Spawning Synodontis multipunctatus by Harold and David Walker

SPAWNING Synodontis multipunctatus

by Harold and Derek Walker
First published in The Darter, Missouri Aquarium Society
Aquarticles

Over the past few years catfish have been becoming more and more popular. One of the reasons is there is more information being released on spawning these wonderful creatures. There are thousands of different species available throughout the hobby. Some of the more popular types come from Africa. Synodontis is one that is found in lakes and slow moving streams. Some Synodontis reach only a few inches in length, while others can exceed several feet. They are distinguished from each other by the shape of their mouth, the number of fin rays (anal and pectoral), teeth, eyes, color and so on.

Synodontis are omnivorous creatures. They feed on all sorts of meaty food as well as plant material. All of the Synodontis I have had readily accepted the frozen food I offered. I also feed them some sort of spirulina or algae flake. Almost all of the species are said to be nocturnal. They hide by day and search for food at night. The ones I have will come out at daytime but any sudden movement and they will dart into a flowerpot or anything to hide under.

These particular catfish are very hardy. They can withstand a wide range of water chemistry, just as long as extremes are avoided. Some species can live in a pH level of 6.5 to 7.5, while the Rift Lake catfish need a pH level of 8.0 to 8.5. Temperature could be between 21 to 29 C. There are no special requirements for filtration. As long as you do your water changes, Synodontis are fairly easy to keep. Make sure you have a tank sizeable for the species you want to keep.

Synodontis multipunctatus are also known as Cuckoo Catfish. They received this name when it was discovered that they use mouthbrooding cichlids as a host for their eggs to hatch. S. multipunctatus are fairly easy to spawn. It is hard to find fully mature adults. We were able to acquire a trio of multis from Chad Christen. He has been spawning them for a while now. Between reading different books, articles and picking Chad's brain, we also have been able to spawn them.

Once we received our trio, we placed them into a 90-gallon tank. We used Haplochromis sauvaei as the host fish. The tank set-up was simple. We put three terra cotta caves in the tank. The catfish took to them rather quickly. After a couple of weeks the fish became accustomed to their new home. We fed them heavy doses of meaty foods to condition the females to spawn. This also helps out the host fish. Without a good host fish, you will not get babies.

The time was close as we noticed that the male Haplochromis sauvagei was trying to entice his females to breed. Once this happens, the male S. multi will patrol around and investigate the breeding attempts of the Haps. If it appears it is going to happen, the male will then go and get his female. At this time the female will exit her cave to take a quick look for herself. If she does not feel it is going to happen, she will go back into her cave to hide. If she feels like it is going to happen, the male will chase her around the tank until the host fish starts the spawning process. Just as the host female lays her eggs, the multis will rush in, often eating the Hap. eggs and at the same time releasing their eggs while the male fertilizes them. When this is done the female host will think it is her eggs, so she will pick them up to mouthbreed. This whole process can be lengthy because when the catfish come in the host male will often try to chase them away.

The S. multipunctatus eggs will begin to hatch in about 48 to 72 hours. The multi eggs develop quicker than those of the Haplochromis. After 72 hours, the Synos are ready to eat. They will start eating the undeveloped Haplochromis eggs one by one. If they are not stripped by this point, some will even turn on themselves.

Our first spawn produced 14 multi fry. We fed them a wide variety of frozen brine shrimp. We started with baby brine but after a month we started to feed adult brine and some chopped up bloodworms. They seem to always be hungry. Several feedings a day may be required to meet their needs. With a good diet and water changes our newly hatched Synodontis reached ½ inch in about 2 months. At this rate it won't be long before these guys are producing young for themselves.