Synodontis katangae |
David Marshall
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Introduction
Several months ago a 'mixed bag' of wild caught Synodontis
species arrived at the Petland aquatic retail outlet at
New Earswick (a suburb of York). Martin, whose family owns
the outlet, was 'first on the scene' as these fish arrived
and put aside a beautiful crème coloured little Synodontis
to take home for his own aquarium.
A couple of days later I paid a
visit and was able to view this 'new' Synodontis
while it was still in the shop. As I have an extremely
keen interest in these fish I became excited as to the
identity of this particular individual but did not tell
Martin exactly what my instincts had told me. I wanted
to have the chance to verify this initial recognition
through textbook pictures and photographs.
Synodontis katangae
Photo © David Marshall |
It did not take long for me to get in touch and, after phoning
Kevin Webb to check that this Synodontis had small
eyes and banding to the tail, confirm with Martin that we
had a Synodontis katangae in our midst and that
this was the first katangae, as far as we know,
available to aquarists in the Ryedale area for at least
30 years - if ever.
Aquarium care
Martin now tells us how this fish is kept:-
The katangae was placed into
a 36"x12"x15" aquarium. This tank is filtered
by a Rio Power Filter. I try to keep the pH at 7 but sometimes
this, despite my best efforts, does fall and this affects
the katangae by making his eyes go distinctly cloudy.
Thankfully a quick water change soon puts this right. Although
active, I have found the katangae to be a peaceful
species which lives quite happily in the company of Golden
Australe killifish and various Betta species (including
Betta picta). He enjoys the peace afforded by a bogwood
cave and is an avid consumer of bloodworms. Over the past
few months, as David and Kevin will testify, the katangae
has put on a good rate of growth. In order for some photographs
to be taken I gave the katangae his first 'show
bench experience' at the recent Ryedale A.S. Open Show.
Martin and David at the Ryedale
A.S. Open Show
Photo © A. Kenworthy
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Natural History
Synodontis katangae
is found in the Congo River basin with the largest population
occurring in the Luombwa River system of Angola. The largest
known specimen had a body length of 240mm. The pectoral
fin bones of katangae are said to resemble thick boomerangs.
The background body
colour goes through a small number of 'life stages' and
in adults is light grey-purple. I have seen drawings and
photographs of katangae that show fish with neat
rows of tiny spots upon their bodies, others showing fish
with up to18 large black spots spread over their bodies,
whereas katangae like Martin's have a much lower
number of body spots that are 'bunched' towards the caudal
peduncle.. Perhaps the spotting, as in Synodontis zambezensis,
changes with age?
Caudal markings of katangae
Photo © David Marshall
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Living specimens are often confused with both Synodontis
ocellifer and Synodontis ornatipinnis. To
tell the difference between katangae and ocellifer
look at the caudal peduncle, as in katangae you
find a bar, which is absent in ocellifer. Also
look at the eyes, which in katangae are much smaller.
The confusion with ornatipinnis comes through their
identical body structures and eyes, but ornatipinnis
has a zebra-patterned body as opposed to spots. The caudal
pattern of katangae is also slightly different
from that of the other two species.
As a river-living Synodontis,
reproduction takes place during the rainy season, when
rivers flood out into grasslands creating ideal conditions
for extra food resources for adults, and microscopic foods
for their fry to gorge upon. The majority of riverine
Synodontis scatter dark coloured eggs among the
vegetation with the hatchling fry left to fend for themselves.
The observations that Martin makes
will add to our knowledge of this little-studied species.
Introduction, natural history
research and katangae photographs by David Marshall
Aquarium care by Martin Echarri of the Ryedale Aquarist
Society, England
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