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A local shop got some of these in, the guy at the shop said someone told him they were "Typus typus" from Africa but I knew that didn't sound right. A quick search later I identified my fish as Channallabes apus. I purchased just a single one, not knowing whether they do better alone or in groups. Haven't seen him since he went into my tank.
His absence aside, I was wondering if anyone has any personal experience with these guys. I noticed they're good at flinging themselves through the air should they not want to be captured and being housed with my baby P. senegalus I'm sure any holes he might slip through are sealed off.
Every night the tank gets sinking pellets as well as live and frozen bloodworm and frozen mysis.
Who else keeps them and how?

Are you sure it's not Gymnallabes Typus? The presence of pelvic fins or not will tell you oneway or another.

I have kept both & they're pretty similar as far as husbandry goes. They can be great escape artists as you suggest, so block up any escape routes from the tank - even tiny gaps need plugging. I found they mixed well with a variety of other bottom dwellers without any problems whatsoever & were not fussy on feeding. A really easy species (well 2 species) to keep

No pelvics so I don't know which.
Doesn't matter much now.
I decided to look for him and while all the midnight cats and tadpole madtom came out all I found of the Channallabes was a skull and spine.

That would make it .

Cat-eLog wrote: Distinguished by the extremely elongate body, reduced cranial shield, confluent median fins, small eyes and absence of pelvic fins.

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Mats

That seems to suggest it wasnn't in good health to begin with (?) i have kept them in aquaria that are heavily stocked with bottom dwelling competitors & they have fed well. Was there anything noticeable about it's condition upon purchase? Did it look skinny? (for a long slim fish) Did you quarantine it separately first before adding it to your main tank? Was it a brand new import or established (how long at the dealer)?

Richard B wrote:That seems to suggest it wasnn't in good health to begin with (?) i have kept them in aquaria that are heavily stocked with bottom dwelling competitors & they have fed well. Was there anything noticeable about it's condition upon purchase? Did it look skinny? (for a long slim fish) Did you quarantine it separately first before adding it to your main tank? Was it a brand new import or established (how long at the dealer)?

The guy at the shop said they'd had them for 10 days or so. He said they were feeding them bloodworms but never said anything about them actually eating. The fish were notably stressed as they were being picked on by the fish they kept in the same tank. At first I asked the shopkeep to net me a healthy looking one with minimal damage to it's fins but when that one flung itself out of the net and somewhere into the plumbing system he tried for another and I decided to not be as picky getting frustrated at how long the whole thing was taking. The one I ended up getting didn't look all that bad but I do believe that none of them were in the best of health.
They'd just received some Glyptothorax sp. which I really wanted but they'd just come in and all were breathing heavily so I passed for the time being.
It was the same place where I purchased my Hemisynodontis, both of which were at the shop for months and starving and deformed by the time I finally purchased them.
Admittedly I did not quarantine my C. apus prior to adding him to the tank. He went into the tank and disappeared under a piece of wood, two days later all I found was bones. I'm pretty sure he died the same night I got him.