Synodontis Petricola

[LunarisSurge]

hello, I have a 200 litre (52 US gallon) tank and now that it is cycled I want to add the fish. I have a ph of 7.6 and fairly hard water. I really like the look of catfish and want to get a Synodontis Petricola. Any information on this fish and suggestions on tank mates would be great. Thanks guys

 

[Colin_T]

How long and wide is the tank?

S. petricola comes from Lake Tanganyika in Africa and lives in hard alkaline water, pH above 8.0 and GH above 350ppm.
It eats most food and lives with cichlids. So small lake dwelling cichlids would be good. I like Cyprichromis and Paracyprichromis species, Aulonocara sp (peacock cichlids).
Cyathopharynx furcifer or ventralis, and Cyrtocara moorii are relatively peaceful but get to 8 inches so might be a bit big.

Rainbowfish would also be fine with it and are happy in hard alkaline water.

 

[LunarisSurge]

The tank is 3 foot long and 2 foot in width. So I guess I can’t keep this fish with a ph of 7.6?

 

[Byron]

The tank is 3 foot long and 2 foot in width. So I guess I can’t keep this fish with a ph of 7.6?

Of equal or even more importance is the GH. You mention "fairly hard" so if it is 10 dGH or higher, no problem. The pH can be 7.5 or higher.

It should have a group of four or five; single specimens are usually secretive. Dim light, sand and rounded rocks.

 

[LunarisSurge]

I believe the gh is 14, is this okay? And I have the rocks for it but does it need any plants?

 

[Byron]

I believe the gh is 14, is this okay? And I have the rocks for it but does it need any plants?

GH is fine. This species is endemic to Lake Tanganyika. GH in this lake is generally stated to be 10 to 12 dGH. With hard water fish, increasing the GH is much less a concern than the opposite, and from my research many rift lake aquarists have harder water than this. The pH tends to be given as 7.8 to 9.0 depending upon the source (it does apparently vary throughout the lake, and with weather/climate shifts).

It doesn't need plants, but it does live among boulders so an assortment of river rock over sand is usual. You can get river rock from landscape supply places; I got a pail of variable sized river rock for 75 cents, and it made a lovely riverscape for my loaches, with play sand. Just aim for rocks of primarily the same type as it will always look more natural.

There are plants in Lake Malawi, Vallisneria species. Not sure if these are also present in Lake Tanganyika, but a bit of green can be attractive among rocks and sand. This fish is omnivorous and many suggest vegetables along with meat foods. I don't know if it would eat plants or not. Vallisneria is usually inexpensive, and you could try it. The small corkscrew variety is quite attractive, and will send out runners that are easy enough to keep trimmed as you like.

 

[Colin_T]

Find out if the fish you are getting are local bred stock or wild caught. If local bred see if they were in a Rift Lake tank with really hard alkaline water. If the breeders had them in tap water then you won't need to buffer the tank. But if the fish are not locally bred, or were bred in a Rift Lake tank, then you will need hard alkaline water for them.

Use limestone rocks to decorate the tank, it will push the pH up for them, and maybe add some Rift Lake Water conditioner (in powder form) to the tank, it will increase the general hardness and pH.

You can have plants in with them and they don't eat them.

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Due to the tank dimensions, Cyathopharynx furcifer or ventralis, and Cyrtocara moorii are not an option as they get too big. However, the Paracyprichromis and Cyprichromis species will be fine and a couple of Aulonocaras would be fine too.

 

[Chief Brody]

I've kept them with small and medium-sized west african ciclids with no problems at all. Also various loaches and synos. They're considered dwarves so keep that in mind when growing them out. I definitely wouldn't trust peacocks with them. I kept them below 8ph with a few anubias. They really liked the upside down clay flower pot for daytime congregation. Definitely sand substrate with a few river stones. I also happened to have a good flow in that tank and it seemed agreeable or at least not stressful to them at all. They go for $30 each here retail so get as many as you can afford, but the more the merrier. Absolutely gorgeous fish

Sent from my SM-G730V using Tapatalk

 

[LunarisSurge]

Wow really, they sell them for only £6 each at my local fish shop, thanks for all the information guys.