timmy2422 Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 Does anyone keep these (cuckoo catfish), i am interested in keeping some but would like a little bit more info Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
prince Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 those catfish are nice and active espically when you change water if you are interested you should pm Kazaf he has some for sale at $25 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 10, 2005 Share Posted May 10, 2005 Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFishkeeper Posted May 11, 2005 Share Posted May 11, 2005 Hi Timmy I have been keeping and breeding cuckoos on the Gold Coast in Queensland for a couple of years now and I never get sick of them. They are an interesting and hardy fish and should be readily available direct from breeders for a reasonable price (I sell mine up here for $20.00 each at 5-6cm). There is some good info about them on the net if you search under their scientific name "Synodontis multipunctatus". I would try the planetcatfish site as a starting point, it is a great international site with loads of info about every catfish you can think of. Cheers, Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmy2422 Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 thanks alot for the info and pics they were very helpful. i am hoping to get some very soon. are they easy to breed, i have read about there breeding method, are fish like saulosi's ok to breed them with Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kazaf Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 You've made the right choice, these fishes are good to keep. They are always active which makes you so happy and excited just by watching them. I adore these catfishes so much I would sometimes sit and watch them eat and swim around. They are easy to keep, they can live in hard water without a problem. I really love the S.Multies species, one of my favouries To breed them they require a host. When the host (other mouth brooding fishes) start to breed and lay the eggs, the male cuckoo would push the female over to the spawn site of the mouth brooders. The males would eat the eggs of the mouth brooders then the female would quickly lay the eggs so the host would hold the cuckoo eggs. The cuckoo eggs should hatch within a week, have heard 2 days. I'm not too sure about the breeding process, have read and learnt a few bit. I havent bred these and I'm interested in breeding them, currently have 10 x 8cm of these adorable catfishes. If you're interested give Phenomena a try, he breeds them and when I last visited he had some for sale. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquaman Posted May 12, 2005 Share Posted May 12, 2005 They can be bred with Saulosi, apparently they breed well with Astatotilapia calliptera. I plan on getting some so am speaking from my research not experience... Cheers Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmy2422 Posted May 12, 2005 Author Share Posted May 12, 2005 yer well im definatly getting some they sound pretty sweet. they are fairly expensive in canberaa apparently, i have a freind there and he said they are 200 each. WOW. i live in a small country town and can get them for 60 buks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eaglebarret Posted May 13, 2005 Share Posted May 13, 2005 Will all breeding fish be 'host' fish?? I am interested in getting some but i still want to breed my other fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DFishkeeper Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Hi Guys I currently have 5-6cm juvenile cuckoo cats available for $20.00 each. I'm on the Gold Coast and have oxygen available for shipping. If you're after a few, it might be worth getting some sent down. I also have some nice 6-8cm Copadichromis "3 spot eastern" available which in my experience make excellent "hosts" for cuckoos. These are sexable if you wanted to get a colony to help fill up the box and make the shipment worthwhile. If you are buying cuckoos, I will do you a good deal on the copadichromis. Cheers, Doug email : anitajoy@bigpond.net.au Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 I have a few questions to add? 1) how old/big do they generally breed at? 2) Are most psuedotropheus big enough to be used as hosts? 3) Do you need to isolate the mouthbrooding female, or will the little ones be right? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TropheusQueen Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Hey hey, Great shots Merjo I love these cool cats we have had ours in a 4x2x2 with Ps acei who surrogate well for them. The hosts need to be a little on the average intellegence scale as smarter fish will cotton on to what the synos are up to fairly quickly and stop spawning. As the cichlids mate the cuckoo (called this after the cuckoo bird who also leaves the eggs for someone else to care for) will come in and replace a cat egg for the other one (yes by eating it). If successful, the cichlid female will pick the intruder's eggs up and brood them along with her own. I like using the acei as their own broods are large and the spawning process goes on for a while giving th cuckoos time You will need to pick a host with similar size eggs or the cichlid female may not accept them. The cuckoo eggs hatch within 3-7 days, sooner than the cichlid's, and the little cats proceed to consume the other eggs. When spat they are almost at 1cm with fat little bellies full of acei While they like to hide they are more active than most cats and their markings are beautiful - silver to white body with spots . Give them a go, as you can see from the responses their are a few out there with fry and juveniles for sale 2-4cm - and they should only set you back about $20-$25 at that size. Just saw the last post: I have a few questions to add? 1) how old/big do they generally breed at? 2) Are most psuedotropheus big enough to be used as hosts? 