Description
Catfish
The Petricola Catfish is known only from the northern rocky shorelines of Lake Tanganyika, Africa. The aquarium should be spacious with a soft sandy substrate in order to protect the sensory barbels. It should be decorated with a good amount of rocky caves/PVC tubes, some driftwood, and robust planting (that can cope with hard, alkaline conditions) to provide shady areas, but you should also ensure that a roomy swimming space is left along the front of the tank. Efficient filtration is recommended, as these fish are voracious eaters and can produce a fair amount of waste. The water should be well-oxygenated with a moderate current, and frequent partial water changes are a must to help keep nitrate to a minimum. A gregarious species, S. petricola should be kept in groups. Companions should be relatively peaceful and larger than 3cm (1.2″) in length (otherwise they may be predated upon); they do well as part of a Tanganyikan community of medium-sized fish. S. petricola is very similar in appearance to S. lucipinnis, but S. petricola grows to a slightly larger adult size. Additionally, in most cases, S. petricola displays spots on the head area that are smaller than the spots on the flanks. In S. lucipinnis, these spots tend to be larger and and connected.
