Tankmates for S. flavitaeniatus

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 26 Oct 2005, 03:07

I just got hold of two of these lovely little cats (at AU$100 each!) and despite the cost I am quite thrilled, having poured over many photos of them in books in the past but never previously having a chance to see them in the flesh, let alone own them.

They are quite small, approximately 35mm in size, and are very shy, coming from an almost bare tank where they were hiding in plastic plant tubs. Currently I have them on their own in a 2' tank (pH 7.0, 26.C) with a bit of wood and lots of anuibus, however they will eventually end up in a larger planted display tank. (30" x 24" x 30")

What would be some good tank mates to go with them? Obviously I am after small fish that won't bother them, and of course they will be the only Synodontis in the tank. Although selection is limited in this country, I would like to try to add other fish from the Malebo Pool.

Would any small cichlids suitable, or would they compete with the flavitaenitatus for hiding spots? The tank will be have a lot of driftwood & plants so I would like to think they can co-exist - or is this wishful thinking? There are a number of specis of Pelvicachromis available locally, as well as the Lionhead (Steatocranus casuarius). Which would be more suitable? I'd want to keep a pair of either one type or the other.

I would also like to have a school of small characins, any suggestions? I see few african tetras here other than the congo & red-eye congos, but these are a little on the large side. Would killifish be a better proposition?

As mentioned I won't have any other Synos in the tank, but I would like to have some other catfish. African glass cats are unlikely to be available so would it be too much of a stretch to add the asian species Kryptopterus minor?

Finally would a common Elephant Nose be suitable, or would it be too dominant for this sort of tank? The only other fish I'm considering would be Butterfly fish, but I doubt they will ever interact with the rest of the inhabitants.

any advice would be much appreciated

YouTube · Post by **Jools** » 26 Oct 2005, 12:39

I would avoid the cichlids and elephant noses, but think that congo tetras and kin as well as glass cats would be good tankmates. Always thought Pantodon was also a good one for a flav community but never tried it.

Jools

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 27 Oct 2005, 00:14

Thanks for that Jools, I'll scratch the lionheads off the list. I've always wanted to keep a large school of glass cats so this would seem to be just the opportunity to do so. With the tank to be 30" high there should be enough room for the glass cats & congo tetras to find their own level and keep out of each other's way.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 27 Oct 2005, 01:14

flavi's are very very very shy and extremely nocturnal.

I once had a pair of subadults for quite some time, and they're rare in the trade and quite expensive.

despite that I ditched them.
I have only seen them twice; the first time when I released them, the second time a year or so later when I put them in a bag. they were stunning, but invisible......
what I cought the second time were 2 grown, healthy, undamaged fish with good finnage and well fed.
but they simply didn't come around, ever.

As a teenager I had loads of fish like that, but I don't keep such fish anymore. even my shy Mochokiella's do show up every day at feeding time, and often in the late evening.

For exactly the same reason I don't keep Auchenipterids. I like them, very goodlooking cats, but I'm not into invisible fish anymore.

So, yes you need dithers, the more, the better.
btw combining them with other Syno's is not a problem if you combine them with small, peaceful ones. the true S nigriventris is a good companion; they might actually draw each other out, since you only have 2.

I did not have other Syno's with them......my current experience is that most (save truly nasty) species do better in groups, you get a lot more lively behaviour if you have 5-7 Synodontis, than when you keep 2.

forgoing the cichlids is best, I agree with Jools, esp since these are so rare and expensive.

Few African riverine cichlids are easygoing, most can handle any other fish only too well. the peaceful ones (like Nanochromis) are not easy to keep.

Funny, thought Steatocranus was known as "buffalohead" or "bumphead" in English

good thing you added the true name

the Red Eye Congo is THE fish suitable for you! Arnoldichthys is peaceful, sturdy, very beautiful (my favourite African shoaler) and leaves shoaling cats and any others completely in peace! their ease and lively behaviour, as well as their adaptability makes them perfect tankmates for Pareutropius ("eutropiella"), Syno's etc.

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 27 Oct 2005, 06:11

I do indeed know what you mean about 'invisible' fish, when I was a youngster my family could never quite understand how I could spend so much time staring into 'empty' tanks full of wood. "When are you going to get some of those pretty Neon Tetras again?" mother would often ask

However I just couldn't pass up the chance to grab these two when I saw them. Apparantly the shop had half a dozen or so before I came upon them, which would have put me in quite a pickle given the cost. It's probably a blessing in disguise that I missed them as it will hasten the acquisition of the aforementioned larger tank.

It's good to know that I can keep some other small Synodontis with the flavitaeniatus, and if it entices them out once in a while all the better. I will have quite a lot of wood in the tank so they should all have enough hiding spots and feel quite secure.

The red-eye Congos (A. spilopterus) are also one of my favourites so it will be good to have a small group of them again, I do much prefer them to the 'regular' Congo tetra.

