Featherfin Catfish

The featherfin catfish (Synodontis eupterus) comes from the White Nile, Chad and Niger basins in West and Central Africa. Its name comes from the dorsal fin, which in a mature fish rises into a tall, deeply divided plume that it raises when displaying. The body is grey-brown covered in fine dark spotting, breaking into a marbled pattern on juveniles, and the whole fish is built along the solid, blunt-headed Synodontis lines with three pairs of barbels.

Aquarium care

• Grows into a substantial catfish; buy it for a roomy tank, not a small one.
• Mostly nocturnal, though it becomes bolder once settled.
• Wants caves, pipes and wood to shelter under during the day.
• Peaceful with fish it cannot swallow, and can be territorial with other Synodontis.
• Omnivorous: sinking pellets, wafers, frozen bloodworm and some vegetable matter.
• Its pectoral spines lock out, so move it in a container rather than a net.

A natural fit for an African tank alongside Malawi or riverine cichlids, and for any large, robust community. Small fish and shrimp are not appropriate company.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is sold for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. See the current catfish list.