Multipunctatus or Petricola?

[manoa]

Hi. I have a question for all of you who have experience with both of these fish. If you could have a group of 4 or 5, which type of synodontis would you choose? I guess the basis would be on looks, behavior, compatibility, etc. Please let me know your preference and reasons. Thank you.

[corybreed]

Although both are nice fish, to me petricola is more attractive. I like the white trim on the edges of all the fins on the petricola. I find behavior of both to be very similar. If you keep African cichlids it may be easier to breed the multi's. Both species are great fish. Do you have access to both?

[manoa]

Both of these fish are hardly found in the lfs here. If you find them, they are usually fairly expensive. I have 4 multis now that I got at a pretty good price. I now have access to some petricolas at a pretty good price. Would 4 of the petricolas get along with the 4 multis that I already have. I also have 3 syn. decorus in another tank. here I have 4 multis now. Would they all get along if kept together. I know that the decorus get big, but they are only about 1" now. I could eventually place all of the synos or any combination in a 100-gallon tank. Any comments? Thanks.

[fishnut2]

I have a breeding colony of petricolas in a 20H. I've never mixed them with other synos...so I can't help you there. The petricolas are MUCH easier to breed then the multis. I tried multis for 2 years without any sucess.
Rich

[Rusty]

If you can find "real" petricola, they are probably the nicest catfish in the lake. The dwarves are still charming, especially in a group. All three spp. (petricola, multipunctatus and decorus) are fairly peaceful and will co-exist without a problem. Just keep in mind the decorus will reach 8 inches fairly quickly.

Rusty

[manoa]

Hi. What is the difference between "real" petricola and the dwarf variety? Do you have any pictures of both of them for comparison? Thanks.