Decorated squeaker

Care at a glance

Overview

The decorated squeaker is a large, good-natured catfish usually kept as a single specimen, since it does not need its own kind and grown adults can be pushy toward other bottom catfish. It mixes calmly with sizeable, peaceful tankmates such as larger characins, barbs, and robust cichlids, but avoid dedicated fin-nippers that might target its long trailing dorsal ray. It forages over the bottom mostly at night. Feed a varied omnivore diet of sinking pellets, frozen foods, and vegetables, and provide a soft sand bed with big caves. Give it a tank around 200 liters or larger.

In the wild

Synodontis decorus ranges widely through the Congo River basin in central Africa, favoring the slower reaches of large rivers and flooded zones over sand and among sunken wood. Keep it warm at 22 to 27 degrees C with a pH between 6.5 and 7.5. Use a soft sandy substrate to guard its barbels, plus driftwood, smooth rock, and roomy caves for daytime cover, and leave open floor for foraging. Strong filtration and a moderate current keep the water clean and well-oxygenated.

Good to know

This member of Mochokidae is among the larger aquarium squeakers, reaching about 30 centimeters. Adults trail a long, pennant-like extension from the dorsal fin and wear a boldly striped tail, features that young fish under about 8 centimeters have not yet grown. Like other Synodontis it has bony head plates and can lock its spines. Reproduction has not been recorded in home aquariums.

Did you know

Young decorated squeakers look quite unlike the adults: the long trailing dorsal filament and the full pattern only appear as the fish grows past a few centimeters, so juveniles can be hard to recognize at first.

Related species

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  Giant upside-down catfish

  Synodontis batensoda

  11.8 in (30 cm)79 gal (300 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Polka dot syno

  Synodontis angelicus

  11.8 in (30 cm)55 gal (210 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)

• 

  One-spot synodontis

  Synodontis notatus

  9.8 in (25 cm)53 gal (200 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Bigeye squeaker

  Synodontis alberti

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• 

  Featherfin squeaker

  Synodontis eupterus

  7.9 in (20 cm)45 gal (170 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Ocellated squeaker

  Synodontis ocellifer

  7.9 in (20 cm)53 gal (200 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)