What fish to put with 7 Synodontis Petricola? Pref blue color and HARD TO BREED

dani_starr

dani_starr

AC Members
Aug 6, 2011
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California
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Dani :)
Hey guys!

So my saltwater is going from saltwater to catfish. So this is the new plan

Tank specs
-55 gallon tank
-Marineland Emperor 400 Filter
-2 Aqua Clear Powerheads 175gph each
-Crushed coral/sand/? substrate (it's fairly soft, some shells some really fine, clouds when disturbed greatly)
-Dry rock/coral, red rock, misc aquarium rock caves
-Live plants

For stocking, I'm getting
-7 synodontis petricola (from a member on here! :D)

And that's all I have so far. According to aq advisor, I'm stocked 67% with just these kids, so I'm looking for some upper/midwater fish. And I have no idea what I want. I know I don't want
~Rainbow fish
~Any fish that breeds easily (I don't want to wake up one morning and find babies)
~And fish that's too large (pref smaller then 6", larger then 3")
~Kribs
~Anything that will kill/injure plants (which I know is hard if not impossible with cichlids) or that can be aggressive and I will have to remove the dominant or non dominant male


I really want fish that are bright blue, I love blues! I only want to get a 2-3 larger fish (5-6"), 4-6 medium fish or a max of 8-9 smaller (3") fish.

So any ideas? I was thinking some sort of cichlid, but wasn't really sure, the only one I've had before was a rescue from a friend, a melanochromis auratus male four years ago, which now I know is VERY VERY VERY aggressive and can not go with any community fish, he ate the eyes of my cories! :(

I did like how he acted though, I loved his personality and how he would move the gravel and was very interesting, really neat fish.

I also thought about opaline gouramis, but figured they wouldn't work in the water parameters, I love how pretty they are though!

Thanks
 
won't crushed coral buffer your water? what about EBRs? or maybe any of the rams really, i've heard Bolivians are hardy fish.
 
If you only want one species of blue cichlids to share a 55 with the petricola you could stock some cobalt zebras. Personally I prefer mainganos, less aggressive than zebras. A 55 really isn't big enough for Hap's like fryeri, those are the most vivid blue cichlids.
 
Peacocks are going to be a good option for you. They all have a base blue color. You could do 3 or 4 different male only. Mostly not very aggressive (individuals sometimes can be).

Check out davesfish.com. I think you would really like this species: http://www.davesfish.com/images/Aulonocara koningsi Mbenji.jpg
 
Electric blue ram? They're peaceful, bright blue, on the easier side to breed (but they often eat all the eggs) and don't get over 3". And you wouldn't even need a pair... Just go with all females.
 
i dont know if it would work with the syndontis or not but a female betta sorority might work. alot of them are blue.
 
An all male peacock tank would probably be best. Lots of blue color and no breeding. They also like the hard alkaline water that the syno's enjoy and that you will have with all the coral substrate and decor.

I would avoid rams as they prefer soft, slightly acid water.

Andy
 
I agree with narw because rams like to bottom of the tank driftwood and caves. You will just be cramming them in the same space as the catfish. I have my synos in with rainbowfish in my 55 gallon. Have you looked into lake Tanganika (i know I spelled it wrong) cichlids? This is the lake where the synodontis petricola are from. You wouldn't want it planted it would need to be a rocked out tank but it will be more natural to the syno's natural habitat.
 
Buffalohead's , bonus with them is they have blue eyes as well as a blue tint to their body.

They do not get very big and have lots of personality.
 
Like, Narwhal and bradlgt21 said, I am avoiding rams since they are soft water fish that like lots of plants and small dither cardinal tetras to make them feel safe and driftwood, they definately wouldn't fit in with the active synos.

And allaboutfish, I thought about a female soriority tank, but they don't have the same water types and I promised my boyfriend a tank with no bettas. Plus synos just seem way too boisterous for bettas, plus all the current would stress them out.

I checked out yesterday all the cichlids from Lake Tangiyika http://fish.mongabay.com/lake_tanganyika_cichlids2.htm (or however you spell it ;) and I REALLY REALLY REALLY like the daffodil brichardi cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher , but I'm worried about babies/pairing off and claiming half the tank since they develop a nuclear family I guess?

Aqadvisor tells me this "Neolamprologus Pulcher utlizes a collective nursery system. Multi-generation adults and sub-adults will protect their youngs, and as a result of this, will take up large space in your aquarium"

They aren't blue, but they are so pretty with their long tails! And they like planted aquariums as well according to one of the sites (where they are from has plants)

"This species differs from N. brichardi by living in planted areas. Thus, the tank should be heavily planted with robust plants that can tolerate harder water. The lighting should be dimmed by a cover of floating plants. The substrate should be fine gravel with coral sand. Rock structures, including caves, should be constructed in the back of the tank. Leave some open swimming areas. "

Anyone have these before? Would they work in my tank?

I aquascaped it last night, I now have 3 large caves (1 large slanted one and 2 connect more cave like on the other side, each cave around 5-6" wide) made from dry rock/coral and it's more sandy now. I'm planning to get some plants soon.

I'm also considering some tiger barbs, 4 tiger and 4 green. What could go with them?

I'm looking more into the peacocks though, they just seemed too big for my tank.
 
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