Lake tanganyika syno group

[toby]

I am currently in the research phase of setting up / populating a lake tang synodontis tank and would like some suggestions / ideas from your experiences. I will be using a 500L or 600L tank - 6 foot long, 1 1/2 feet wide footprint. I am considering trying to locate some syno granulosus and was wondering if 4-6 fish would be feasible in this tank size - and what aggression could be expected, and if so ways to minimize, what sociability can be expected? I would also like to keep a group of 6-8 smaller lake synos like petricola or polli with the granulosus - am I pushing the limits? I was thinking of housing the synos ONLY in this tank, with possibly a group of cyps to keep activity up and possibly keep the cats somewhat active / less reclusive. Any thoughts on how a set-up like this would work? Would I be better with a single granulosus and a group of the smaller polli or petricola? ideas on aquascaping for the granulosus - would PVC piping work or do they need an actual cave set-up? are there some other suggested tankmates that could go into this synodontis focused tank rather than cyps?
Thanks for your suggestions and feedback.

[worton[pl]]

Hello,

indeed good choice, what a lucky guy!

I have never kept granulosus but from petricola and polli as companions I would rather choose petricola. True polli get really big (my biggest male is around 20cm SL). Big syno will be considered as a potential opponent by granulosus so I would try something smaller like petricola since polli don't like fighting (they were beaten up by 10 cm long Synodontis ornatipinnis).
Sidguppy has kept a group of 5 in 500l tank without problem and even with some breeding behaviour so tank space sounds fine.

Regards.

[Richard B]

I have got the majority of tanganyikan synos together with very few problems - the only real concern is with my 3 granulosa - apart rom feeding time there is a distinct wariness from the 2 4" F1s about the 7" w/c bordering on harassment by the bigger one. Desite the tank being 70% crammed with rockwork, on one occasion one of the smaller ones got ripped to shreds. I think Sidguppy has actually seen some aggression with his. I know of a chap up North who works at ABZ who had a dozen - i don't know of aggression issues but he too had some breeding action but no fry were produced. AFAIK only NHA have successfully raised them, but their breeding stock are kept isolated from one another & only brought together for breeding attempts. The newest ones they had last month when i visited were 6mm long!!!

I think you could have a mix of species if you so wanted but if breeding is a desired outcome, i'd go for petricola, multis or lucipinnis. Display only if you wanna mix 'em up.

With so much rockwork my fish feel secure & swim in the open with full lights on & in a feeding frenzy they are all over the place.

Sid's comments will, as always, provide great info but as you have a good size tank, options are plentiful

[toby]

Thanks for the comments. I am not that concerned with breeding at this time. Worton, you mentioned the true polli? - I was under the impression the polli maxed out at 10 cm or so and was a "stockier build" of a petricola -sans the white leading edges - or so the cat-e-log suggests at this time. What is the true polli? is this another petricola/lucipinnis type of issue which will require updating?
Richard, you mention lots of rockwork - what kind of "home" do the granulosus need to feel comfortable? is it an actual cave type set-up or would pvc pipe sections work? do they prefer to move around in this cave? or just require the cover and shelter? Do you feel 6-8 of the smaller synos would be a good number to co-habitate with the larger grannies if that's the way I go?

[Richard B]

True polli as opposed to the white zambian "polli" which is an unidentified species

Synodontis sp(2)

obviously not polli but often called polli in the trade.

I have my rockwork structured so at times i can see no catfish whatsoever, there are caves & the fish can get behind it etc, but because there is so much opportunity to hide they feel secure & show themselves most of the time. Pipes would work fine but it is a question of aesthetics as rockwork does look better. I have a mix of lava rock, tufa, slate, lacerock, natural dorset stone & other stuff as well as some angled clay pots. A mix of say 6-8 petricola will be fine with a granny/ grannys if that's hat you're after - just be wary of inter-granny aggression

[toby]

Richard, agree with the comment on the aesthetics. I should have been clearer - my intent would be to have the pvc pipe buried and covered by rockwork and not in view. The same would apply with clay pots cut in half I would have them buried beneath rockwork. But pvc pipe sections of straight 1 1/2" pipe are a different thing than a cave environment. I will mix it up bewteen the pvc pipe and some clay pots.
Is the melanostictus a lake cat and if so, what size would they max out at? the few pictures I have seen on the site are of a quite interesting fish. Not much info available other than that although I have seen the odd posting. Anyone keeping this fish? I don't mean to go all over the place but my importer is going to call me in the next couple of weeks and tell me "here's whats available" from the lake. Just want to be in a good position for that discussion.
Thanks.

[worton[pl]]

Hey,

Lake Tanganyika has, by now, 11 described species of Synodontis genus which are endemic to this particular lake. These are:

Synodontis grandiops

Synodontis dhonti

Synodontis granulosa

Synodontis ilebrevis

Synodontis irsacae

Synodontis lucipinnis

Synodontis multipunctata

Synodontis petricola

Synodontis polli

Synodontis melanosticta

Synodontis tanganyicae

There is also a lot of undescribed species from Tanganyika. Mentioned by Richard

Synodontis sp(2)

is commonly called Synodontis polli "White Sambia" but it is nothing like true polli which get much bigger and have much more brown, regular pattering.
Like Richard said you can mix with grannys everything smaller without problem. The main issue is aggression between grannys. However fish have their own personalities also. For example my friends (importer from which I have most of my fish) had about 4 years ago two S. granulosa without any problems in 375l tank. They have been sold. Now they own another 2 grannys and they have been fighting each other so hard they have to been separeted otherwise they would kill eachother for sure. Of course rising numbers of fish and giving them plenty of hiding places should lower eventually agression to acceptable levels but you still have to be careful especially on the beginning .

Regards.

[toby]

Worton,
Thanks for the great info and feedback. Do you have any info on the melanosticta - does it show up much in the trade? any info on sizing? Looks like a very nice fish.
I guess I'll know soon what my importer has found. The grannies would be a great find.
If I am told that syno eurystomus is available would I assume that they are the white polli? or does that refer to the larger true polli? any idea? because my importer has referred to eurystomus in the past.

[Richard B]

Eurystomas is the old name for the true polli.

I have not seen melanosticta imported into the UK, so info is very sketchy but can generally be treated like other tang synos. There has been significant confusion with this & nigromaculata in literature

[Birger]

guess I'll know soon what my importer has found.

Hi Toby I would be interested to know which importer you are planning to use, PM me if you wish