Syno ID (from another forum)

[Martin S]

I was trying to help someone on another forum with the ID of their syno, but could not find anything that I thought was close enough. Here are some details about the fish, and a picture. And FYI I have been given permission to post the request on their behalf.

I've tried before to ID my 17 year old (at least) cat fish. Don't go mad at me about the state of his fin. He came to me like that in 1997 when his previous owner gave up the hobby. He is 5" long. Very very fast and lively. Loves to eat flake and bloodworm but not fussed for cucumber. He plays football with it all night instead. You see the cucumber slice going up and down the tank in the dark like an old fashioned ping pong computer game LOL. He is very aggressive which I expect anyway. He hides in his drain pipes for most of the day but if he sniffs food he comes storming out to find it, grabs it and takes it back into his pipe!! He's got it down to a fine art. makes a right mess but no one is perfect are they? He moves so fast its almost impossible to catch a photo of him. This one is my most successful. As you can see he has teeny weeny black spots everywhere not just on his body. His belly is a shade lighter than his top and has the same spots. He's only 5" so I've discounted a few suggestions. Please please help me ID him. I think at 17 somebody should know what he is

I've double-checked the size, and it has been confirmed as 5"TL.
Martin

[Richard B]

S.Njassae (small spot var)

[sidguppy]

I don't think so

no idea what it is, but njassae?

[Martin S]

S.Njassae (small spot var)

Thanks Richard - will pass on the info.
Martin

[Birger]

I don't think so

no idea what it is, but njassae?

I have to agree with Sid.

I seem to remember a similar one coming through here with a damaged dorsal just like this a few months ago maybe even the same fish...the picture is not clear enough near the head for certain details.
Richard do you remember the one where HH said that there is studies being done as we speak on these small spotted types from west Africa.

[Richard B]

I don't think so
no idea what it is, but njassae?

Apart from some of the species that don't get exported into the trade & are therefore not seen, this looks extremely similar to njassae (small spot) specimens that i have seen & know to be definately wild caught fish.

These are different to the pics Sid has provided for cat-e-log which are genuine wild caught njassae (large spot).

This info is based upon the best knowledge i have available but i'll tempt fate & ask the question - are there unidentified species in the lake which we all lump together as njassae? Is it similar to the tanganyika situation, just not quite as advanced?

The "large spot var" in Sid's cat-e-log pics show a paler fish, large spots, with a bronze sheen - a beautiful creature that i have only seen on the rarest of occasions in the UK.

My own specimens are darker, a silvery slate grey, with no sheen & spots smaller than in Sids pics but bigger than the fish at the start of this thread - this var is most often seen in the UK & i know these to be wild.

There is a third wild var which is the fewer spotted 'sandy brown' style fish which is pictured in Sands CotW vol 2 which was seen in the Uk fairly frequently back 'in the day' (mid 80's to early-ish 90's) but i have not seen this var for a very long while.

I have no doubt whatsoever these are all wild fish, identified as Njassae (or whatever spelling was used at the time) - are these separate sp? Are these regional variations of the same species - i think it will take someone far cleverer & experienced than i to provide the answer.

(Whatever it is has seen the wrong side of something that took offence to it's dorsal)

[Richard B]

I don't think so

no idea what it is, but njassae?

I have to agree with Sid.

I seem to remember a similar one coming through here with a damaged dorsal just like this a few months ago maybe even the same fish...the picture is not clear enough near the head for certain details.
Richard do you remember the one where HH said that there is studies being done as we speak on these small spotted types from west Africa.

This does ring a bell, but if it was west africa it wouldn't include (or neccessarily compare against) rift species?

I don't recall a similar thread with another possible njassae with a damaged dorsal , but i do recall a thread from someone in (was it) Australia who inherited a tank set-up & a group of synos that looked like fat Njassae types - need to do a search when i get home!

[Birger]

Caudal tips seem too rounded for me....need my books.

[gonnaenodaethat]

Well spotted. It is indeed the same fish as a few months ago. I was going to post more pictures then my computer crashed and I lost everything. I feel really bad about his fin but he honestly came like that in 1997. I'm so glad that people with far more knowledge than me can maybe identify him/her. Would more pictures help because I can try tomorrow. It hard though because he sees me coming near his tank and he's like greased lightening. He's the fastest fish out of my four tanks for sure.

[gonnaenodaethat]

[Birger]

Would more pictures help because I can try tomorrow.

More pictures would most certainly help, then we could try to get this straight...a clear side shot showing the humeral process clearly would be a big help and a mouth/belly shot may help as well.

I have an idea but I would like to see further pics to clarify...something not yet suggested but the more I look at the pic here and the belly shot in the other post the more it makes sense.

previous post on this same fish http://www.planetcatfish.com/forum/view ... 70#p152070

can maybe identify him/her.

By the way it is a him.

Birger

[Richard B]

some more & sharper pics would definately help. It could be the sp mentioned in the previous thread but i don't want to discount njassae at this point - after looking at several more pics etc i am very unsure exactly

[gonnaenodaethat]

I have not been able to get any decent photos of him yet. I've enlisted the help of my better half and between us we hope to get a much better image soon. Can a link to youtube be posted?

[Dave Rinaldo]

Can a link to youtube be posted?

