Cat-eLog Data Sheet
Scientific Name
Synodontis petricola Matthes, 1959 - add this species to your "My Cats" page.
Common Name(s)
None
Type Locality
Lake Tanganyika.
Pronunciation
sin oh don tiss - pet ree kola
Etymology
Synodontis : From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth.
Species Information
Size
Show near , nearer or same sized spp.
Identification
Similar to four other described catfish from the lake. The cuckoo catfish, Synodontis multipunctatus , is the most common import and you, occasionally, may also encounter S. polli , S. dhonti and S. tanganyicae . All sport the distinctive white barbels and are spotted as juveniles to some degree or other and thus another form of quick identification prevails - S. petricola and S. lucipinnis , are the only species with a solid white leading dorsal and pectoral fin ray and the spotted body pattern. S. petricola can be differentiated from S. lucipinnis by the former having smaller spots on the head than the body spots. All in all. this species (as presently defined) is highly variable and likely to contain more than one valid species in the long run.
Sexing
Unknown.
Habitat Information
Distribution
Northern Lake Tanganyika, DRC, Africa African Waters , Western Rift Valley Lakes , Tanganyika (click on these areas to find other species found there)
pH
7.0 - 8.5
Temperature
22.0-24.0°C or 71.6-75.2°F (Show others )
Husbandry Information
Feeding
A very easy fish to feed. All prepared foods are accepted and the fish will eat heavily thus making conditioning a relatively simple task.
Furniture
Bogwood is utilised although rock clusters appear more preferable. Seems to enjoy long, tall, flowing plants such as giant Vallisneria.
Compatibility
A social species tolerant of their own kind and unimposing.
Breeding
Because of the similarity with S. lucipinnis , it is unclear if this species is the one many aquarists have spawned.
Further Information
References
Folia Sci. Afr. Centr.v. 5 (no. 4) - pp78
"My Cats" Registered Keepers
(1) worton[pl] , who also notes, "Keep mine in 240l tank heavily decorated with sand-rocks. I love them. I get them 2 years ago and they were tiny - really, really very small - 1cm long or even less. Now they are around 4cm long (you think your cichlids grow slow? Try these guys!).", (2) Ak Viking , (3) mikey , (4) dorycora , (5) Richard B , who also notes, "1 is 60 mm the other 90 mm (approx)
", (6) Tulio , (7) Barbie , (8) Trident2004 , (9) Lornek8 , (10) Oliver D. , who also notes, "Spawned...", (11) corybreed , (12) amergim , (13) fishfarmer , who also notes, "Breeding report on my web page http://cinci-fishfarmer.com/reports/SynodontisPetricolaBR.html", (14) caudalis , (15) synodont_fan , (16) vernonlarge , (17) Cicolid , who also notes, "Bought from TC @ 25mm $150", (18) cwm , (19) smithrc , (20) spot86t , (21) AngJo , (22) thebirdofprey , (23) nuth88 , (24) kvnbyl , who also notes, "these individuals were purchased years ago from an extremely knowledgeable source and i believe that they are petricola", (25) teknikAL , (26) jollysue , (27) kagal , (28) unblinded , (29) moi_eater , (30) joepleco , who also notes, "Unfortunately the fire dept. pronounced them dead Thankgiving morning when I woke up thinking my house was burning. My heater fried my fish and released toxins into my tank. Only survivor L114.", (31) vriesea , who also notes, "Bought initially 6 from Mainly Cichlids. Bought rest at several club auctions. Currently in grow out tank. Will breed in 2008, summer.", (32) Gump , (33) Plunt , (34) Dinyar , (35) synosteve , (36) uknavynigel , (37) Julie , (38) daryn39 , (39) LowCat , (40) JimHitchiner , (41) koter73 , (42) Clammage , (43) flowaz , (44) NetsuaiAngel , (45) unblinded , (46) toby , (47) bcb , (48) fishbguy , (49) shaunypoo , (50) arzerkle , (51) Travis_Conklin , (52) Azarak , (53) Camaroahopp , (54) winbill , (55) ariefputranto , (56) tank_girl , (57) badtaz30 , (58) jha61 , (59) oliv67 , (60) Birger , (61) syno-kev , (62) KnaveTO , who also notes, "Lost 3 on 21 Oct 09 - Tank crash", (63) theonetruepath , (64) niallborwell , (65) leej24 , (66) daniel4832 , (67) Barracuda518 , (68) judeblackburn , (69) fleshgear , (70) bongthecgb , (71) XufoX , (72) Miss Dib Dabs . Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "My Cats" data for this species.
Cool Links
- Shane's World Species Visually comparing Synodontis petricola & S. lucipinnis
- Show thumbnails of all species of Synodontis
-
Search Planet Catfish for more on Synodontis petricola
- BBcode (for use in linking to this page from forum posts)
Offsite Resources
- Email a friend a direct link to this species page
- Look up Synodontis petricola on Fishbase , I.T.I.S. or ispecies search.
- Print friendly layout of data - URL (for use in linking to the species from anywhere on the web)
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Last Update
2008-09-27 12:12:45 (species record created: 2002-06-10 00:00:00)