I have been doing some research on how to breed the Synodontis Multipunctatus catfish.
I purchased one which was just under 2" at the beginning of December 2013 and put it in my 125gal tank. That cat is now close to 4" and really healthy. So I would like to try breeding them. I am currently breeding Ethel's and Lethrinops successfully and have a breeding group of red fin Borleyis who have yet to produce for me (I have only had them for 6 weeks and lost a female for some unknown reason).
I have searched the internet and here is what I found so far:
1. These catfish are parasitic breeders, meaning they use breeding cichlids as hosts for their eggs.
2. It is very difficult to sex the catfish. I would be purchasing them at about 1.75in and I believe it would be near impossible to sex them at this size.
3. Some sources online state that the cuckoo catfish takes 3 years to reach sexual maturity.
4. The incubation time is approximately 48 hours from fertilization till the catfish hatches.
5. Once hatched, the fry will eat cichlid eggs or other smaller cuckoo eggs / fry if left in the cichlid buccal cavity, resulting in very small batches.
6. When this catfish spawns, the male / female pair will get involved with a cichlid pair who are actively spawning and other non spawning cuckoos will distract the cichlids to create confusion so the breeding cuckoos can place their eggs on the ground, fertilize them, and have the female cichlid pick them up. So it takes a group of cuckoos to make this work properly.
I have a 55 gal tank I want to use. It is a bottom tank (I stack two 55's with the Titan EZ stands) and the tank is not lit and has plenty of rocks and hiding places. This is also where I house my Borleyi group (who have not breed for me yet). The tank is fairly dark during the day and mostly undisturbed by human traffic (it's in my basement).
Here are my questions:
1. How long does it take for the synodontis Multipunctatus to become sexually mature? My local fish guy (who has been totally reliable and works for one of the most largest and well known online distributors of cichlids) told me they become sexually active at about the 2" size, but broods will be small and inconsistent (they breed these themselves in-house). This is very different information from the 3 year timeframe I find described online.
2. Is there any chance of sexing these catfish at the 1.75" to 2" size? It's easy for me to find them at this size, but I have only seen two for sale at the 3"+ sizes. If you cannot sex them this small, then should I just buy a whole bunch (like 6 or 7) and hope for some males and some females? (I can get them for about $15 if I buy a bunch of them).
3. Will the synodontis Multipunctatus ONLY breed by having a female cichlid hold the eggs? Are these catfish even capable of holding their own eggs, or will they ever just use substrate like other catfish?
4. Do breeders ever use egg tumblers for these? If so, how quickly do you strip the eggs from the cichlid, and then how long do you leave them in the tumbler until you release them into a fry tank?
5. How long does it take to get them from the egg to the 2" size, which would be the minimum size I would sell them at?
Thanks in advance for any support in helping me get into breeding these really cool catfish.
I purchased one which was just under 2" at the beginning of December 2013 and put it in my 125gal tank. That cat is now close to 4" and really healthy. So I would like to try breeding them. I am currently breeding Ethel's and Lethrinops successfully and have a breeding group of red fin Borleyis who have yet to produce for me (I have only had them for 6 weeks and lost a female for some unknown reason).
I have searched the internet and here is what I found so far:
1. These catfish are parasitic breeders, meaning they use breeding cichlids as hosts for their eggs.
2. It is very difficult to sex the catfish. I would be purchasing them at about 1.75in and I believe it would be near impossible to sex them at this size.
3. Some sources online state that the cuckoo catfish takes 3 years to reach sexual maturity.
4. The incubation time is approximately 48 hours from fertilization till the catfish hatches.
5. Once hatched, the fry will eat cichlid eggs or other smaller cuckoo eggs / fry if left in the cichlid buccal cavity, resulting in very small batches.
6. When this catfish spawns, the male / female pair will get involved with a cichlid pair who are actively spawning and other non spawning cuckoos will distract the cichlids to create confusion so the breeding cuckoos can place their eggs on the ground, fertilize them, and have the female cichlid pick them up. So it takes a group of cuckoos to make this work properly.
I have a 55 gal tank I want to use. It is a bottom tank (I stack two 55's with the Titan EZ stands) and the tank is not lit and has plenty of rocks and hiding places. This is also where I house my Borleyi group (who have not breed for me yet). The tank is fairly dark during the day and mostly undisturbed by human traffic (it's in my basement).
Here are my questions:
1. How long does it take for the synodontis Multipunctatus to become sexually mature? My local fish guy (who has been totally reliable and works for one of the most largest and well known online distributors of cichlids) told me they become sexually active at about the 2" size, but broods will be small and inconsistent (they breed these themselves in-house). This is very different information from the 3 year timeframe I find described online.
2. Is there any chance of sexing these catfish at the 1.75" to 2" size? It's easy for me to find them at this size, but I have only seen two for sale at the 3"+ sizes. If you cannot sex them this small, then should I just buy a whole bunch (like 6 or 7) and hope for some males and some females? (I can get them for about $15 if I buy a bunch of them).
3. Will the synodontis Multipunctatus ONLY breed by having a female cichlid hold the eggs? Are these catfish even capable of holding their own eggs, or will they ever just use substrate like other catfish?
4. Do breeders ever use egg tumblers for these? If so, how quickly do you strip the eggs from the cichlid, and then how long do you leave them in the tumbler until you release them into a fry tank?
5. How long does it take to get them from the egg to the 2" size, which would be the minimum size I would sell them at?
Thanks in advance for any support in helping me get into breeding these really cool catfish.