Yes.There's even a youtube tag!

youtube.GIF (9.92 KiB) Viewed 8660 times

[MatsP]

Note that when posting with the youtube tags, you need to take the last bit of the URL for the video and put that in youtube tags.

So for example:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nSGlh7xZtLM
should be:

Code: Select all

[youtube]nSGlh7xZtLM[/youtube]

We probably should have a FAQ entry for that...

--
Mats

[Birger]

The more I look the more I want to go with

Synodontis lufirae

The size is close to correct, the humeral should be broad at the front triangular and pointed at the tip which is how this looks to me. (this is what I wanted to check in a good photo)

The adipose is correct, spotted pattern with a white to yellowish belly,the base of the dorsal shows a short dorsal, and the deciding thing for me is the caudal fin being deeply forked but rounded at it's tips.(and they do not look nipped)

Fish from this area may have been imported more back then when looking at the time frame as well(17 years or so).

The pictures in the Cat-eLog are from Poll but not a good copy but between Poll's Revision and the Seegers book this is what I came up with.

Birger

[gonnaenodaethat]

sorry for the long delay but with one thing and another . . this is the best effort so far. I.ve tried frequently but he's too fast and very camera shy! Does this help. Wish it was clearer. You can make out his all over tiny spots.

[sidguppy]

too bad about the dorsal; this is one stunning fish......

i definitely believe it's a genuine synodontis, but till have no clue what it is

contrary to what i thought at first, it might even be some variety of njassae, but then i gotta say i have never seen any njassae looking like this, and I've been looking at that particular species on wildcaught specimen, pictures in books or on the net, scientific descriptions and so on for more than 20 years now.....

[gonnaenodaethat]

i agree its so sad about his fin. . He's been like that since i got him. I.m glad he's got your thinking caps on too. Its a pity none of you are nearby to come see him. His pictures don't do him justice at all. Wish i could get him to pose! Every time i see him in a good position for a photo he's off like a shot! I hope i.m giving him the best life i can do. I.ve no idea what water conditions he should be but i suppose thinking about it it can't be that bad for to have him still here ruling the roost. The one change i was thinking of doing was changing the gravel to sand. Then again should i fix something that isn't broken. Thank you all for taking the time to look and for replying to this thread. Ann.

[Richard B]

The substrate does look a little rough, but shouldn't be too bad for this fish - what else is in there?

You could replace a section of the substrate which would be less work if you wanted too - provided it isn't u/g filtration

[gonnaenodaethat]

I have a mixture of flat slate, coral sand and some gravel. To be honest he spends most of his time in his drain pipes which are smooth inside and out. He comes out for feeding but its like a smash and grab. He whisks all his food back into his pipe.

[MatsP]

That would count as Normal Syno behaviour in my book - they aren't the most outgoing characters, and only come out for a quick bite and then back into hiding again.

I'm sure the gravel isn't causing problems with this fish. If you have small/digging fish or fish that like to hide in the substrate, then you would be better off with sand.

If you LIKE to have sand, then by all means change it. But there is no need to change it for the same of this particular fish.

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Mats

[Richard B]

- they aren't the most outgoing characters, and only come out for a quick bite and then back into hiding again. --Mats

Hmmm - i wouldn't say this is a blanket comment but rather mostly true -on occasions some synos can be bold as brass, all the time, lights on etc - it does definately depend on several factors - set-up & species being most important

[MatsP]

Yes, of course. But it's more the exception than the rule that they spend time out in the open.

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Mats

[gonnaenodaethat]

Thanks for the input. I think I'll just stick with the gravel/sand and slate as it is for now. I don't have any other bottom feeders because I tried that and he massacred them!! A lesson learned. He also killed 5 neons over night once. My fault again. All i found were some bits of bodies!. He does spend some time out with his pipes but its usually when he's hungry. I feed him on flake and bloodworm. Is there anything else he would appreciate? I've tried lettuce and cucumber but all he wants to do is play with it.

[MatsP]

Yes, I would expect "meaty" food such as bloodworms and common flake/granule food is what I'd expect it to prefer. <Self-promotion>I wrote an article on feeding plecos, which discusses various "Home made" food for plecos. The foods as such are suitable for almost any fish - may need to be chopped/cut down to suit, but it may give you some ideas for "supermarket" fish-food. Try a few things, see what the fish thinks... The article is linked at the right of this post, where it says Articles (2) </Self Promotion>

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Mats

[gonnaenodaethat]

Thats really interesting!! I also have 3 plecos. They're all common run of the mill and they love tomatoes, peas, courgette, cucumber, sweet potato and if they get the chance baked potato. I say get the chance because I have a tin foil barb who has hollow legs (if he had legs!) Actually can you tell me if you can get leucistic common plecos because that's what I THINK he is?

[MatsP]

Yes, common plecos come in "leucistic" or "amelanistic" forms, as well as some other colour variants, and of course the normal "brown pattern".

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Mats

[gonnaenodaethat]

Thank you for that. Haven't seen any apart from this one but then i again they're all pleco's i've taken in for one reason or another. The one in the picture came because his tank burst!! Was meant to be temporary 4 months ago. Hmph. LOL

[Richard B]

For feeding the syno you could try green beans, peas, lentils or other pulses, earthworms, flies, beetles, woodlice, crabmeat, lobster, shrimp, prawn, mussell or oyster