Synodontis petricola: Easy to Spawn, Difficult to Raise - How it started (I)

Once upon a time, already as an experienced breeder of Tropheus cichlids from the East African Lake Tanganyika, I started to think about how I could enrich my aquarium with these fish even more. While browsing the Internet, I came across the endemic catfish from Tanganyika, Synodontis petricola, which completely fascinated me. Then, without any ambition for any possible breeding, I became more interested in how to get them.

When I think about how this story began, I have to go back to the beginning of December 2010. At that time, I was supposed to pick up a business partner from Great Britain at the airport in Krakow, Poland, and bring him to the Czech Republic, my home country. While checking the Internet to see how long it would take me to travel from Český Těšín to Krakow, I realized why not use this trip for aquaristic purposes as well, to try to get something interesting for my "Tanganyikan" aquarium. Of course, my first priority was to get a group of catfish of the desired species. In particular, the species petricola.

Community aquarium

To my surprise, I found a company in Krakow that was just offering wild-caught petricola. I was very pleased and decided to immediately call the company to reserve two pairs of these fish. A nice lady picked up the phone right away and introduced herself as Marta. After a routine introduction of who I was and why I was calling, it became clear to me immediately that the person on the other end and I were on the same wavelength.

Purchase

So I set off for Krakow three hours earlier to get everything done on time and calmly, including getting to the airport. When I arrived at the company, Marta welcomed me nicely. She was very helpful. We talked about petricola and other issues related to Tanganyika for almost three hours. Marta caught the petricola for me and at the same time explained how to distinguish petricola from lucipinnis and other interesting facts. My whole expedition finally ended with great success. I brought home two pairs of Synodontis petricola, and to the hotel in Třinec, one Englishman.

Synodontis petricola is well known and popular among Tanganyikan fish breeders. It is one of the smallest Synodontis species from Lake Tanganyika and undoubtedly one of the most beautiful. There are several forms with smaller or larger spots that inhabit different parts of the lake, with corresponding trade names such as S. petricola "Dwarf" or S. petricola "Large" or "Giant". However, there is also a form very similar to petricola. This is the already mentioned species S. lucipinnis, very similar to petricola, but growing to smaller sizes and having larger spots. These two species are quite difficult to distinguish, especially when it comes to young individuals.

S. petricola female

In adult petricola, both sexes are colored the same. Females grow to a slightly larger size than males and are more rounded in the abdominal area. As for behavior in the aquarium, it is one of the most charming inhabitants of a community aquarium. It feels best when there are more individuals in the tank in a shoal. However, it can coexist with much larger, more aggressive catfish and cichlids, while not threatening even the smallest dwarf cichlids. It does not even pay attention to the fry of other species.

Some experts say that S. petricola, like its close relative Synodontis multipunctata, tends to be much more active during the day than most catfish species. I cannot confirm this, as I have no experience with other Synodontis species. On the contrary, my petricola are active at night, and most of the day they are hidden in shelters. Like other Synodontis species, they get along well with almost all cichlids, and in a community aquarium, they act as impeccable cleaners of leftovers after other fish. S. petricola are quite easy to feed. Young individuals are initially more oriented towards taking meaty food, but as they age, they become more and more omnivorous. Then they will eat anything that is thrown into the tank, and especially the leftovers that settle on the bottom.

Spawning

Spawning proceeds roughly as follows. Once the males notice that the females are full of eggs and begin to show interest, they begin to pursue them diligently. This interest gradually turns into small chases around the tank. The courtship ritual finally ends in a selected cave or other quiet hiding place, where both partners swim in. The female begins to release eggs, and the male fertilizes them.

This experience of mine with the spawning of S. petricola was generally nothing exceptional. Several reports of success in spawning and raising these wonderful catfish have been published some time ago. Graham Burnside, Harold and Derek Walker, Jerry Riegel, Kevin Reimer - these are the authors whose articles I found while searching the internet for information on spawning.

However, there is one aspect that I would consider extraordinary. I did not bring these fish home for the purpose of breeding. My reason was just that I liked these fish very much when I was looking for catfish as an addition to my Tanganyikan cichlids. Before I started dealing with the genus Tropheus, many other cichlids passed through this four hundred and fifty-liter tank over several years.

Aquarium Preparation

When I decided on petricola, a group of thirty adult Tropheus sp. "Moliro" (F1-F3) and a smaller group of Tropheus duboisi "Kigoma" lived in the aquarium. The tank was specially equipped with stones from the sea, because our tap water is quite soft. This was to help maintain the conductivity between 400 - 600 µS/cm and ensure a pH value above 7 in chemically treated water. On the bottom was a layer of finer quartz sand so that my Tropheus could dig in it, according to their nature. It is known that fine sand (grain size about 0.4 mm) is indispensable for the genus Tropheus, because it partially gets into the intestines of the fish and thus aids digestion.

As already mentioned, the main reason for purchasing petricola was to enjoy them. Therefore, I had to rebuild the inside of the aquarium a bit to provide them with more hiding options. The result was obvious. I provided the fish with a suitable environment, so from the first moment they felt at home there and enjoyed hiding in the tuff rocks or in the thicket of Anubias nana, which the rocks were perfectly overgrown with. Eventually, I didn't see them much during the day. They showed up immediately as soon as I turned off the main lighting of the tank.
While searching the internet, I came across an article by Phill Maznyk, "Avoid Being A Nervous Fishkeeper." In it, he recommends how to behave in order to be able to observe and appreciate the natural behavior of these normally nocturnal fish without stressing them. I quote:

Many species of fish, especially catfish, have sensitive receptors that help them locate food in the dark. This nocturnal behavior is a consequence of their natural development. Some fish are timid and remain in sight only if they feel safe. Sufficient hiding places are therefore essential and increase the likelihood of seeing the fish more often.

Night Observation

If one wants to observe them, one should not remove the hiding places in the tank - the point is to observe the fish without them noticing. Following Phill's advice, I took a flashlight and placed a piece of red glass on the lens. After dark, I turned on the flashlight and shone it into the tank. It seemed to make the fish quite nervous, so it could be assumed that they perceived the red light. Should I have tried a lower intensity? I turned off the lighting above the tank and left only a small lamp on in the room. After about an hour, I was pleasantly surprised by the activity of the petricola, while the cichlids were completely calm.

(End of part one - link to the second part)