General information –
Common Name - Petricola

Scientific Name : Synodontis petricola
max size: 5"
temp: 22.0-24.0°C or 71.6-75.2°F
pH: 7.0 - 8.5
temperament: mild
minimum tank size: 20G


The Synodontis petricola is an amazing
member of the catfish group but it is more recognized with cichlids
due to its origin and its dependence on cichlids to breed and thrive.
It is known to be the smallest Synodontis species in Lake Tanganyika.
The name Synodontis is from Greek, syn = together, odontos = tooth,
its name refers to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth. Synodontis
petricola has an extremely developed scent, according to recent
researchers the petricola can smell even a small amount of food from
long distances. That is my fav. thing about this cat. As soon as I put food in the tanks they smell it ASAP and move around like crazy to get to the food. Very good smell.

mmm hurry and get them bigger so we can have a fish fry ,

They don't get that big. 5"

"Synodontis petricola can only be bred together with mouthbreeding cichlids. If the cichlids start to breed, the female will deposit some fertilized aggs in between the cichlid eggs. The cichlid male will collect it's own eggs as well as the synodontis eggs into it's mouth. The eggs of Synodontis petricola will hatch prior to the eggs of the cichlid, and the fry will start to consume the cichlid eggs, and later the newly hatched fry....Synodontis petricola has been reported to breed with Haplochromis species, not every mouthbreeding cichlid is suitable."


"Synodontis petricola, Matthes, 1959"
Aquaworld. 29 October 2009.
<http://aquaworld.netfirms.com/Siluroidei/Synodontis_petricola.htm>

Could have just said this from the top of my head, but it's to early in the morning to bother - lol!

As a note - the information above is a little dated (1982 according to the website reference). While in the wild all the information is accurate, Syndontis petricola have been bred in aquaria since. Harold and Derek Walker of the Missouri Aquarium Socitry have a solid article titled "Spawning Synodontis petricola" relating to one of their first spawings written this month, I believe (October 2009).

http://www.scotcat.com/articles/article30.htm

JMatthew, your first post about petricola being bred with mouthbrooding cichlids is very fascinating! thanks for the post!