PlanetCatfish.com

Hi!

I saw some S.nigriventris today that looked like this http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/mo ... /624_f.php but much smaller lines, like the stomach pic, not the thick white bands. Is this an actualy species or a hybrid? They were 6.60...they looked like upside down schoutedenis...

No, I believe it's not a hybrid. As to whether it's a color variant of S. nigriventris or a separate species, I don't know, but I suspect it's just a variant.

Dinyar

Hi!

Can this fish be messed up with young S.sp."zebrinus"?Ii wasnt so sure the main difference that i saw was that these were actually lswimming upside down.

It is quite easy to tell the two apart. There is a picture in the CateLog of a zebrinus at about the size you'd see a "Zebra kutu", if you want to compare.

Rusty

Hi!

I finally got my hands on "supposedly" zebra kutus.
I know that i definately need a better cam but that will be decided today when my car comes "under the knife".

I ordered a bunch of african fishes last week 5 of them being labeled as Synodontis aff. nigriventris "Zebra Rückenschwimmer" (Rück.=USD) hoping theyd be kutus.
They do have the same belly pattern as the one in the elog, but the pattern/color isnt as sharp.
The pic doesnt help much to bring this into perspective but ill post some anyway.


trying get a good shot of one today...

If asked now with the "normal" brown+spotted nigriventris, the mottled pattern+spots nigriventris and these new ones id say its just a variation of pattern with the middle thing being a mix. but im not expert...

I'm not either, but I agree with your statement.

Dinyar

Hi!

Sorry for posting this link in my photo thread too but this is a fish from the batch that came in as zebra nigrventris. One of the lesser zebra like looking ones but also the smallest one. And if i remeber correctly this one has a dark belly with spots compared to the wormlike wavy lines on the other kutus. Also notice that this one has bronze eyes compared to white. Maybe this ones another species?
http://www.uni-mainz.de/~hauzc000/bilder/Synokutu.JPG (pic is big ~700kb)

What makes you think that this is not a nigriventris?

It was more a feeling than anything else...but he has a shorter adipose fin, bronze eyes, shorter barbels and a thinner humeral process...but youre the expert if you say its a normal one ill accept that. Its just that i get more confused the longer i compare them.
The different patterns are:
- brown with dark spots and black belly
- brown with dark spots and light bands and black belly
- brown with light and dark bands and black belly
- less brown but more alternating bands of dark brown, lighter brown, cream color with wavy lines on the belly. (this seems to be closest to zebra kutu...if there is such a thing)

I might catch them next week to make them more compareable.

What makes you think that this is not a nigriventris?

I totally forgot...it was sold as S.aff.nigriventris...

Hi!

If they are one species as it seems ill still post some pics of the variations. Maybe somebody is interested.


spotted and lined belly

most of them (middle one has a spotted belly, the right one was what i thought was S.nigriventris)

I have kept these for many years and am continually amazed at how colorful a group of them can be when they are feeling comfortable in a tank, the variation in colors and patterns seeming different for every fish, for me they revert back to the usually described drab fish when any but the most peaceful fish are introduced in with them, it would not surprise me to find out there is more than one species or different geographical variants as you are discussing (wishful thinking on my part).
I am now trying again to have them spawn after leaving them alone for almost two years thinking that maybe they need to be more mature and am trying some of the methods usually described for the pleco's.

Based on snout morphology and the shape of the humeral process, it appears that you may have two species, but that is all that can be said for now.

Thx HH
(and i was starting to think that im not only unnerving you but also going insane over these seeing phantoms)