3) Do you need to isolate the mouthbrooding female, or will the little ones be right? Ours started breeding at 14 -18 months and were 8-10cms by then. we have found that acei work well and have also had success with elongatus - but these guys were too smart and stopped after a couple of spawns. We leave the host mum with her colony - due to the fact that she carries catties and not baby acei she is happy to spit them as soon as they cause her grief with their spines. Plent of cover and the bubs do well. Your choice as to whether you remove her or not. Good luck. Aline Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdamR Posted May 17, 2005 Share Posted May 17, 2005 Thanks Aline Ive only just considered getting a larger fish colony and was looking at P. Kingsizei. Might have to rethink that now. Sounds like it would be lots of fun watching one fish carry around very different babies. Thanks for the quick responses. Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 18, 2005 Share Posted May 18, 2005 Thanks Aline, I agree...very cool fish to watch and keep. Saying the hosts need to be a little average is correct. The quicker they catch on to the cuckoos, the sooner your spawns (with resulting fry) will cease. I was using elongatus for a while but have now changed to acei. Fingers crossed for more action! Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmy2422 Posted May 19, 2005 Author Share Posted May 19, 2005 hey guys thanks for all the info, good descusion. just wonder how saulusi's would go? would chipokea be better? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishrock Posted May 19, 2005 Share Posted May 19, 2005 i've never kept multis but was wondering if flamebacks would be good hosts, considering burtoni and calliptera are?? and merjo excellent pics adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmy2422 Posted May 24, 2005 Author Share Posted May 24, 2005 ok well this post has really died. some1 answer the questions! lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 some1 answer the questions! What questions ? I think Aline (and others) have given a pretty good outline for you . If there is something specific you want to know, then ask it.... Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmy2422 Posted May 24, 2005 Author Share Posted May 24, 2005 if saulosi's are good hosts. i am getting some(cuckoo caties) on saturday Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anchar Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 They can be bred with Saulosi (as per Aquaman) Andrea Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timmy2422 Posted May 24, 2005 Author Share Posted May 24, 2005 ooh opps. i feel quite the fool . didnt see that, thanks for pointing that out haha Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teflon Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 I know alot of you are going to disagree but eh...... what can you do? I kept multis for a while and found them to be one of the most boring fish I have ever kept It shared a 4 footer with a 30cm pleco and still did nothing all day. If i was really lucky i might see it swimming up and down the glass nut apart from that i saw Nada. Or is it a frontosa im thinking of ? I wouldn't mind giving them another shot just to try breed them but other then that there are and absolute tone of other cats worthy of your money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rosco Posted May 24, 2005 Share Posted May 24, 2005 merjo excellent pics agreed that are great shots cheers Rosco Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KingoftheWorld Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 what is the minimum tank size for breeding and would taiwan reef be a good host? thanks adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 G'day Multis are extremely active fish. If you have had trouble with their activity level then I suspect something was not to their liking. Pretty much any mouth brooding cichlid will do. Obviously the bigger the mouth of the cichlid the better for the cats, as they hatch they will have more food and are less likely to eat their siblings. The cichlids that are bright are obviously not the best choice because they soon work out what is happening and stop breeding. Eg. S.C. lithobates, took about 6 months to work it out. To be honest I don't know if saulosi are a good choice as I have not tried them. I suppose the best way is to try it yourself and see. I would expect crimson tides to be a possibly good candidate but you never know until you try. hth Matthew... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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