rescue with a synodontis ill-treated

[stine]

Thanks
by the way, I'm really annoyed by a question : I really hesitate to put all together with a couple of Pelvicachromis kribensis "Edea" (and about the Epiplaty dageti maybe the smallest could be eaten at night but I don't have a lot of small ones) !

He needs to swim to train all the muscles !! maybe I could give a try and see what happens all together as long as they are all coming from west african land ! but in one or two weeks ! someone here thinks it's dangerous ?

[Birger]

I am more worried the Pelvicachromis will not like the Synodontis especially if they would spawn, but you could try it..a couple more weeks would be helpful.


I can finally see the body bulking up...well done!!

Birger

[Tanganyikafreak]

Wow, well done

[jodilynn]

HOORAY!

He is looking more handsome every day!

(Leave him in his temporary home a bit longer, the Kribs can wait ! )

[stine]

Hi here
Alfred is fine as usual, and it's funny because his dorsal fin is still growing day by day ! will it stop one day ?

I won't put alfred in the WAC TAnk in the future two or three weeks but I don't want to wait too long because he needs to do some excercice in swim no ?

[jodilynn]

Hi Stine!

Any update on Alfred's progress?

[stine]

Yep for sure I will !! I'm in holidays actually so I will do some pic of the beauty of alfred
no more blister on his eye !!

Well I'm thinking a lot about his future home ! He will be with 12 Alestopetersius caudalis. I think to put the Pelvicachromis kribensis "Edea" in another thank with the epiplaty dageti. Which fishes you think I can add with Alfred ? anotherone like him ? a synodontis eupterus ? or he rather be the only of his species (because it's a 260 liters tank) some of my friends gave some possibilities, if you have any proposition then do not hesitate

they suggested : a couple of Hemichromis or Benitochromis or Chromidotilapia.
thanks in advance for your suggestions

[bekateen]

Magnificent, Alfred! (and you too, Stine )

Alfred looks like a nice fish. And wonderful news about the blister on the eye.

Cheers, Eric

[Tanganyikafreak]

Amazing!

[stine]

when i remember him without any fins...


I rather love him like he's now

[NCE12940]

That really is a wonderful transformation (and a happy fish)

[Marc van Arc]

they suggested : a couple of Hemichromis or Benitochromis or Chromidotilapia.

You've come a long way from turning this poor zombie into a nice fish again. Ime putting this (recovering) fish with almost any cichlid would sooner or later put him back to the point where you started from. Your Syno doesn't deserve that and you don't deserve that. It may be alright for a while but once the cichlids start breeding your Syno will be a sitting duck.

[stine]

so which fishes will be the best friends for alfred in your opinion marc ?

I have no idea because I never had any synodontis in tanks that's why i'm looking for the answer

[Marc van Arc]

That depends on your taste and the question if you want your tank to be biotope-correct (in this case: African fishes only).
I think the 12 A. caudalis will be sufficient to keep him company. Mind you, he doesn't need too many food competitors.

[stine]

thanks for your suggestion

and yes the biotope is important to me (even if i'm not totaly right with the plants oups )

don't you think he's gonna feel alone without any catfish of his species ? you don't recommand any catfish with him ?

[Richard B]

I'd avoid another Eupterus for several reasons - 2 is not a good number as one bullies the other & he is likely to be the weaker one - better in groups of about 5 although they are a pretty big species. Have you considered a shoal of Syno nigriventris? They're obviously another syno species but very peaceful & a small species - I'd avoid cichlids too, perhaps you could look at butterflyfish (pantodon) although im unsure if the tetras might be a bit nippy

[Marc van Arc]

No, I would not do that for the time being. You might consider (at least two, definitely not one!) extra specimens of your species, although I think they are hard to find (it looks like S. "galinea" to me; see stamp in

Synodontis eupterus

), but you must allow your fish a lot of recovery time.
Imo you should avoid any (cat-)fish that would be able to chase your fish as it is still in no shape to be chased.
If you are able to find them, you could add a

Chiloglanis

species.

[stine]

that's great I can carry on with my reflexion about this future tank !!

ok I understand that :

I avoid ciclid and must be careful with other catfish

Marc don't worry, I'm going to proceed step by step very slowly. As you only have to know, this Syno is my most important fish because I have a story so special with him that it's why I keep just for him my larger and bigger tank ! That's why i'm thinking a lot about the eventual possibility to put some others fishes with him but I take time, he deserve it ! I won't ever do something wrong for him ! I'm trying to do my best to offer the best conditions of life ! I won't take any risks about him !

If it's ok for some other friends of tank without any risk for him ! I'll do it ! if not, he'll stay with the A. caudalis.

