Synodontis nigriventris

[IanoYG]

Hello, this is my first time on the forums... I am a huge fan of catfish, so I assumed this was the right place to ask! About six months ago I bought a trio of Synodontis nigriventris (upside-down catfish) the thing is, I have never actually seen them swim upside down! One that I cannot get a picture of (it spends 99.9% of its life hidden in my big rock haha) it is a light silvery grey with big black spots, but is the same shape as the pictures provided. If they are not the fish I thought they were, then I am not too bothered, as they are very peaceful, friendly and delightful fish. So if anyone could help, that’d be great!

Ian

[bekateen]

Hi IanoYG,
Welcome to PlanetCatfish. Thanks for sharing your pictures.

You did not get

Synodontis nigriventris

. You got

Synodontis eupterus

. It will grow MUCH larger than real upside down cats, so be prepared

Cheers,
Eric

[Birger]

The fish in the second photo is for sure Synodontis eupterus...not nigriventris.

Many people call all Synodontis upside down catfish

Eupterus will sometimes swim upside down but not that often.Usually done when resting or sitting in a hiding spot.

[IanoYG]

Thank you for your fast replies! I did think as much that it wasnt the right fish. Would the silver one be a different sex to the two blackish ones, or just a colour variation? Luckily it appears my aquarium is the minimum size for this fish... will i have to worry about my cardinal tetras being eaten? Atm they show zero interest in the other fish and only chase off other fish when wanting food. Thanks for your help!

[bekateen]

Not sex-specific to my knowledge. I believe they darken with age, size, and mood. And certainly yes there is some individual variation. But I'm not the expert on these.

Cheers, Eric

[Viktor Jarikov]

My eupterus swim USD in the open quite often but in general not nearly as much as a nigriventris would.