[manoahmarton]

Hey all,

Building the stocklist for my (recently ordered) Waterbox 50.3 AIO system (36x20x18). I was thinking of doing a saulosi species tank, but I decided I want more blue barred fish, so the current plan is to go for a dozen demasoni and 1m/4f yellow labs (ruarwe orange). I was hoping to get some catfish in the tank, but I want to stick with only fish from lake malawi. So that leaves me with...
1) Synodontis njassae. Any experience with this species? Stocking suggestions for my tank? And...maybe more important...is it even possible to find this species for sale? Having trouble tracking any down.
2) Synodontis nigrita. I'm seeing conflicting reports about whether this species is found in malawi; I see some (reputable) sites selling it as a malawi species (and it looks like the geographic distribution is pretty wide ranging), other sources are saying njassae are the only reported malawi syno. Any clarity to this debate?
Thanks all, I'm going to post a build thread when my tank comes in. Should be pretty...rimless starfire glass, carbon reactor + UV for perfectly clear water, all equipment in the AIO chambers 8)

 

[DJRansome]

That is a small tank and demasoni are hard to keep. It has been done in a 36" tank but not easy. Stick with a trio of labs. You could do a trio of Synodontis lucipinnis.

The Malawi synodontis is difficult to find...I usually see only the lucipinnis and multipunctatus from Lake Tanganyika. I had some Synodontis polli years ago but have not seen them since.

Nigrita has a Western Africa distribution: Synodontis nigrita is known from basins of the Chad, Niger (including the Benue), Volta, Senegal, Gambia, Géba, Ouémé and Casamance.

Make sure the tank is well covered. Perfectly clear water does not require a carbon reactor or UV...a healthy tank has perfectly clear water with no special treatment or equipment.

 

[manoahmarton]

Thanks DJ. I've searched the archives on here and read pretty much everything ever posted here on dems so I know what I'm getting into. I'm thinking for the labs I'll start with the group of them really young and remove any that get ousted. I'm going to do some more digging and see if I can find a dealer who has access to njassae, although it looks like they get quite a bit larger than the lucipinnis.

I'm building a pretty solid wall of ceramic bio-material inside the rear chamber and I have a python, so, I think I'll do roughly 50% water changes weekly just to get that water quality perfect. Its going to be the centerpiece of my living room (and, currently, my only tank), plus with the investment in starfire glass I want that water perfect. Also...I'll be honest...I'm thinking of getting a nano reef up and running sometime in the next few years so I want to get familiar with some of the equipment.

 

[DJRansome]

Going to 3 labs is not an aggression thing...it is a space thing. Usually we would have 15 fish only in a 48" tank or longer. You get away with a dozen demasoni because they are dwarf and need to be crowded. The trio of labs is a concession to the need for a splash of color.

I have done them in a 36" tank but would not do it again.

 

[manoahmarton]

Space-wise, how should I think about adding a trio of njassae? Too much?

 

[DJRansome]

Seems like it is more solitary than the lucipinnis and multipunctatus which like to be in groups. Hides day/night. Because of size I would probably skip the njassae for a 36" tank.