And of course I'll take the time to put some other fish, my biggest challenge will be : how he'll react when I'll put him in his future tank ! so i won't stress him anymore at this time ! if I put others fishes, it will be in two months or more

I just want to know if it's possible in my 260 liters I could put some others fish (well and fine together)
so if I understand your idea : you're ok with Chiloglanis species (after a long recovery time I get it)

(sorry for my english but I did'nt understand a thing : you said "No, I would not do that for the time being" (for the pantodon and the nigriventis ?)

you said : "You might consider (at least two, definitely not one!) extra specimens of your species, although I think they are hard to find (it looks like S. "galinea" to me; see stamp in Synodontis eupterus), but you must allow your fish a lot of recovery time" (you say that it might be possible to add two like him in this tank ?)

[Birger]

I agree with no cichlids. Even his own species he will be the least dominant no matter how many most likely as Richard alluded to.
Also Richards suggestion of using a smaller syno species such as nigriventris is a very good one.

Even some of the congo tetras can be aggressive feeders so you would have to watch very carefully to make sure Alfred gets his share.

Birger

[Marc van Arc]

(sorry for my english but I did'nt understand a thing : you said "No, I would not do that for the time being" (for the pantodon and the nigriventis ?)

you said : "You might consider (at least two, definitely not one!) extra specimens of your species, although I think they are hard to find (it looks like S. "galinea" to me; see stamp in Synodontis eupterus), but you must allow your fish a lot of recovery time" (you say that it might be possible to add two like him in this tank ?)

Sorry for the confusion. While I was typing a reply, Richard had already given you a reply.
So it looks my reply is to his post. That was not the intention. It was meant as a reply to your post.

So the "No, I wouldn't do that" refers to adding other catfishes shortly and not to adding a Pantodon or S. nigriventris.

And you could consider adding 2 other Synos of the same species, but - as said by others as well - he will very likely be the weakest specimen. Therefore you have to think very hard about this. I wouldn't do it. He'll be fine by himself.

Also - as said by Birger as well - you should not add too many food competitors.

Désolé pour la confusion. Alors que je tapais une réponse, Richard avait déjà donné une réponse.
Il semble donc ma réponse est à son poste. Ce ne était pas l'intention. Il a été conçu comme une réponse à votre message.

Ainsi, le "Non, je ne ferais pas ça" se réfère à l'ajout d'autres poissons-chats et pas aux ajouter un S. nigriventris ou Pantodon.

Et vous pourriez envisager d'ajouter deux autres Synos de la même espèce, mais - comme dit par d'autres ainsi - il sera très probablement le spécimen plus faible. Par conséquent, vous devez penser très fort à ce sujet. Je ne le ferais pas. Il sera très bien par lui-même.

En outre - comme l'a dit Birger ainsi - vous ne devez pas ajouter trop de concurrents alimentaires.

[stine]

thanks a lot for the explanation

I thought about a solution :
giving food to alfred when light is down because the tetra are gonna hide behind plants and wood at night !

ok I'll search about nigriventis to know a little bit more about them for a very very future time

I understand life could be hard with some food competitors, you are right I have to be careful, alfred need a good access to the food ! that's why I would wait a long time only in his new tank with the tetra ! Be sure i'm able to give my tetra if they avoid Alfred to eat !! (I'm sorry but he's my number one )

and when he will be fine, healthy in his tank, happy and able to eat well... I'll try maybe with just another one species ! I'll be a little sad to have such a big tank (for me it's a very big tank lol) with just 12 tetra and alfred ! (even if I don't like the fish soup neither lol) but if it's the best for alfred, i'll be fine with that solution

[jodilynn]

I have Leo, my Eupterus, in with 3 other synos, the

Synodontis alberti

is very quiet, just goes about his own business, the Synodontis sp(hybrid_1) is about the same size as Leo and very similar in behavior, and the

Synodontis decorus

is just a beast, he is considerably larger than the other three.

From what I have observed, there is definitely a hierarchy in the tank. In this case, Leo, the oldest cat, is by far the dominant one. He basically "owns" the one half of my 55 gallon. Oddly, he will tolerate the Alberti being over on his side, but not the other two. I do watch them as much as I can at night (got a different bluelight lol) and for the most part the physical contact is limited to bumping and pushing when the food goes in. BUT I have heard some banging and splashing on more than one occasion. I didn't see what happened, but the 4 of them are between 5-8 inches long and...er...they have pretty substantial girths!

In my opinion, and I by NO means consider myself an expert, I would just keep him alone. All my fish were kept from babies (Bullitt, my hybrid, was only about 1/2 inch long, Leo maybe 1.5 inches, my other two were about 2 inches long) so they have had excellent care since they were young. Poor Albert has not had the care and love he has needed until now. I feel (again, *feel*, don't *know*) that any other Syno will sense he is not 100% and it will lead to problems. He will be fine on his own with some small non-aggressive companions. God love you for being so concerned about little Albert (who is looking AWESOME by the way! !)

