Synodontis
petricola Mathes, 1959
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his is the smallest of the Lake Tanganyika
Synodontis and it also one of the prettiest from the Lake.
There
are a few varieties with small and large spots that abound in different
parts of the lake, whether they are distict species or are one and
the same (petricola), only time and the Ichthyologists will
tell but I would surmise that it is the juvenile and adult forms
of petricola that we are seeing.
It is very similar to the other popular Syno
from the same Lake, the 'Cuckoo Cat'., Synodontis multipunctatus
but petricola has white edgings to all its fins, especially
the leading ray to the dorsal, whereas Synodontis multpunctatus
has the rear end of the dorsal fin, white only and has larger
eyes. The closest relation, in colour pattern anyway, is Synodontis
polli, but the spots on its body are larger and tend to be more
irregularly rounded and it usually has a darker body colour and
a longer snout. The make-up of the teeth on these two species also
tells them apart, S. petricola: 31-32, S. polli: 36-43.
You don't tend to see S. polli ( not in the U.K. anyway )
very often, so mistakes are few and far between. Another close relative
is Synodontis dhonti, but only the juveniles of this species
have spots and not when adult.
The picture above depicts young Synodontis petricola
at between 6-7 weeks old. |
The genus Synodontis sports three pairs of barbels 1pair:
maxillary, 1 pair: outer mandibular and one pair of
inner mandibular barbels that are branched (filaments). There are
only three species that have filaments on their maxillary barbels
as well as the mandibular, and they are, S.clarias,
S.decorus and S.flavitaeniatus. The barbels
on the Lake Tanganyika species tend to be white.
One aspect of identifying similar body pattern Synodontis,
and is often overlooked, is the shape of the humeral process, the
bony structure that adorns the head of the Synodontis genus.
Below are a few shapes that could help you identify the Lake Tanganyika
types.
 1 |
 2 |
 3 |
 4 |
 5 |
1.
Synodontis petricola
2.
Synodontis multipunctatus
3.
Synodontis polli
4.
Synodontis dhonti(Juvenile)
5.
Synodontis dhonti (Adult) |
Synodontis petricola is quite a
peaceful species and will only eat or harass other tankmates if
they are much smaller than them as they forage round the tank at
night, and if you do see them for sale, and you can match their
water constraint, snap them up because you won't be disappointed.
Teeth 31-32. Skin on head is rough. Gill openings
do not extend beyond the level of the pectoral fin spine. Humeral
process is triangular, elongated and pointed.
Head and body brownish, slightly lighter on
the underside, the entire body and head (including the adipose fin)
is covered with numerous blackish spots which are irregularly rounded,
often confluent, and are smaller on the head and sometimes in the
ventral region. Dorsal, pectoral, ventral and anal fins dark from
the base, with their edges whitish. Caudal fin with a broad dark
band in both lobes continuing to the margins, above and below these
bands is whitish.
Keeping Synodontis petricola as with
the other Lake species tends to be a little diverse from your run-of-the-mill
Syno's as water parameters are different with the p.H. tending
to be on the alkaline side, and they are best housed in a large
tank ( 3ft or over ) with Cichlids from the Rift Valley Lakes with
a coral substrate, or tufta rock, to keep the p.H. up if you are
in a soft water area. The most success with this species usually
lies with Rift Valley Cichlid enthusiasts who add this Syno to
their collection for something different.
Contrary to popular belief this is also an
egg scatterer as well as a a Cuckoo spawner like Synodontis multipunctatus
and a few other Rift Valley Synodontis. There are two
articles on the breeding of this species in the ScotCat breeding
articles page. First is by a fellow Scottish aquarist titled, The
Spawning and Raising of the Pygmy Cat; Synodontis petricola.
The other is by two American brothers titled Spawning
Synodontis petricola.
In their native habitat they live on a crustacean
diet of snails as do other Lake Tanganyika catfish and will do well
in the aquarium on a diet of frozen foods such as shrimp, brineshrimp
and mysis. They will also accept tablet foods and a good quality
flake food.
| Etymology |
Synodontis:
Syn = together; odontis = teeth.(fused
tooth plates).
petricola: A dweller among rocks.
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| References |
Sands D; A Fishkeepers
Guide to African & Asian Catfishes.
Baensch; Aquarium Atlas 3.
Aqualog Verlag,
from the book Aqualog Photo Collection 1 and is
therefore copyright to this publication.
Bottom Picture: Danny Blundell |
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| Synonyms:
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| Synodontis
multimaculatus |
| Common
Name: |
| Pygmy
Catfish
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| Family: |
| Mochokidae |
| Subfamily: |
| Mochocinae |
| Distribution: |
|
Africa:
Lake
Tanganyika |
| Size: |
| 11.5cm. (4½ins) |
| Temp: |
| 22-25°C
(71-77°F) |
| pH.: |
| 7.5 - 8.2 |
| Donation: |
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