My upsidedown catfish has a red undertone to the upper half of his body (head to midsection) and I don't see that listed as coloring for them. Is this a bad sign or just a freak of nature? And I read that you should feed them insect larvae for good nutrition. What type of insect would that be? And are the cichlid flakes + algae tablets ample enough?
Upsidedown catfish
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i had one that swam upside down in the shop and then didnt in my tank, 
not sure about first question but there are quite alot of the synodontis species so he might not be a common upside down? im sure someone with more knowlede will fill u in :lol:
the food sounds ok to me just try more variants like bloodworm, chopped prawns etc you will find what he likes be creative.
sorry if this doesnt help but i tried lol
found some pics on here you might find him have a look
http://www.thegoldfishbowl.co.uk/atlas.cgi?a=Tropical&f=Mochokidae
not sure about first question but there are quite alot of the synodontis species so he might not be a common upside down? im sure someone with more knowlede will fill u in :lol:
the food sounds ok to me just try more variants like bloodworm, chopped prawns etc you will find what he likes be creative.
sorry if this doesnt help but i tried lol
found some pics on here you might find him have a look
http://www.thegoldfishbowl.co.uk/atlas.cgi?a=Tropical&f=Mochokidae
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I had 2 of them before and I can't really remember if I noticed any red or not. I just know they hid allot, so I can never see them. I fed mine tetra bits, frozen blood worms (their favorite), frozen mysis shrimp, froze brine shrimp, and whatever foods sank.
Mine would often miss out on the foods, so I used a turkey baster to squirt the food in their area. This would be the only time they would come out.
Mine would often miss out on the foods, so I used a turkey baster to squirt the food in their area. This would be the only time they would come out.
He's actually a really active swimmer for what I have heard about upsidedown catfish. He does hide alot, there's a perfect spot under the temple decor that he clings to for long stretches of times but then he will do a few laps around the tank, and be visible for some time then disappear again.
I put flakes and algae tablets in this tank. I will try out the tubifex worms and see what they do with it. With so many ground feeders, I am trying to keep a balance of enough stuff in the gravel but not letting the tank get overly dirty. Since the substrate is so fine, the shrimp dig their legs into it and stir up whatever they can find to filter. They weren't able to do that in the gravel tank. The kuhli hide the most. I bought another but they just curl up together. Ah well.
I put flakes and algae tablets in this tank. I will try out the tubifex worms and see what they do with it. With so many ground feeders, I am trying to keep a balance of enough stuff in the gravel but not letting the tank get overly dirty. Since the substrate is so fine, the shrimp dig their legs into it and stir up whatever they can find to filter. They weren't able to do that in the gravel tank. The kuhli hide the most. I bought another but they just curl up together. Ah well.
Synodontis species can have a small hint of coloration as juveniles. I have many of these cats in my african tanks as well as various community tanks. They, for the most part are a very robust fish. Mine take no crap what so ever from even my most aggressive African cichlids. I have 4-5 mature synodontis of different species, some measuring up to 12 inches long. Mine are fed shrimp pellets, algea disks/pellets, freeze dried gammurus, krill, I've even given them live ghost shrimp. They are scavenger/opportunistic feeders. In the wild they have been observed eating cichlid eggs and crustaceans. Remember, too, they can be very territorial towards their own kind and thus very agressive.
Well that explains what happened to my ghost shrimp. One day they're happily rambling along the tank, eating bloodworms, and the next morning, one died and that evening, the other disappeared. Someone must have had munchies.
I don't think I would dare to put him in the cichlids. That's like the Tank of Doom. Anything I put in there that supposely they won't eat, they wind up eating. Tossing anything into that tank is like throwing a rat into a piranah tank. They go into a crazy feeding frenzy and whatever it is is gone within seconds. That's what I get for pulling fish from a lake! lol
The catfish, anyway, eats everything I put in the tank - algae tablets, bloodworms, anything that falls on the bottom - or more appropriately, that falls near his little temple decor - is his. Sloop - gone. Very active.
I saw some pictures of other upside down catfish with his same coloring, it's more like the red is the white areas showing through, like albino almost.
He won't bother the snail or bamboo shrimp I suppose? So far they all huddle up together.
I don't think I would dare to put him in the cichlids. That's like the Tank of Doom. Anything I put in there that supposely they won't eat, they wind up eating. Tossing anything into that tank is like throwing a rat into a piranah tank. They go into a crazy feeding frenzy and whatever it is is gone within seconds. That's what I get for pulling fish from a lake! lol
The catfish, anyway, eats everything I put in the tank - algae tablets, bloodworms, anything that falls on the bottom - or more appropriately, that falls near his little temple decor - is his. Sloop - gone. Very active.
I saw some pictures of other upside down catfish with his same coloring, it's more like the red is the white areas showing through, like albino almost.
He won't bother the snail or bamboo shrimp I suppose? So far they all huddle up together.
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