adjusting time

[lyttlewing]

I recently bought a wild caught Synodontis and am wondering if a wildcaught fish has a longer and more difficult adjusting time to a tank? Do they like more of their own kind or are they ok solo.
Am just wondering because this guy has been in the tank for about a month now and still stays very dark almost black - he is suppose to be somewhat leopard colored - much lighter then he is not. He eats (infact is pretty chubby) and swims around the tank on occasion, but mostly hides in the rocks.
thanks for any info :)

oops forgot to mention he's living with da nice tang cichs. :) they never look at him.

[SGypsyMermaid]

is he a petricola or a multipunctatus? if so, he'll be happier and more out in the open if you have a group of say 5-8. get some less expensive tank-bred buddies for him.

[lyttlewing]

good question.....I don't know which it is....:confused: I got it from aquabid a while back and not much info was given - only the loc where he was caught.
wow 5- 8? that's a lot...he will have to wait until we build the big tank in spring.
How can one tell the difference between the two kinds?

[SGypsyMermaid]

go to www.planetcatfish.com and look at the pics--compare to your fish.

[lyttlewing]

Thanks, that is a great site!! Well I was able to narrow it down from there. He's in the family of Mochokidae. I't not a multipunctatus or petricola. Thanks to the site I found that it is Synd. polli - and the one picture they have there where it shows the fish all dark - that's what mine looks like at the moment. Now I found, reading a some sites after searching a bit more, that many of these species look very much alike and that many have "sister" species - just by the locale they were found. But the polli is the closest of all I found that looks like mine. The guy advertised it as a rare and new to him species, but I rarely believe such statements - for all I know it could be tank raised. I bought it because I liked the way it look :) I was thinking of getting another but not right away. Thanks for your help SGM - now to read up some more on these guys...

[lyttlewing]

so if I add more cats, do they have to be the same species? Or could I add anyone that are from the lake?

[aharris]

It depends. Some synnos will ignore other species of catfish and be mean as heck to their own kind. Others will claim the entire tank against any and all other kinds of catfish. And some will need the company of their own kind to feel entirely comfortable.

I'm not sure if adding others of different species will really satisfy the social requirements of one that likes company unless the two species are very similar in looka and behavior.