# upside-down catfish ?



## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

i was just wondering if upside-down catfish, are permenantly upside down or if they revert to normal position when swimming around the tank ?

the reason why i am asking is that ive aquired a new catfish today but the old owner didnt know what it was and i am stuck between an upside-down or a type of synodontis _sp_


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2010)

Upside-Down Catfish are a species of Synodontis, specifically _Synodontis nigriventris_. They rarely swim in an upright fashion.

Many people are confused as to why these fish swim upside down. The reason is very simple: it's the feeding habits. _S. nigriventris_ feeds primarily on insects that land on the water surface and also on trapped plant matter and detritus on the undersides of submerged logs. Swimming upside down adapts this species of Syno to this behaviour, since most catfish have inferior (downward-facing) mouths.


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## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

ive managed to get a picture  any ideas ???


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## Guest (Dec 29, 2010)

The fish in the photo is most likely _Synodontis euptera_, not _S. nigriventris_. However, there's so many differences between the locales of different species and then there's the problem with hybridization which has made differentiating one species from another more difficult.


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## ....zoe.... (Jul 8, 2009)

thats what i thought  and through my research i have found they can become territorial and grow to a fairly big size, but luckily already have a home for it if it begins causing problems in my tank. :thumbup:


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## holly1 (Aug 10, 2010)

All synos will have a go at swimming up side down.My syno polli do it on a water change,when the water level is lower than normal.
The majority of the time,they spend on the bottom


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