Synodontis granulosa question

[Birger]

Then I start trying to source them and I find out how rare they are and realize I might never actually be able to find one

A LFS near me might actually have one. I'm going to go check at some point, but the pics I've seen of it it doesn't look ink-black like the one above. I'd spend a couple hundred dollars in a heartbeat for one that looks like that.

Keep in mind, there are hybrids that for whatever reason end up being sold with this name, a discounted fish being sold as granulosa may be suspect.
Take pictures with you or ask the seller for pictures and you could doublecheck an ID in the what is my catfish forum here at PC.

Birger

[amiidae, posts: 337]

How do I find importers? I've never worked with any and wouldn't know who I could trust.

Try here. --> http://www.oldworldexoticfish.com/

They stock them fm time to time.

[zipper, posts: 54]

Two of my grannies came from Atlantis. (almost 2 years ago) I've seen them on their list a few times prior to this so I'm sure they'll bring more in when they are available. Just got to be patient and vigilant. They dont get imported very often and when they do, it is usually just a few here and there.

As for the color of Amiidae's fish, I think it has to do with the color of the tank decor. I had one of mine on dark gray gravel and the fish got really dark like the one in the picture. Now that he is in a brighter tank with light colored sand, he is much more golden. This is just my personal observation, others may have different experiences with this fish.

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

I have never seen a golden granny

light grey, even slightly lilac, yes

but never brown or golden

are the fins all jetblack with white margins?

if not: you got a hybrid.

with the granny, there's no middle ground

even when teeny tiny all the fins except the adipose are jetblack with a white almost glowing margin on the back
even the tiny ventral fins have those colors

if the fins are lacking that, even if some are lacking that; you got a fake.

[zipper, posts: 54]

I think you and I have differing opinions in what "golden" is! Of the images in the Cat e log, I would contend that all the fish with the exception of Amiidae's are "golden" in color. That includes the pictures of your fish that you've posted on the web.

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

"Golden" to me is: like gold

as in: metallic yellow.


can't see this color anywhere on any granulosa in the Clog......

about the only Syno that vaguely look yellow sometimes are Synodontis schoutedeni and this odd partly yellow Synodontis

a 'golden' catfish that's readily available in the hobby in my opinion would be this

but i cannot for the life of me see anything with a golden color in Synodontis granulosa
lilac/ maybe. brownish? yup. grey? aye.

but yellow and metallic, like gold?
definitely not

YMMV though; perhaps your eyes work differently than mine.

[zipper, posts: 54]

okay, you got me there. no 24k synos out there. How about "bronzish"? And what about multipunctata and grandiops? what would you consider their base color?

to the OP, sorry for taking this off topic.

And in my attempt to steer things back, I've been told from several different that grannies are rarely imported because:
1- they are solitary fish and need to be collected one at a time
2- they are found in deep water
3- areas where they are found have a lot of hippos (=super dangerous to collect)

Are any/ all these reasons true?

[Birger]

1- they are solitary fish and need to be collected one at a time
2- they are found in deep water
3- areas where they are found have a lot of hippos (=super dangerous to collect)

Are any/ all these reasons true?

1 and 2 I would say are true...number 3... hippos are rather dangerous but I would think you certainly should not come across a hippo out in a deepwater section of the lake.

Birger

the fish below is the best I could come up with for a golden syno...the least dominant female in the group

[sidguppy, posts: 3827]

yup, they are found at depths of 40-60 meter

they're obviously faster than a scuba diver.
note that the divers at Tanganyika use simple scuba gear for going after these fish, but scuba gear isn't safe for use below 40 meters......
they don't have special gas mixes for safer deep diving at Tanganyika; that'd be far too expensive.

elsewhere in the world it's prohibited to go below that depth, you need a deepwater training to go below 22 meters and you aren't allowed to go below 40 at all.

so these guys in Tanganyika literally put their life on the lane while going after solitary agile catfish that are quite hard to catch.



that's what makes em pricey.

