Synodontis nigriventris

[FerocactusLatispinus]

-Temperature: 75 F
-pH: 7.0
-Soft water
-Insignificant levels of aquarium salt (stopped adding it in October 2012)
-Highly aerated
-Recent all-purpose treatment of Rid Ich Plus at half dosage for three days prior to introduction (1 tetra had a little septicemia and still does but is stable and otherwise healthy and happy)

I have one S. nigriventris that is always sitting underneath the heater, above the air stone tube, clamped up. It has a spacious, overturned piece of Malaysian driftwood (never was inverted before ) and a long slab of slate at a 60 degree incline to use but never does. From what I can tell, it respires normally and is still eating. It's always motionless and clamped up, just collecting bubbles from the air stone tube beneath it. I have a 36" 25 watt fluorescent T8 bulb, but the tank is heavily planted with subsequently good overhangs at the surface.

Are these signs of stress the result of too much light, insufficient salt concentrations (looked everywhere, but no specifics on this species), just plain lonliness, or any combination of these? I plan on getting 3 more but I want to be sure it's not the aquarium's environment that's the cause of the stress.

Thanks.

[Birger]

Just to clarify is there only one nigriventris?

What are all the other tankmates?

Birger

[FerocactusLatispinus]

Yup, I've just got one little S. nigriventris. For other tankmates, I have four angelfish, six black-skirted tetras, one serpae tetra, two lemon tetras, nine neon tetras,four lamp eye tetras, one Ancistrus cf. cirrhosus, one Hemiloricaria parva, one C. sodalis, one C. paleatus, two C. aeneus, three Bunocephalus coracoideus, and one little Pangio oblonga.

[naturalart]

Your perameters sound normal enough, but you didn't mention the size of your tank. Also depending on size: having the airstone directly under the heater draws heat upward and can have a cooling effect in the lower stratums of the tank. A few other factors I would look at: 1) its tankmates. Angelfish and serpea tetras (Hyphessobrycon callistus). Angelfish can bully other smaller fish and H. callistus can be notorious fin nippers. I would closely watch the interactions of these fish with your cat (and other tank mates for that matter). 2) You did mention you were planning on purchasing 3 more of the S. negriventris, this is a good thing as S. negriventris is probably one of the most gregarious of syno's. And you will most probably see a marked difference in your cat as soon as the others are introduced. 3) Finally my experience of S. negriventris is that they are very light sensitive and this cat probably does alot of its foraging after lights out. If you can create a dim/heavily shaded section in your tank using driftwood and plants sitting high and low off the substrate you will most likely be able to see the activity and antics these syno's usually perform (all-be-it upside down of course) through out the day and evening. Good luck.

[FerocactusLatispinus]

Thanks! It's it's a 47 gallon bowfront. I have noticed the serpae nipping the catfishes' fins in the past, but recently, all of the cats' fins have been untouched. The angelfish don't seem to nip much, but the black long-skirted tetras do.

[FerocactusLatispinus]

I just sent over all of the tetras (excluding the neons) to my dad. He teaches Middle and High School sciences, and he has three large, hard water aquariums. He also has a few catfish in them. He has an iridescent shark, two unknown plecostomids with cream-colored ventral sides (with several orderly, distinct, round light-gray spots) and large, transverse dorsal light patches, and two Pterygoplichthys disjunctivus.

On Wednesday, I should be getting two more Upside-Downers and, if it's still there, a C. agassizii!