and she will choke to death with her mouth full of baby Syno's.

1 species that's used here in the Netherlands to breed the Golden Eye (grandiops?) variety with success is Astatotilapia (Haplochromis) burtoni from Burundi and Tanganyika.

burtoni's are tough and breed like rabbits, but the females are small, so you must strip.
luckily burtoni's are not stressed easily, they can be handled.

the hosts used by these catfish in the wild are all significantly bigger, unfortunately the most common host in the wild is quite hard to keep and it needs a huge tank: Ctenochromis horei.

this is a very agressive fish.
the second most used host in the wild is Simochromis spp and these are even more agressive, not just to each other, but to other fish as well.

neither species is easy to keep, not even by experienced Tanganyika Cichlid keepers.

one of the Malawian species that can be uswed without stripping is Placidochromis electra; another one is Otopharynx lithobates.
these 2 are quite mellow as Malawians go and easy to keep IF you got a roomy tank.
these should not be kept in a tank shorter than 4-5 feet.

[unblinded]

the hosts used by these catfish in the wild are all significantly bigger, unfortunately the most common host in the wild is quite hard to keep and it needs a huge tank: Ctenochromis horei.

this is a very agressive fish.

Well said. I've got a trio of horei in a 6' 125 gallon tank and the male is non-stop on the females. I have to separate the females from him to give them a break on a regular basis. Two close friends I've spoken to have put them in groups of 1 male to 20 females and the males have eventually killed off all the females even in tanks of 200+ gallons. Your recommendation of Malawi cichlids is the better choice. I've used Victorians with my group of multis also with minimal results.