Tropheus: Keeping them with Synodontis

Q&A about Tropheus and Petrochromis

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Pam Chin
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Tropheus: Keeping them with Synodontis

Post by Pam Chin »

Dear Pam,

I want to change from Discus to Tropheus moorii, so I visited a breeder and decided to buy (35) Tropheus moorii "Red Rainbow." I will get them in two weeks. Today I was in a pet shop and I bought (3) Synodontis eupterus. At home I found out in a book that this is not a fish from Lake Tanganyika! Will there be any problems?

Thanks, Dr. Achim Bodinka Wuezburg
Pam Chin
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Posts: 1798
Joined: Sat Nov 29, 2003 9:11 am
Location: California, USA
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Post by Pam Chin »

Dear Dr. Bodinka,

I am not exactly sure were Synodontis eupterus comes from, but I know it is definitely from Africa and if not from the Lake, than it comes from the rivers. I am assuming that you are going to try to breed your Tropheus, and this is where Synodontis become a problem. They like to sneak in during the spawning sequence and eat the eggs. There are several Synodontis, S. multipunctatus for example, that actually lay their eggs at the same time, and the mouth brooding Cichlids pick them up and hatch out the baby Synodontis. The larvae of the Synodontis is very aggressive in the buccal cavity and feeds off any of the Cichlid fry that may have survived being eaten on the first go around. So, if it is your goal to breed these Tropheus, then you definitely do not want to house any catfish with them. I have only been successful breeding Tropheus when they are housed by themselves, and never add any tank mates. Tropheus can be difficult to breed, and they will present enough problems on there own! I am jealous, I love all Tropheus, and it is always exciting to get a new batch, and raise them up!!
Cichlid Power!
Pam

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