Mystus leucophasis ???

[Issyboo]

Hi
My Daughter has been given a tank with 2 parrot chiclids. She went to buy a catfish and was shown an upside down catfish, she was told it was a Synodontis. She was told it was pretty much fully grown and would be peaceful. However i think what she has is a Mystus leucophasis. I have looked up the info on this fish and am slightly worried. Can anyone tell me if 2 half size Parrots chiclids will be ok with the cat fish. There are no other fish in the tank Thank You

[Birger]

That is how many of these make it into peoples tanks, due to misimformation.

How large is the tank?

Unless you are very sure, a picture would help to clarify what your daughter has purchased.

Birger

[Richard B]

IME the whole problem with the asian USD catfish is the "Jekyll & Hyde" unpredictability the fish can exhibit - a pic would be beneficial to be certain of the species

[Issyboo]

Hi
Thanks, i will try to get a snap of it tomorrow - at the moment it is behaving itself but it has taken over the Parrot fishes tree root!

[Viktor Jarikov]

is the silence a good or a bad sign?

my experience agrees with Richard's words - these guys can be bad or sweet, aggressive or passive...

[sidguppy]

whatever their temper may be, this fish gets HUGE

not as long as an adult shovelnose or something; but big enough and active enough to end up for 200G tanks and more.
I've seen fully grown adults in showtanks in Germany, or at least what I thought of fully grown and they were larger by a fair bit than Synodontis granulosus.
they have about the same length as a fully grown Oscar or frontosa male and almost the same bulk, as they grow in height and width when they're mature.

they can and do pass 1 foot in length with ease and this is a mobile active swimmer.
they're in the same league as Cephalosilurus or Synodontis schall or Ameiurus melas but with a lot more character.

a small tank for a fully grown mature leucophasis would be 2 feet deep, 2 feet high and 6 feet long. and that's cramped.

the best way of coping with their potential agression is to keep a group.
now these guys are viciously territorial; which gives you a glimpse about how huge a tank for 4 or 5 of these beasts must be.....



a large one in a Malawi tank.
the German ones I've seen were twice as big.

[Viktor Jarikov]

Nice pics, Sid, and your knowledge is indispensable, as usual.

they can and do pass 1 foot in length with ease

Really!? Wow, 'd love to see that specimen.

but with a lot more character

hear, hear

the best way of coping with their potential agression is to keep a group.
now these guys are viciously territorial;

Really? 4-5? Mine two 6"-ers fought bitterly in a 55 gal - had to separate. Would dilution of aggression work well enough to ensure everyone's safety and prosperity?

which gives you a glimpse about how huge a tank for 4 or 5 of these beasts must be.....

So, how huge?