Fish Care Description

Freshwater

The Upside down catfish or Synodontis nigriventris are one of the most unusual fish to have in your aquarium.

This is due to the unique way they swim upside down almost all of the time around the tank, the only time they swim in the normal position is when they are looking for food to eat.

The body color of the Upside down catfish is light brown with darker brown mottled patches; they have a large dorsal fin, big eyes, and 3 barbells.

The underbelly of these catfish is darker than their back which is the opposite of any other catfish; this coloration is reversed in the Upside down catfish in order to camouflage it when swimming in this unusual position.

The Upside down catfish are native to the Congo River and Zaire River basins of Africa where they grow up to 4 inch and have a lifespan of around 6- 8 years. The family name for these catfish is Mochikidae this variety of fish is classed as a dwarf catfish and will not grow as large as the other catfish members.

Housing

The tank size should be a minimum of 20 gallons of soft slightly acidic water with a ph of (6.7-7.6) the temperature should be kept at (7.2-8.0) Rocks, caves and driftwood should be added to the aquarium to give it a more natural feel and it should be Planted with broad leaved foliage, so that the catfish can hang upside down on the leaves.

The Upside down catfish are very gentle fish and will do well with most other aquarium fish but be careful when handling as they have very sharp barbells on their pectoral fins which can give a nasty scratch.

These fish are very vocal and make some strange and fascinating sounds; they give off a loud squeaking sound when they are distressed and a funny grunting noise when they are picked up.

Feeding

The Upside down catfish feed in two ways, either from the bottom where they rummage among the substrate for food or they lie upside down on the surface of the tank and eat any floating food that is placed in the tank.

These fish are omnivores and their diet mainly consists of insect larvae but they will also eat good quality floating fish flakes.