I would LOVE to get another German Shepherd, but my girl, Sophia, prefers to be an only child . So as badly as I want a puppy, I know it's not the best for my other dog, who would happily get rid of the kids, the cats and the fish (have you ever heard of a dog who is jealous of fish? )so she could be the center of the known universe. You may want more synos, but it may not be what Albert needs . The LFS has had a

Synodontis pleurops

for several weeks now, they keep bugging me to buy him, but man I just don't think I have the room for another Syno in that tank . Wants v. needs!

Did I tell you when I read your posts I like, read them with a French accent in my head? Does that make sense?

[stine]

Lol jodilynn albert is alfred
Thanks a lot for your answer and the time you take for your answer. You are sweet
I'll think about all of this and will choose the best for him in putting in a side my selfish (lol) desirs !!

[jodilynn]

OMG how did I keep typing Albert?

Stine, you are NOT selfish! It's something we all face as fishkeepers, we see something we want or we have an idea in our head, but we need to step back and think for a minute. There are SOOOOO many fish I would love to have, but I have to think okay, well I have this fish in the tank, and it may not be the best situation, etc.

I found some really cool "garra" fish yesterday, and I thought about getting some, but they'd have to go in my 55 gallon, and I have a red-tail shark in there, and I have to keep in mind he is going to get ornery as he gets larger. So I have to look into whether or not they can live together.

Thank you for taking the time to heal and love Alfred and for being so concerned about his future! Merci!

[stine]

Hi here
I'm a little worried with alfred. We are about one week around the change of his new tank (he's still in the hospital alone) and since two days, he looks "sad" I mean : he's staying in a corner, the dorsal fin down and don't seems interested as usual (as much as usual) by the food ! (but he's still eating but not in a hurry as usual)
Maybe the time alone without space to swim is going to hit (in a bad way) his mood ?
Water conditions is fine as it was until now! he looks fine (about his healty condition) !
do I have to worried more and what can I do ? hope he's not doing a depression (don't know the name in english)

[N0body Of The Goat]

If the water tests are good and Alfred looks healthy (no sign of new illness), I personally would in order...

Try a big water change, just for the heck of it
Try giving Alfred more stimulation in the QT, more pipes; fake/real plants; bogwood etc.
If the above failed, think about moving him into a tank with the Alestopetersius caudalis (which might also help the male tetra issue, if that is still going on)

[stine]

1)Try a big water change, just for the heck of it
2) Try giving Alfred more stimulation in the QT, more pipes; fake/real plants; bogwood etc.
3) If the above failed, think about moving him into a tank with the Alestopetersius caudalis (which might also help the male tetra issue, if that is still going on)

1 and 2 done !
will wait and see if I'll do the 3 !

this morning still eating (and going out things eaten lol) but in his flower pot head down that's funny to look at but don't know if it means he's feeling better^^

thanks for the suggestions Nobody Of the Goat

[N0body Of The Goat]

It might well be Alfred is starting to act more like a normal syno, I've never looked after a Synodontis eupterus, so I'm not sure how diurnal/nocturnal they usually are once settled in a tank (like Corydoras, they tend to be hyper active in new tanks).

In my 4-foot tank of little peaceful fish, I sometimes see 1/2 of my Synodontis nigriventris group active during the day; I get to see my 2 Microsynodontis sp.1s maybe 3/4 times a week at evening food time; I'm lucky to my Microsynodontis polli once every 2/3 weeks; sometimes my Synodontis congicus can be actively swimming midwater in the day but other times he/she sits under the bogwood when I am around.

In my 6-foot tank, my Synodontis notatus and Synodontis cf. budgetti are active most of the day; my Synodontis schoutedeni is semi-active when I'm around; my Synodontis brichardi trio and Euchilichthys quartet are a little active in the shadows when I'm around (but not as active as they used to be).

[jodilynn]

Okay, the dorsal fin being down does concern me. Maybe in addition to the water change, try a mild dose of aquarium salt? Or perhaps Melafix? Both are natural and can help, especially if you do not see any outward signs of disease but the fish just doesn't seem to be "feeling good" .

However, as far as just kind of hanging out, head down, not moving much, I would say my Leo normally acts like that. He is out during the day, lurking a bit, but only on the tank side that is unlit. He has a tendency to drift, updside down, by the power head and just kind of float there in the current. He is not exactly active during the day, but compared to my other 3 synos I still see him the most. He doesn't impress me as a bundle of energy, he is far more a tortoise than a hare!

Is the tank maybe too "bright" for Alfred? No background, no décor, too much ambient light from the room? I agree with N0body of the Goat, perhaps some driftwood and plants may make him more comfortable? As far as scrambling for food, it could just be that he was hyperactively feeding before because he was so starved. Now that he is doing better and has no competition for food he may eat more casually. My four Synos always scramble for food because they are all pigs and it's a competition. My dad always said "he who eats the fastest gets the mostest"

Good luck, please keep us updates, and more pics please!

[stine]

Hi thanks for all the attention you pay at alfred

I guess you are both right ! I suddenly light on the kitchen by night and then I could see him very active, moving around

his new tank is for the next week