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AMAZONAS
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A female Aulonocara jacobfreibergi has spat out her brood
during transfer. Along with her own young there are a
number of much larger Cuckoo Catfish fry.
opening 1.5 inches (4 cm) across. Because these catfishes
are fond of eating their own eggs, the lower half of the
pipe is removable and separated from the upper by a
piece of mesh. The strongest male occupies the breeding
cave and the females constantly try to follow the displaying
male into the opening in the pipe.
As early as the second day, there are eggs in the lower
half. The spawn is removed and placed in a rearing tank.
The larvae hatch after just 24 hours. As soon as the yolk
sacs are exhausted I feed them with Artemia nauplii. The
young fishes change color several times before they are
full grown.
The unique mode of reproduction in Synodontis
multipunctata makes this upside-down catfish extremely
interesting and has earned it the trade name of “Cuckoo
Catfish”, as it insinuates its eggs into the clutches of
spawning mouthbrooders. The eggs are around 1 mm
across and orange-yellow in color. The larvae develop more
rapidly than those of the mouthbrooders, whose eggs and
larvae serve the little catfish as food. Artificial hatching
of Synodontis multipunctata appears to be impossible
because of their mode of feeding during their first days
of life. We breed the Cuckoo Catfish together with the
Malawi Butterfly, Aulonocara jacobfreibergi, and species
of the genus Protomelas. After around 14 days the female
releases up to 15 little catfishes from her mouth instead of
The Cuckoo Catfish, Synodontis
multipunctata, spawns in the same
pit as mouthbrooding cichlids, so the
eggs find their way into the female
cichlid’s mouth, where they are
brooded to term.
A young Synodontis multipunctata
swallowing an Aulonocara larva.
The little Cuckoo Catfishes are real
brood parasites, and will consume
the entire cichlid brood in the
mouth of their mother before they
have used up their yolk sacs.
her own brood. To our annoyance, the mouthbrooders stop
spawning after a while and a new breeding group has to be
put together.
The little Synodontis multipunctata are feeding machines.
By the age of three weeks the little “parasites”
attain a length of .75 inch (2 cm). Within two months
they are already 2 inches (5 cm) long.
The mouthbrooding Aulonocara and Protomelas are
maintained in groups of four or five males and around 20
females. A cultivated form known in the trade as Aulonocara
jacobfreibergi “Eureka”, in which the red color is
The Synodontis egg
traps described in
the text.