[Sandee, posts: 41]

I sold my 2 a few months ago (northern NJ coincidently). BTW, I had 3 - one passed away, but the other 2 got along very well. Had them for many years ...

[amiidae, posts: 337]

My new fish.

abt 7-8inch TL. Female ?

[amiidae, posts: 337]

btw, anyone know what sort of furniture do they need for spawning ?

Any educated guess ?

[Richard B, posts: 6338]

NHA who have spawned them via natural methods do not use any special layout AFAIK. What they do do though is to condition up their best male and best female in separate tanks and only bring them together for the spawning attempt. Only one of their females has spawned but with several different males at different attempts.

[amiidae, posts: 337]

Thanks for the info, Richard.

I will probably setup a tank separator and remove it when they 'look' ready.

[Richard B, posts: 6338]

Thanks for the info, Richard.

I will probably setup a tank separator and remove it when they 'look' ready.

I'd be interested to see how a tank seperator would work, as i believe the reason NHA use separate tanks is so no pheremones/hormones etc are sensed by the other fish as they are in separate bodies of water.

[Scleropages, posts: 425]

I'd be interested to see how a tank seperator would work, as i believe the reason NHA use separate tanks is so no pheremones/hormones etc are sensed by the other fish as they are in separate bodies of water.

Me too. From the people who have successfully bred synos in my area, I have gathered that pheremones/hormones play a huge part in the whole reproductive process. It has been recommended to me to have some other fish in the same tank as the female that are breeding. Guppies, mbuna, whatever. Anything that will survive in the same water conditions and breed and thus produce their own pheromones.

It's also always best to introduce your male(s) and female(s) together when there is a big change in atmospheric barometric pressure--the signal of a storm coming in. Some big water changes, daily or every other day, help too.

I would think people who are breeding Cyphotilapia frontosa, another deep water fish, will have the best conditions for breeding S. granulosa. You might even be able to breed them together in the same tank, so long as the tank is big enough that they can ignore each other.

Man, this makes me want to finally get my setup going for attempting to breed my S. angelica.

What they do do

Heheh! You said "do do".

[amiidae, posts: 337]

Thanks for the info, Richard.

I will probably setup a tank separator and remove it when they 'look' ready.

I'd be interested to see how a tank seperator would work, as i believe the reason NHA use separate tanks is so no pheremones/hormones etc are sensed by the other fish as they are in separate bodies of water.

I still have the choice to put them in separate tanks but thinking of using divider method out of convenience and also treat them like some aggressive cichlids with small hole on the separator for the smaller fish to retreat or cross over when he is ready.

Do you have more info fm NHA ? oh ya, I may put in a inverted flower put and see if it help.

[amiidae, posts: 337]

I'd be interested to see how a tank seperator would work, as i believe the reason NHA use separate tanks is so no pheremones/hormones etc are sensed by the other fish as they are in separate bodies of water.

Me too. From the people who have successfully bred synos in my area, I have gathered that pheremones/hormones play a huge part in the whole reproductive process. It has been recommended to me to have some other fish in the same tank as the female that are breeding. Guppies, mbuna, whatever. Anything that will survive in the same water conditions and breed and thus produce their own pheromones.

It's also always best to introduce your male(s) and female(s) together when there is a big change in atmospheric barometric pressure--the signal of a storm coming in. Some big water changes, daily or every other day, help too.

I would think people who are breeding Cyphotilapia frontosa, another deep water fish, will have the best conditions for breeding S. granulosa. You might even be able to breed them together in the same tank, so long as the tank is big enough that they can ignore each other.

Man, this makes me want to finally get my setup going for attempting to breed my S. angelica.

I know what you mean. I have friends who deliberately added some whiptails in their L46 tank and once the WT started breeding, their L46 spawn as well.

I have a friend who managed to breed his Moba here. He succeeded after hooking up a chiller and run it at low 20s. I hope I don't have to take that route for this cat.