Synodontis Petricola or Lucipinnis

[Jcaustralia]

Hello fellow members

G’dday from Australia.

By way of introduction I have been keeping fish for the past 20 years on and off and is really into catfishes.

I bought some ‘Pygmy Leopard Catfish’from my local aquarium shop and they are simply gorgeous.

After reading the various post about the difference between Petricola and Lucipinnis I am still unsure what fish I have.

Can you please help me identify my fish?

Here are some pics.

Thanks.

JCaustralia

[Dave Rinaldo]

@Birger

[Jcaustralia]

Hi Dave

Thanks for the reply. Not sure what @Birger means? Is that asking Birger to comment/help?


Thanks.

J.

[Dave Rinaldo]

Yep! Birger is PCs Syno guy!!

[Jcaustralia]

Thanks.

Anybody can tell me what I have?

Cheers

j

[Birger]

Yes I can...you have Synodontis lucipinnis.

Birger

[Birger]

Often called Pygmy, or petricola dwarf

[Bas Pels]

Too bad the water they require - high pH is the opposite of what the cardinal fish (Cheirodon) require - low pH. Obviously I'm referring to the last picture.

Now Cheirodon is able to withstand wrong water for quite a while, but you'd better take them to another tank, a tank where you won't buffer the pH to a value of 8 or more

[Jcaustralia]

Thanks for the replies.

I’m also thinking of Lucipinnis after reading a number of posts and Birger’s article. The 4 main reasons being:

1. Big spots that are not well define/sharp around the edge.
2. Big spots on the head
3. The dealer was selling the fish as Pygmy Leopard catfish (he was right)
4. Petricola is rare as oppose to Lucipinnis.

Now I want to add a couple more as soon as they become available : )

The other fish in the pic are neon innesi. I was concerned about the high ph In the tank but they seems to be doing quite well and always want to eat. I read that neons have been so mass produces over many generations that they can now live in medium hard water..... I’ll keep an eye on them anyway.

Thanks

J

[Jcaustralia]

Got another 4 Lucipinnis and is very happy with it. I read somewhere that they are slow growing which is a plus. I like my tank to kinda look very natural and not crowded : ) .

Actually I have been wanting them over 20 years ago when I was researching about peaceful catfish that do not grow too large. At that time the shops did not have them and catfish were very exotic in that part of the world I was living.

Can you guys tell me what is the lifespan of the Lucipinnis? Do they live over 10 years?

[Richard B]

Can you guys tell me what is the lifespan of the Lucipinnis? Do they live over 10 years?

Yes they do, double that is realistic