Synodontis eupterus Never come out his hide.

[Lucus29002]

So had my Synodontis eupterus (featherfin cat )few days very early on but when would he become more active would that be when he starts to get a bit bigger ? He’s very active inside his caves and wood when I look but he just doesn’t come out ,
Do they always stay in their hides or wood or caves at this point? he’s only 4 cm so very small , I know this is also a very stressful time for new fish & just incase you wonder he’s in a 250l tank with 3 loaches one Pleco and an angel at this point , anyone one have an answer for me? Thanks in advance .

 

[tlindsey]

So had my Synodontis eupterus (featherfin cat )few days very early on but when would he become more active would that be when he starts to get a bit bigger ? He’s very active inside his caves and wood when I look but he just doesn’t come out ,
Do they always stay in their hides or wood or caves at this point? he’s only 4 cm so very small , I know this is also a very stressful time for new fish & just incase you wonder he’s in a 250l tank with 3 loaches one Pleco and an angel at this point , anyone one have an answer for me? Thanks in advance .

Welcome aboard
The little Synodontis feels safe hiding and see larger fish and you as a predator. As it grows it may become more outgoing once it feels comfortable and realize you are not a threat. I personally had a Synodontis Angelicus that size and it hid until it grew about 4 inches .

 

[twentyleagues]

That's what cat fish do. They hide. They come out at night when it's dark they are highly nocturnal. I have a few different ones that I must search for because they hide so much. Multipunks and lucipinnis/petricolas are the most outgrowing and active synos I see mine in the daytime all the time. I don't think it matters on size I've got a gold nigrita that is 6"+ hides all the time.

 

[Lucus29002]

So in the daytime you don’t think it will come out no matter on how big it gets, it’s just like Plecos and other cats where they hide a lot during the day? bit odd as information On the Synodontis euptera it says as it becomes more settled it will still hide but you will start to see the activity start to rise & notice seeing it swimming around the tank sucking up food off the bottom

 

[Lucus29002]

Welcome aboard
The little Synodontis feels safe hiding and see larger fish and you as a predator. As it grows it may become more outgoing once it feels comfortable and realize you are not a threat. I personally had a Synodontis Angelicus that size and it hid until it grew about 4 inches .

Okay great nice to hear your thoughts , inside his hides he’s going crazy for Algae and food seeing him sucking it up looks great he’s always with the pleco as he does the same ,so know he’s just very shy of coming out .
just hope he does come out every now and then as it’s such a great looking fish

 

[duanes]

Agree with Twentyleagues
These fish are nocturnal, it is probably very active at night when you are asleep, and the lights are off.
You could get a separate infrared light systems to turn on and view at night.
Or substitute another less nocturnal species, like petricola , that are almost always active.

 

[esoxlucius]

As mentioned, many catfish are nocturnal. You won't see them scurrying about the tank much during the day like community fish do. During the night however it'll be out partying, but you still won't see it because you'll be in bed!

If you want to try and coax it out occasionally during the day turn your lights off and throw some treats in. Also, it may depend on whether it's happy with its tankmates and the amount of traffic going past the tank to spook it.

Loads of variables.

 

[fishhead0103666]

I happen to have a synodontis eupterus and he is out and about quite often however he’s at least 6” and possibly 8” I’m guessing. I’ve kept a few of them and have gotten them as small as an inch or so. In my experiences they are not a shy species in general and will go about their business outside of their hiding spaces if you let them settle in.

My experiences may have been an oddball though.

 

[celebrist]

Mine stays in his spot mostly but comes out quite a bit. He is 12 years old
I think tank size helps

 

[twentyleagues]

You can try and let him settle and see. Mostly they are nocturnal but you do get the odd ball and certain species that do come out during the day. I've had synodontis in most of my tanks throughout my life. Many different types and sizes most hide, like duanes and i have said certain species are out more then others. I'm not going to go into all the ones I currently have (6 species) or all the ones I have kept. Things you can do let them settle and hope, remove all hiding places and hope, let them be themselves and hope to see them every once in a while. The issue is when they are unhappy or messed with or threatened they can become quite aggressive and have very sharp spines on their pectoral fins and will "shank a fish". Angelicus was the most aggressive I have ever had.