post your Synodontis multipunctatus pics

[exasperatus2002, posts: 215]

I have two pairs. 1 captive bred (unknown collection point) and 3 W/C from barundi. I love this species. Im curious to how vairable their spotting patterns can be. Please post your pics for comparision. My large female barundi has lots of small spots, my large male barundi has large spots while the smaller female & smaller male captive bred (1 yr old) has large spots with some that converge. I'll post pics tonight. Im at work right now.

[MatsP]

I suspect you mean Burundi - Barundi is a district in India, which is quite a distance from Lake Tanganyika.

If your fish looks quite different from Synodontis multipunctata then it is possible that they are a hybrid species created in a lab in the Czech republic (or somewhere else where syringes and hormones are available - that is, just about anywhere in the world!)

Also, take a look at Synodontis grandiops.

Side-tracking for a bit: Is the "identification section on S. multipunctata really correct? Or is it one of those that need updating based on Page & Wright?

--
Mats

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

IME multis are one of the most variable species you could find in terms of patterning - it will be interesting to see how this thread devlops

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

Side-tracking for a bit: Is the "identification section on S. multipunctata really correct? Or is it one of those that need updating based on Page & Wright?--Mats

I think it needs some careful attention to bring it up-to-date - well spotted

(no pun intended but i think it's a good one! )

[exasperatus2002, posts: 215]

I suspect you mean Burundi - Barundi is a district in India, which is quite a distance from Lake Tanganyika.

If your fish looks quite different from Synodontis multipunctata then it is possible that they are a hybrid species created in a lab in the Czech republic (or somewhere else where syringes and hormones are available - that is, just about anywhere in the world!)

Also, take a look at Synodontis grandiops.

Side-tracking for a bit: Is the "identification section on S. multipunctata really correct? Or is it one of those that need updating based on Page & Wright?

--
Mats

Sorry for the bad spelling, that would be burundi. I bought them from Julie at frybabies.

[Birger]

Side-tracking for a bit: Is the "identification section on S. multipunctata really correct? Or is it one of those that need updating based on Page & Wright?

Leave it with me Mats, I will do it.

Birger

[exasperatus2002, posts: 215]

Here they are as promised. Sorry if its not that good. They dont hold still long even when teasing them out with food. Sexing was determined by venting. The small male I've had for a little over a year. I bought him from a private breeder when it was an inch and a half. The other 3 are wild caught from Burundi.

large male




small male


http://i250.photobucket.com/albums/gg25 ... us01-1.jpg


Large female


small female

[MatsP]

I'm not an expert, but to me those all look like genuine.

From a purist perspective, you probably shouldn't mix different local variations, even when they are considered the same species.

--
Mats

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

Although all are genuine it would appear that the big male is a multipunctata whereas the big female is a grandiops IMHO & from the images i can see which lend themselves to some eye/snout comparisons

[exasperatus2002, posts: 215]

The Cat e log species description needs updating for grandiops. multi has a identification section but grandiops doesnt. I found a detailed description here - http://fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=63545. It states that grandiops has large spots while my female in question has small spots.

[Birger]

The Cat e log species description needs updating for grandiops. multi has a identification section but grandiops doesnt. I found a detailed description here - http://fishbase.org/summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=63545. It states that grandiops has large spots while my female in question has small spots.

That information is out of the Wright & Page paper...spotting pattern is not a good way to tell these apart, too variable for both species...the best way to differentiate between S.multipunctatus and S. grandiops would be to count the pectoral -fin rays, 7 for S. grandiops and 8 for S. multipunctatus.(don't count the one hard spine)

You may find this thread of interest viewtopic.php?f=8&t=27224

Birger

[Richard B, posts: 6306]

A pectoral ray count is important & cannot be verified from the photos - but the eye size as a percentage of snout length gives a good indication which can be seen to a reasonable extent from the pics.

Spot pattern size is highly unlikely to indicate species as they are extremely variable & is somewhat dependable upon the size/age of the specimen in question

[Birger]

Although all are genuine it would appear that the big male is a multipunctata whereas the big female is a grandiops IMHO & from the images i can see which lend themselves to some eye/snout comparisons

I should just clarify, Richards eye is usually good when it comes to differentiating these, you could back up his opinion with the mentioned ray count...I would be interested to see the results.

[exasperatus2002, posts: 215]

I'll do a ray count tonight.