Synodontis granulosa • Mochokidae • Cat-eLog • PlanetCatfish

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Head-on view
Close-up of head
Close-up showing granulose head patterning
Close-up dorsal view of head
Ventral view
F1 juvenile
F1 juvenile

Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Synodontis granulosa** Boulenger, 1900
Common Name(s)	None
Type Locality	N. end of Lake Tanganyika.
Synonym(s)	Synodontis granulosus
Pronunciation	sin oh don tiss - gran you LOW suss
Etymology	Synodontis: From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth.
Species Information
Size	250mm (9.8") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	All species in the genus Synodontis have a hardened head cap that has attached a process (humeral process) which is situated behind the gill opening and pointed towards the posterior. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated. Caudal fin is always forked. There is one pair of maxillary barbels, sometimes having membranes and occasionally branched. The two pairs of mandibular barbels are often branched and can have nodes attached. The cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw are short. S-shaped and movable in the lower jaw. These fish produce audible sounds when disturbed rubbing the base of the pectoral spine against the pectoral girdle. At least 1/3 to 1/2 of all fins have a snow white edging. Long white barbles. Inky sheen to brownish body which bears a spotted pattern in younger fish. The contrast of this spotting diminishes with age.
Sexing	Both sexes have identical colouration. Females grow slightly larger and tend to be plumper than males. Males have a 4-5 mm genital papilla near the anus.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Lake Tanganyika, East Africa African Waters , Western Rift Valley Lakes, Tanganyika (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)
pH	7.8 - 8.4
Temperature	24.0-28.0°C or 75.2-82.4°F (Show others within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Voracious eater that will accept virtually all aquarium food, but prefers meaty foods such as shrimp and clam. Apparently feeds on small molluscs in the wild.
Furniture	A network of caves formed by piling up rocks, with ample swimming space above. Vallisneria and / or hornwort is optional.
Compatibility	Best kept in a tank of 125 gallons (500 liters) or more. May become reclusive and aggressive in tanks smaller than 70 gallons (250 liters). May jump out of tank in first few days after initial introduction.
Suggested Tankmates	Tanganyikan Synodontis, robust Tanganyikan cichlids and Tanganyika eels.
Breeding	Breeding has been reported by a UK based wholesaler, but no details have been made available. Has also been bred by hormone injection in Eastern Europe.
Further Information
References	Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (Ser. 7)v. 6 (no. 35) - pp480
Registered Keepers	(1) sidguppy (k: 6), (2) synoguy, (3) Richard B (k: 3), who also notes: "Two small individuals which are tank bred from the spawnings reported in the threads in PC. Clearly one of the individuals is superior to the other & bosses the other at times. At 6 May 07 they are both around 47mm TL & still show the small dark spots ", (4) caudalis (k: 2), (5) synodont_fan, (6) Dinyar, (7) Julie (k: 10), who also notes: "Appears to be two color types. One is more of a tan/light grey body and the other is a darker gray almost black body with a darker gray belly. Fish are distributed in 3 different 75 gallon tanks.", (8) derrickrscott, (9) unblinded (k: 2), who also notes: "What an expensive fish! 265 dollars with shipping, I must be crazy to have bought one. Astonishingly beautiful, though. Got my 2nd one 6/2011.", (10) toby (k: 4), (11) michele, (12) Majolica, (13) dasfocus198720, (14) zigster, (15) Miss Dib Dabs, (16) SHEAG, (17) arapaimag, (18) maynard1982 (k: 2), (19) nerdoutlaw (k: 2), (20) amiidae, (21) zipper, (22) james gilbertson, who also notes: "Again a very shy fish, so stunning but only comes out when i turn off the lights for the night, bought from a garden centre as a common syno, result :)", (23) richb (k: 2), who also notes: "This pair lived pretty happily in the tub until just a few months ago. One of the pair started appearing a bit tattered. I pulled it and it is recovering in a 55 gallon tank. I would like to add them to the 900 gallon sometime and see if they would spwan. Very cool, but shy.", (24) taylor1410, (25) shooter50014, (26) CatfishPownage63. Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species. Add this species to your "my cats" page.
Breeding Reports	None.
More Resources	- CotM 2003 January - Search Planet Catfish for more on Synodontis granulosa - BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts) - Look up Synodontis granulosa on AquaticRepublic.com - Look up Synodontis granulosa on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search. - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
Hits	24449 hits.
Last Update	2008 Oct 30 14:21 (species record created: 2001 Apr 21 00:00)

Cat-eLog Data Sheet

Scientific Name

Synodontis granulosa Boulenger, 1900

Common Name(s)

None

Type Locality

N. end of Lake Tanganyika.

Synonym(s)

Synodontis granulosus

Pronunciation

sin oh don tiss - gran you LOW suss

Etymology

Synodontis: From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth.