The current plan for the tank is two dozen glass cats, up to a dozen of the red-eye Congos, a pair of butterfly fish and of course the two flavitaeniatus. If I ever see them again I will surely be tempted, but until then I will probably go for a few of the readily available S. nigriventris.

No doubt a few Otocinclus will find their way in to do battle with the algae, as I don't fancy the survival chances of any shrimp with the red-eyes hovering above! What is there from the Congo region that eats algae? I'm not too keen on snails, though perhaps some apple snails would suffice.

Many thanks for your advice, I'll be sure to let you know how they go, should I ever see them again ;)

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 27 Oct 2005, 06:27

Re-reading your post Sidguppy, you mention Nanochromis and it just struck me that I saw some N. transvestitus somewhere recently. By 'peaceful' cichlid do you mean they would not bother the flavitaeniatus? I am by no means desperate to have these fish in the tank, but given that the tank will be intended as something of a display it would be nice to have a fish like this to fill the niche.

sidguppy · Post by **sidguppy** » 27 Oct 2005, 11:47

Few African riverines are peaceful.

the ones suitable for the hometank are mostly biparental substrate dwellers, and many are territorial (Pelvicachromis), some are very much grounddwellers (Steatocranus) and many downright vicious (Hemichromis, Tilapia).

Nanochromis is a tiny cichlid with fabulous coloration and a tiny territory.
however it needs very soft, slightly acidic water wich is pristine or it quickly develops bubble-eye, swollen belly, bacterial infections etc. it's a fragile fish, and once sick it can of course be a source of infection.

not something I'd risk with 100$ cats.

however if you DO have access to soft water (6 GH max!), they are definitely worth keeping.

another peaceful small African is Anomalochromis thomasi.
that one won't bother catfish; you can view it as the "African Ramirezi" somewhat.

But the tank is only 75cm? I kept mine in the big tank.....
If you have a four or five footer, adding cichlids is much easier, even an adult pair of Steatocranus will not bother the cats then.

btw I misread those darn nonmetric scales when giving advice on the characins; thout it was a tank passing the 1 meter mark

Arnoldichtys IS too big for such a tiny tank, I'd go for Barbus bariloidus or Nannaethiops if you can get them.

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 28 Oct 2005, 01:29

point taken with the tank size, despite the volume it won't really give the Red-eyes enough of a run. The glass cats will no doubt be enough of a showcase in the tank, however the pair of old Red-eyes that are in my SA tank will probably be moved across when the time comes. fwiw the tank is being made to fit in a disused fire place alcove, so 750mm is as wide as possible (hence the height).

Re the Nanochromis, our water here is very soft, it comes out of the tap at pH 7.5, kH 2 & gH 5, which drops to 4 after a few days in the ageing drum. Lots of wood in the tnaks keeps the pH under 7, so I might give a pair of them a try in the 2' tank when it is vacant, if they prosper they may well be moved in with the flavitaeniatus.

Thanks for all the feedback, it puts things in perspective and still gives me plenty of ideas to work on. /dreams of a 8' x 30" x 30" with enough room for all above-mentioned fish!

snowball · Post by **snowball** » 09 Jan 2006, 01:10

I just thought I'd give a minor update, the pair of flavis are still in the 2' tank and will be for at least a few months while I try to work out if I can fit a 6x3x2 tank in the room! (dreams of a school of S. Decorus!)

Their only tank mates are a couple of kuhli loaches and snails. To combat their reticence to show themselves, I have put one of their favourite pieces of wood up the front, where I can see one of the flavi's hiding spots if I look at just the right angle

Further to that, I have set the light on the tank to turn on at dawn and off in the late afternoon, so I can feed them in the evening when it is night for them - if I'm lucky and sit still for a while with low ambient lighting they do come out and spend a bit of time looking for worms or pellets.

here's a pic of the tank they are in, needless to say don't bother trying to look for them!

Post by **corybreed** » 09 Jan 2006, 02:02

I have 10 flavitaeniatus in a 90 gallon tank with 5 alberti. I added 5 denisonii barbs which creates some movement in the tank. I now see the alberti regularly and the flavitaeniatus sporadically.

Mark

toddnbecka · Post by **toddnbecka** » 09 Jan 2006, 10:49

I had dreams of a school of S. decorus too. I started with 1, then finally was able to get 3 more, 1 of which died soon after. The 3 were newly imported, very thin, almost starved to death. The 3 that survived grew, and grew, and grew some more, finally outgrowing the 4 foot tank I had them in. They tended to be territorial more than schooling, and did nip each other now and then, but nothing serious. As they matured, the background color darkened to a coppery brown, not nearly as contrasting as the white when they were young. The trailers on their dorsal and tail fins were beautiful though. Over time, the 3 became 2, then 1, as I traded them off to the lfs for other fish. The last one was finally sold recently, after being there for several months. I now have a school of petricola dwarf's, much more likely to spawn in an aquarium. Synodontis have always been my favorite catfish, and I've wanted to spawn and raise some for years.