Care
Synodontis lucipinnis is known only from Musende Rocks, Zambian Lake Tanganyika. 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. lucipinnis should be kept in groups of 5 or more. Juveniles have often been observed providing cleaning services to larger fish. 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. lucipinnis is very similar in appearance to S. petricola, but the latter grows to a larger adult size and has a pattern of smaller spots.
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
S. lucipinnis has been bred in captivity. In the wild, these egg scatterers form distinct pairs when breeding, but exhibit no parental care. Aquarium fish like to spawn in dark caves and will use an adapted hut with a layer of dark marbles or pebbles on the base. They'll also spawn into the territory of spawning cichlids and leave the angry parents to guard their eggs. A few aquarists have discovered hundreds of tiny fry in their aquarium a few days after observing courtship behaviour between a mature pair (which has often followed a large, slightly cooler water change) with the male wrapping himself around the female whilst they simultaneously emit milt and eggs.
