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Allan James (1) Hippocampus Bildarchiv (1) seasav (1) Martin Grimm (1)

Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 7. 32-54 mandibular teeth. Maxillary barbels reaching almost to the origin of the pelvic fin in some specimens and to the tip of the humeral process in others. Outer mandibular barbels with slender branches, inner pair with shorter, but slender branches. Marbled yellowish-brown (marbling is extremely variable, some individuals uniformly brown). Body shape (shape guide): fusiform / normal.Habitat: Lives in streams and rivers and in lakes, where it prefers shore regions. More common in rivers than in lakes. Common in marginal vegetation of Kagera River. Replaces S. victoriae in shallow waters of Lake Victoria, prefers areas less than 20m deep. Reproduction: Oviparous. Distinct pairing during breeding. Aquarium Care: It is tolerant of a wide spectrum of p.H. and hardness and even though this is not an upside-down catfish as we know them it likes to stand on its head or its tail and rest against the tank sides. You will see this Synodontis quite a lot during the day as it gets older, but less when as a youngster. Synodontis afrofischeri is a very peacfull fish and a prime candidate for an average sized community tank. Diet: Feeds on insects (Povilla and chironomid larvae) and molluscs. In the aquarium it will take most prepared aquarium foods such as frozen bloodworm, whiteworm, shrimp, prawns, tablet food and pellets. A wide varied diet will provide a healthy specimen for many years. Etymology: afro-, presumably referring to distribution in east Africa (type locality in Tanzania); fischeri, in honour of Gustav Adolf Fischer (1848-1888), medical officer and natural history collector, who collected type.

Fischer's Catfish

Synodontis atrofisheri

Mochokidae

Africa: Lakes Victoria, Nabugabo, Kioga, Ihema; Nile, Kagera, Kingani Malagarasi Rivers, Piti River, Lake Rukwa basin. Type locality: Victoria-Nyanza (Ukerewe-See).

14.0cm. (5½ins)

22-26°C (71-80°F)

6.2-7.5.

FishBase team RMCA & Geelhand, D. 2016. Synodontis afrofischeri. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.
Gosse, J.-P., 1986. Mochokidae. p. 105-152. In J. Daget, J.-P. Gosse and D.F.E. Thys van den Audenaerde (eds.) Check-list of the freshwater fishes of Africa (CLOFFA). ISNB, Brussels, MRAC, Tervuren; and ORSTOM, Paris. Vol. 2.
ScotCat Factsheet: no. 28; Oct.1998.
The ETYFish Project. Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
www.iNaturalist.org 2017.