Upside Down Catfish Breeding?

[starsplitter7]

I do not breed my fish, however, sometimes they do this on their own.

Got a question about USD Catifish. I have had *four* for 2-3 years. They are very big -- 2.5 inches for the males and 3.5" for the females, and they are hefty. The females are fat, and I imagine have some eggs.

They live under the sponge filter in a group and have a pecking order. Tonight while I was feeding them, I noticed something very strange. There are five. I only bought four, so evidently they bred in the tank and one of the fry survived. The fifth one is the same size as the other small adults (which I assume are males).

Do they breed in tanks? I can't believe that a fry would survive -- the tanks is filled with loaches and catfish.

Any ideas? Thanks.

[Emma Turner]

Hi Tanja,
Breeding the UD catfish in the home aquarium is reported to be difficult, but not impossible. Have a look at the breeding section in this Planet Catfish link, it details a successful spawning and maturing of fry in the same container of water as some botiids: http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/sp ... ies_id=334
Hope this helps,
Emma

[starsplitter7]

Thanks Emma. That was a cool little story. I am sure they bred and a while ago, because I did not buy a fifth fish. All five fish are big. Very pretty.

[andyroo]

photos?

[starsplitter7]

I can try to get photos, but I don't know the baby is. They are all the same size. three huge females and two big males. (I am guessing by their sizes.) I am very surprised that they this happened in a busy tank filled with loaches.