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Hi, new member here. I was hoping someone could give me some info on my synos.

Some background info. I have 2 synos, both around ten years old. I originally bought them from a chain pet shop as "upside down catfish". The guy in the shop said they were from a new supplier they were trialing and that they might not survive and to bring them back for a refund if they die. Well ten years later and they are still here.

The larger one, presumably male, is around 15cm and I believe it to be a eupterus. The smaller one is female and around 10cm, no idea what species.

The female has been very bloated for the last few weeks and I have seen them exhibiting what I assume is breeding behaviour, briefly rubbing against each other and shaking. The male is normally territorial, but has been especially aggressive towards the female recently. The female has been "guarding" a cavelike section of bogwood for the last few days and there seems to be a few largish yellow round eggs lying about. She also seems to leak the occasional egg when coming out for food.

I was wondering what the chances of viable eggs/fry was? I thought they were eg scatterers with no parental care but she definitely seems to be guarding the area.

Hi Raynor,

Welcome to Planetcatfish!

About your synos, eupterus is an often sold species, so the odds are good for both individuals. By chance can you upload photos of each specimen, clearly showing them from a side view?

Cheers, Eric

That's a good idea and, also, you may find this article useful if you've not seen it.

Cheers,

Jools

Struggled to get decent photos, especially of the smaller one. Here you can see a couple of the yellow eggs at the base of the plant. They seem to leak out when it zooms out during feeding.

Thanks for the update. Have you tried recovering the eggs and hatching them in an incubator?

Cheers, Eric

bekateen wrote: ↑18 Dec 2019, 20:49 Thanks for the update. Have you tried recovering the eggs and hatching them in an incubator?

Cheers, Eric

No I don't think the eggs have been fertilised. They only seem to leak out when the fish gets into a feeding frenzy. I was wondering if I should try adding a plantpot to simulate a proper cave.

This species is not a cave spawner, it is thought to be a scatterer using bunches of plants to scatter eggs into.Your fish look to be both S. eupterus.
You shoud have tried to hatch out the eggs that you saw, mind you I would have expected large numbers of very small eggs.

Birger