Species Information

Size

250mm (9.8") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.

Identification

All species in the genus Synodontis have a hardened head cap that has attached a process (humeral process) which is situated behind the gill opening and pointed towards the posterior. The dorsal fin and pectoral fins have a hardened first ray which is serrated. Caudal fin is always forked. There is one pair of maxillary barbels, sometimes having membranes and occasionally branched. The two pairs of mandibular barbels are often branched and can have nodes attached. The cone-shaped teeth in the upper jaw are short. S-shaped and movable in the lower jaw. These fish produce audible sounds when disturbed rubbing the base of the pectoral spine against the pectoral girdle.

At least 1/3 to 1/2 of all fins have a snow white edging. Long white barbles. Inky sheen to brownish body which bears a spotted pattern in younger fish. The contrast of this spotting diminishes with age.

Sexing

Both sexes have identical colouration. Females grow slightly larger and tend to be plumper than males. Males have a 4-5 mm genital papilla near the anus.

Habitat Information

Distribution

Lake Tanganyika, East Africa
African Waters Show it on a map

, Western Rift Valley Lakes, Tanganyika Show it on a map

(hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there)

7.8 - 8.4

Temperature

24.0-28.0°C or 75.2-82.4°F (Show others within this range)

Husbandry Information

Feeding

Voracious eater that will accept virtually all aquarium food, but prefers meaty foods such as shrimp and clam. Apparently feeds on small molluscs in the wild.

Furniture

A network of caves formed by piling up rocks, with ample swimming space above. Vallisneria and / or hornwort is optional.

Compatibility

Best kept in a tank of 125 gallons (500 liters) or more. May become reclusive and aggressive in tanks smaller than 70 gallons (250 liters). May jump out of tank in first few days after initial introduction.

Suggested Tankmates

Tanganyikan Synodontis, robust Tanganyikan cichlids and Tanganyika eels.

Breeding

Breeding has been reported by a UK based wholesaler, but no details have been made available. Has also been bred by hormone injection in Eastern Europe.

Further Information

References

Ann. Mag. Nat. Hist. (Ser. 7)v. 6 (no. 35) - pp480

Registered Keepers

(1) sidguppy (k: 6), (2) synoguy, (3) Richard B (k: 3), who also notes: "Two small individuals which are tank bred from the spawnings reported in the threads in PC. Clearly one of the individuals is superior to the other & bosses the other at times. At 6 May 07 they are both around 47mm TL & still show the small dark spots ", (4) caudalis (k: 2), (5) synodont_fan, (6) Dinyar, (7) Julie (k: 10), who also notes: "Appears to be two color types. One is more of a tan/light grey body and the other is a darker gray almost black body with a darker gray belly. Fish are distributed in 3 different 75 gallon tanks.", (8) derrickrscott, (9) unblinded (k: 2), who also notes: "What an expensive fish! 265 dollars with shipping, I must be crazy to have bought one. Astonishingly beautiful, though. Got my 2nd one 6/2011.", (10) toby (k: 4), (11) michele, (12) Majolica, (13) dasfocus198720, (14) zigster, (15) Miss Dib Dabs, (16) SHEAG, (17) arapaimag, (18) maynard1982 (k: 2), (19) nerdoutlaw (k: 2), (20) amiidae, (21) zipper, (22) james gilbertson, who also notes: "Again a very shy fish, so stunning but only comes out when i turn off the lights for the night, bought from a garden centre as a common syno, result :)", (23) richb (k: 2), who also notes: "This pair lived pretty happily in the tub until just a few months ago. One of the pair started appearing a bit tattered. I pulled it and it is recovering in a 55 gallon tank. I would like to add them to the 900 gallon sometime and see if they would spwan. Very cool, but shy.", (24) taylor1410, (25) shooter50014, (26) CatfishPownage63.

Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.

Add this species to your My Cats species list

Add this species to your "my cats" page.

Breeding Reports

None.

More Resources

- CotM

2003

January

- Search Planet Catfish for more on Synodontis granulosa
Link

- BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts)
Look up AquaticRepublic.com

- Look up Synodontis granulosa on AquaticRepublic.com
Look up Fishbase

- Look up Synodontis granulosa on Fishbase, I.T.I.S. or ispecies search.
Link

- URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)

Hits

24449 hits.

Last Update

2008 Oct 30 14:21 (species record created: 2001 Apr 21 00:00)

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