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  • Results 1 to 9 of 9

    Thread: Does anyone have an upside down catfish in their tank?

    1. #1
      gonecadd's Avatar
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      Does anyone have an upside down catfish in their tank?

      I've got an upside down catfish in my tank but nothing else
      in with him. I tried a few years ago putting a couple of other
      fish in but they would just die. I'm not sure if the cat was
      killing them or they just didn't adjust to the tank.
      The tank is pretty boring to look at since the cat doesn't
      come out until we turn his lights out.
      I'd like to put at least two fish in with him but don't
      know what to get.
      ,Karen
      Charter member #57
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    2. #2
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
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      I doubt it was the catfish killing his tank mates. How big is the aquarium? Do you heat it? What kind of filter? Any decorations? Do you use airstones?

    3. #3
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      I had two in my 55 gallon tank and they didn't really do anything until one was eaten, the other one just floated by the heater. I'm not sure how big your tank is but I love schooling fish. I've had good experiences with Cory cats, Clown loaches and Rainbowfish. Gourami are pretty fish but they can be really aggressive.

    4. #4
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      This is just a 20 gallon tank.
      I got to reading about the fish I have now and
      it appears that given a large enough tank they
      can grow to 1 foot long. :O I didn't realize that.
      We got this one for my daughter many years ago.
      I can even recall just how old this fish is but I swear
      I think he's about 10 years old.

      Poor guy was in a 10 gallon tank for a while and DD
      got tired of him so I got a 20 gallon. Now I think he
      could use my 55 gallon......IF I had anywhere to set
      it up.

      I do not have a heater in the tank but I've never seen
      the temp go below whatever the green normal range
      is on the thermometer.

      I've always wanted some angle fish but something with
      lots of color would be nice. Nothing large.
      Do you think he'd attack some guppies?
      ,Karen
      Charter member #57
      My motto: Trust No One

    5. #5
      Sweetwater is offline Supporting Member
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      Angels need at least a consistent 74 degrees. 76 or 78 is better. They are also sensitive to NitrAte so water changes are necessary. I think that catfish is a bottom feeder and probably won't bother guppies unless it gets pretty big. Gouramies are pretty, but I didn't see aggressive behavior when I kept them. I think my favorite schooling fish is the neon tetra. You could keep a dozen in a 20 gallon tank along with several other fish.

      What kind of filter are you using?

    6. #6
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      [QUOTE=gonecadd;2540462]This is just a 20 gallon tank.
      I got to reading about the fish I have now and
      it appears that given a large enough tank they
      can grow to 1 foot long. :O I didn't realize that.
      We got this one for my daughter many years ago.
      I can even recall just how old this fish is but I swear
      I think he's about 10 years old. QUOTE]

      True upside down cats or Synodontis nigriventris only get about 8" in the wild and very rarely seen that large in aquaria. They are usually quite peaceful. There are many species of Synodontis catfish though. I have several including Multipunctatus, Petricola, Brichardi, Schoutedeni, Eupterus, and My favorite and oldest Synodontis, the Angelicus. which is now 23 years old and it's mate is 19 years old. All are kept with other species of fish, mostly African cichlids. never had much of a problem with them bothering anything but very small fry and even then, that's not common in my particular tanks.

    7. #7
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      I think mine is the black Synodontis Eupterus.
      He's really cool and will swim upside down to get food
      off of the top of the water at times.
      ,Karen
      Charter member #57
      My motto: Trust No One

    8. #8
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      Eupterus get pretty large, I have seen some over 12" long, there outstanding feature is the extremely high dorsal fin. For the most part they only swim upside down when very small. Best kept alone or in very large tanks once they mature. Two in an aquarium that isn't big enough or doesn't offer adaquet hiding holes will result in fights that can get pretty serious and can cause serious injuries.

    9. #9
      gonecadd's Avatar
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      That's what I've been reading on the internet, they can get large
      And can be aggressive. When we got him we didn't know they could
      get up to a foot long. I think it's time for a bigger tank.
      ,Karen
      Charter member #57
      My motto: Trust No One

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