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I have a 30 gallon tank 30-3/16"L x 12-1/2"W x 18-3/4"H. I want to put 3 petricolas in there. I have been having trouble finding decisive care guidelines.

1. Will they fit?
2. How often/much should they be fed? What kind of food?
3. Would other community fish fit with them in my 30 gal? If so, which ones and how many of them? Not cichlids please!
4. Is 78 degrees and 7.8 pH good parameters (that is what my tank stays at currently)?
5. How long do they live?

Sorry for all the questions, i just want to make sure they live well!

I want to put 3 petricolas in there. I have been having trouble finding decisive care guidelines.

Real are rare, and the species sold under this name is usually . Try a forum search under this name.

Will they fit?

Yes, I think so.

How often/much should they be fed? What kind of food?

Twice a day with either frozen invertebrates or flake/sinking wafers. Variety is good!

Would other community fish fit with them in my 30 gal? If so, which ones and how many of them? Not cichlids please!

Rift lake cichlids are their natural "partners", so I would recommend these; shell dwellers like Neolamprologus multifasciatus are really cool. However, if you can't bear cichlids, then any peaceful species which likes the hard alkaline water would work. Livebearers or small rainbowfish perhaps?

Is 78 degrees and 7.8 pH good parameters (that is what my tank stays at currently)?

Yes, but it's worth including some extra alkalinity in the form of a bag of coral chips or similar.

How long do they live?

You should get 10 years out of them, if kept well.

Awesome, that's exactly the answer I was looking for, thanks!

"Real Synodontis petricola are rare, and the species sold under this name is usually Synodontis lucipinnis"
The place I get my fish from actually has the petricola, it's an amazing place.

The place I get my fish from actually has the petricola

Real S. petricola get a fair bit larger than S. lucipinnis. You would probabaly need a bigger tank if you wanted to keep these long term.

3 is too few; they will be very shy

buy 5-7 and you'll enjoy your catfish every day even with the lights on

this species is a shoaling fish.