Care
The False Upside Down Catfish is widely distributed across much of Africa, where it inhabits quiet backwaters as well as ponds and pools.
The aquarium should be spacious, with a soft sandy substrate in order to protect the long sensory barbels. It should be decorated with a good amount of bogwood, rocky caves/PVC tubes, and robust planting to provide shady areas, but you should also ensure that a roomy swimming space is left along the front of the tank. External canister 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. Although territorial aggression tends to increase slightly as the fish mature, more than one may be kept together providing that there is an abundance of hiding places and visual barriers within the tank. Ensure that heaters are covered with heater guards to prevent these catfish from being burned when looking for dark crevices to rest against. Companions should be peaceful and larger than 5cm (2") in length (otherwise they may be predated upon); good tankmates could include some of the medium sized tetras, barbs, gouramis, knifefish, large loricariids, rainbowfish, or some of the robust West African cichlid species.
Although commonly seen (mostly due to being shipped as the more desirable S. nigriventris) and generally peaceful, this is a species that will outgrow the average small species community aquarium. Whilst S. nigrita may not assume the infamous Synodontis upside-down position quite as regularly as S. nigriventris, it will still take up some unusual resting positions. May also be seen on sale as the Lace Catfish but most often encountered incorrectly labelled as its smaller relative. To add to the confusion, the Russet syno (S. robbianus) is also seen occasionally and can be distinguished by its simpler pattern and warm brown base colour. Care is the same but this species remains smaller at around 14cm.
A xanthic form is now commercially bred which has led to this species appearing in stores on its own merits - these may be labelled as nigrita 'Gold', nigrita 'Yellow', Mustard catfish or Custard catfish.
Feeding
Omnivorous. Offer a variety meaty frozen foods such as bloodworm, white mosquito larvae, vitamin-enriched brineshrimp, Mysis shrimp etc., along with some sinking catfish pellets/tablets/granules. Be sure to offer some vegetable matter such as cucumber, courgette, and shelled peas, along with occasional algae wafers. These are greedy fish, and are a little susceptible to bloating so take care not to overfeed, and go easy on the amount of dried foods given - avoiding all floating foods.
Breeding
This species has not been bred in the home aquarium but is comercially bred using hormones. In the wild, these egg scatterers form distinct pairs when breeding, but exhibit no parental care.
