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Hi. I have the opportunity to purchase some juvenile synodontis decorus. They are about an inch long or a little smaller and the price is about $7 each. Is this a good price? How fragile are they at this size? How many would be the minimum to have a good active group? I realize that they get big and my biggest tank is 6'x1.5'x1.5'. Also, what is the expected growth rate? Thank you for any responses.

Is this a good price?

That would be a pretty OK price for farm-bred individuals.

How fragile are they at this size?

I have kept farm-bred S. decorus before at only a little larger than that size and they seem to do quite well.

$7 is a great price for S. decorus. They should be very easy to care for at that size. S. decorus gets quite large at least 10 inches in length. I have never kept a group together however they are not one of the more aggressive Synodontis species.

Mark

I bought mine at the price of 18.75 canadian funds so I think that to be a good price
as yet mine have not grown a great deal but they are a really interesting fish and have
been a good addition to the tank

I have seen juvie decorus here for under 4 pound so i think you paid about the right monies



Mark

Hi. Thanks for the input. I went to the lfs this afternoon and picked up 3 of them. They are about an inch long or a little smaller. They are currently in a 10-gallon quarantine tank with several tetras and lampeye killifish. I put some frozen bloodworms in the tank that I hope they will eat and fatten up.
Are these fish fragile? The lfs has a 24-hour dead fish guarantee. If they make it the first 24-hours, I hope they will not get sick later.
I read that they are supposed to be shy. Is 3 a good number, or should I get more?
Thanks for any input. It'a always exciting to get new fish. Especially ones that are not very common here.

Hi!

More than 3 would be better as a group but considering your tank size i wouldnt get any more.
Ive seen a full grown returned one at the shop that was at least 40 cm maybe even bigger. And they get very massive.

Hi. How many would be a better group? They would eventually go in a 6'x1.5'x1.5' tank. The COTM description says that they get 270mm long. Is that correct? If you saw one that was 40cm, that is considerable larger. By the way, what is the growth rate like? Thanks.