Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Catfish > Feather-Fin Synodontis

Feather-Fin Synodontis

Feather-Fin Catfish ~ Feather-Fin Squeaker Family: Mochokidae

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Synodontis eupterus Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

   The Feather-Fin Synodontis is quite a pretty fish with its polka dot patterning giving it a delicate lacey appearance!

  Although this Synodontis (like most of this genus) gets fairly large, reaching up to 6" (15 cm) when mature, it gets along well in a large community aquarium. The Feather-Fin Synodontis or Feather-Fin Catfish are fairly hardy fish and are not difficult to keep in a well maintained environment.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Comments from people who have kept this fish:

i have two featherfins in a 10 gallon tank with a bunch of other community fish. One is about 4 inches now and is highly territorial to the other feather. They tend to be a little nocturnal; they completely hide themselves when i turn the tank light on. I find that they change colors when i put them in different tanks. Right now its pitch-black on the black gravel but when i put it in my other tank, with white gravel, it becomes a lot lighter and his spots are visible. Right now all they will eat are sinking wafers and bloodworms. They are great fish and have beautiful fins.

I got a Lace Cat about a year ago. I have an unusual assortment of fish, but they work wonderfully together! I have a 50 gallon with 4 HUGE goldfish, 1 butterfly pleco, 3 cory cats, 2 apple snails, and my beautiful Lace Cat. The lace cat has grown like a champ! I cant believe how much it has changed and the size it is now! It is wonderful to watch, I am just fascinated by him. He does hide during the day, but he'll come out if I feed them. I just think he's a wonderful addition to the tank!

I bought my lace cat from Wal Mart 8 months ago, and he is great. I feed him catfish pellats and flake food. He NEVER comes out during the day, though. He is completely nocturnal and stays inside his pirate ship decoration all day. Sometimes, I don't see him for a month. Also, he has not grown much. I think he has grown only an inch! He is kept in a 72 gallon tank with 3 cory cats, a stick catfish, an angelfish, two silver dollars, and two blue rams. when he comes out at night, it is fun to watch him swiming around furiously, searching for food. And if anyone gets too close to him or his pirate ship, he chases them away. He is the leader of the tank, for sure. This is a wonderful fish, and great for beginners.

We purchased two catfish from Wal-Mart on July 29, 2005. They had them labeled as cory cats. I found out on September 9, 2005 that they were lace cats. When we first got them, they were the same size as a small cory (about 1 inch long). One is almost 5 inches long now and the other one is a little over 5 inches long. They have grown a lot in one month. We feed them the same thing our other fish get fed; high quality flakes and newborn guppies. They are in a 29 gallon tank with two pacus, two bala sharks, one tiger barb, two tetras with a single spot on the tail, two small danios, two large danios, one red tail shark, and one sailfin pleco. Every fish we have bought has tripled in size within one month of their purchase. We have had our balas for nine months now and they are over ten inches long. People have told me they are a few of the biggest they have seen. But the prettiest fish we have are the two lace cats and they are fun to watch.

I have had an upside-down catfish for about 2 years now,but it is not like the other upside-downs that I have seen. It is about 8 inches long, all black with a few white spots peppering the sides. He likes to hide in plants, and when he hides near the surface, he lets me put my finger in the tank and rub his soft little belly. He is my favorite fish, and that is saying a lot because I have 7 overstocked tanks at home.

I have a lace cat and it ate my small frog, pregnant powder-blue dwarf grommie, a small shark, and it is going after all the rest of my fish. The only fish it seems to be getting along with is my siver dollar, and the sucker fish. But, over all they are pretty cool fish.

It is 26 January 2005. I purchased two lace catfish in April 2004. They were about 1.5 inches from tip of head to tip of tail when I purchased them. they are now about 4.0 inches now! They are fed various food; wafers, flake, chiclids pellets, live earthworms, chicken, etc. They seem to be nocturnal; I do not see them often during the day. They prefer to stay under the driftwood or in the lace rock caves. They are very strong and fast swimmers. I had them in a 46 gallon tank with Cichlids and botia until last night. I moved them to a 40 gallon tank with Angle fish, neon tetras and cory cats. My cichlids had babies and I am afraid that they might be eaten.

Featherfin Synodontis (eupterus) is a relatively peaceful community fish, that cohabitates in my 90G tank with 5 bumblebee Gobies, one Gold Nugget Pleco, one Zebra Pleco and one Gold Line Pleco. Recently, I added one Synodontis Angelicus after changes in the tank, that made it more structurally complex (meaning adding more hiding spaces in the form of rocks and caves, but also Mopani wood-specially treated, so it doesnt give the water a tea colour, but it maintains its nutritional characteristics.-) The behaviour of the Featherfin is peaceful, even with the other Synodontis, and he is a marvel to watch. Care should be taken to provide him with ample food (not only pellets, but also zuccini and cucumber will be appreciated and blood worms)and it will not fail you to show its magnificent dorsal and anal fins. Nevertheless, if not placed in ample space - at least a 35 G is recommended- and not properly and adequately fed it might eat smaller fish and become aggresive. Anyway, do you blame him if he does?

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Author: David Brough. CFS.

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