[cichbillyia]

*** got an offer for 4 cuckoo cat fish (free) to add to my tank. i told the guy i didnt want them right now cuz i didnt do any research yet *** looked around some and only a little info so far. dont know alot about them except that they are the ones that lay eggs with mouthbrooders so that the cichlid keeps them as their own.

*** read that they get 5-6" but the guy im getting them from said he thinks they get bigger?

he bought them as petricola? im not sure thats the right name but thats what i think he told me.

anybody have an opinion on them? should i take em cuz they are free? what special attention do they need? food? that kind of stuff?

 

[Rhinox]

multipunctatus are the cukoo catfish. They're the one that hijack the mouthbrooder spawns aka cukoo spawning.

Petricola are probably actually Lucipinnis, formerly known as dwarf petricola. They look similar to multipunctatus. They are not cukoo catfish, they are egg scatterers. Multipunctatus can get to 8" and lucipinnis I thought got to 4" maybe 5". They both take a long time to reach those sizes if they're small, I'm talking years. I think they can both live over 20 years in the aquarium if they're taken good care of.

If you've seen them and you like them, free is a good offer to add them to your tank. If they are lucipinnis (sounds like they are), you won't get fry because you actually have to be trying with the proper setup, so you wouldn't have to worry if they are hybrids. If they are multipuncs, you may get catfish fry once they are old enough, and if your end goal is to produce and sell multipunc fry, best to make sure they're not hybrids first. Multipunc hybrids are becoming more and more common lately I've heard. If you just want some catfish for your tank and don't care about fry, by all means go for it.

 

[Adrian101]

it depends on your tank. I love this cat and find them the best looking except for the giant red tail. But as a group they will shoal and wont really get bigger than six inch but on their own they can get about eight and they always seem to latch on to a fish for support i guess. My current lives with an indo dat! Love this fish maybe more than any other i have owned but make sure you provide a lot of hiding spaces and you may never see it eat. They are naturally nocturnal in my understanding but are more active in a group. Dont be surprised if your fish get beat up at night thou, these are aggressive if somethin comes in their hidey whole without permission. If your gettin four for free and have at least a 75 with large footprint then you have an amazing deal. I know i ramble but oh well hope *** helped somewhat.

 

[cichbillyia]

*** got a 110gallon 6ft tank. From the guy im working on the. Catfish with. I have 30+ cichlids in my tank now. All are 2.5-3.5" im worried now that adrian said they can be territorial at night. I havent seen the cukoos so im not sure of thier size.

 

[Rhinox]

I'm not sure adrian is talking about the same fish or maybe I'm not ??? cukoos are synodontis they don't have a red tail, they are silver with dark spots. They are not territorial or aggressive, although my lucipinnis fought and caused injury dwindled down to just 1 now, but as far as I can tell that is not typical for them. Maybe the cichlids were the ones causing the injuries, idk.

To me sounds like you will be just fine with the catfish :thumb:

 

[Adrian101]

nope im talkin about the cuckoo. Just said they arent as pretty as a redtail cat. And trust me if somethin comes in their cave or house they can be mean. Dont get me wrong they are normally calm and wont go out of their way to attack fish. Just chase others away from their territory, dont think there is any syno that doesnt. I say go for it. Most cichlids can stand up for themselves. Best place for info is planetcatfish.com

 

[DJRansome]

As others have mentioned, the cuckoo is Synodontis multipunctatus. Synodontis petricola is not a cuckoo spawner although some earlier publications suggested this might be true. To confuse matters further, the fish that used to be sold as dwarf petricola has been named Synodontis lucipinnis which is what most of us have.

Either species would be a great addition to an African cichlid tank with mbuna or peaceful haps and peacocks. They will eat what you feed the Africans.

They are not territorial with the cichlids but will squabble among themselves...not sure about what. If you have a group of 5-6 they will be out and about all day, possibly more than the cichlids.

Some of the information the seller provided or OP researched may apply to other synodontis like euptera but I have not found it to be true of the multipunctatus or lucipinnis.