S. flavitaeniata more common than it used to be?

[MatsP]

According to my Baensch Atlas (vol. 2?)

Synodontis flavitaeniata

is not frequently imported and thus very expensive. Whilst current stocks in various shops aren't exactly "rock bottom prices", it appears that they aren't extremely rare either. I just picked up two young ones at £15 each (only tiddlers, but still looking just as nice as the more mature ones at twice the price elsewhere).

The shop I got mine from says they are "likely from Singapore" as the wholesaler they came from deals mainly with Singapore. So likely captive bred, then...

--
Mats

[Silurus]

I know they are breeding synos in Malaysia (and possibly Indonesia), since I have seen juvenile tank bred

Synodontis decora

for sale here.

[Richard B]

I remember back in the day when these cost 3 figures (with no decimal point!!! & that was if you could find them). Move forward in time 20+ years & things have changed dramatically, to the point where i have seen these for under a tenner. Exactly the same for Angelica. Sands CotW Vol2 states the he has never seen a live Granulosa but they are now available albeit this specie has kept a high price, but not the £1000 the original imports were.

[MatsP]

I saw the price on the wholesalers list, and it was 4.60, so my 14.95 price matches the principle of 3x + vat, then round to ".95" fairly well. I'm sure a bigger shop that is willing to buy 20 or 50 of the little ones would be able to negotiate that price down and get to a £10 or so price-tag.

I guess that more frequent air-shipping from various places also helps, but if I understand the S. flavitaeniata was not a problem with shipping, but rather with catching them.

--
Mats

[Chrysichthys]

Maidenhead (Wheatley) has them for about £16 each, which I think is fairly typical.

[pturley]

I couldn't be happier with this conversation...

I'll be visiting my LFS over the coming weeks in hopes they become more available in the US as well. I need to add to the four I already have. There would be nothing better IMO than a 75 gallon tank, tangled with sticks and wood and about 10-15 (or more) of these swimming around.

[sidguppy]

don't overdo it unless you're going to buy a real tank

a 75G is all nice anbd well for 10 Synodontis nigriventris, but 10 flavitaeniatus let alone 15 deserve a 125g or so.

it doesn't make sense for the fish to get crammed in such a wee tank. they'll be fighting each other for the hiding places and they're not going to be happy.

[pturley]

We're a ways away from that yet, I need to find them first...

And, yeah, of course I'd give them a 125 gallon if their size warranted it. They are reported to be a schooling fish in the wild.

BTW: I have yet to see one larger than ~4" SL. Not saying they don't grow the 6.1" indicated in the Cat-ELog, but I haven't seen it.

[MatsP]

Fishbase says 19.5 cm TL, so I guess they do grow a bit more than 4" - but I also think they may not be the quickest growing fish in the world - most other synos aren't.

--
Mats

[Birger]

I picked up some small ones (1 inch)a while ago and I would say they were bred, but at least they were the real thing...not sure where they were shipped from but they are doing well in with my S.nigriventris and catching them in size.

[racoll]

Maidenhead (Wheatley) has them for about £16 each, which I think is fairly typical.

The worst thing is, they've been there since the shop opened years ago, and I don't think they've sold any!

It seems people just want to buy parrot cichlids and platies

[MatsP]

Maidenhead (Wheatley) has them for about £16 each, which I think is fairly typical.

The worst thing is, they've been there since the shop opened years ago, and I don't think they've sold any!

It seems people just want to buy parrot c*****ds and platies

Next time I'm up there, I'll have a look. Might be a while tho'.

--
Mats

[Richard B]

If i'm heading down to Surrey sometime this year, i could collect & transport them if you wanted (although you'll miss seeing anything else they have to offer - which is generally quite a bit )

[Chrysichthys]

Wholesale Tropicals also generally has them, I think for about the same price.

[sidguppy]

So likely captive bred, then...

you can count on this 100%.

if I understand the S. flavitaeniata was not a problem with shipping, but rather with catching them

yup. it's not the fish that's hard to catch, it's dodging the AK47 bullets while catching Syno's wich makes it very dicey.....

The worst thing is, they've been there since the shop opened years ago, and I don't think they've sold any!

a bloody shame, since it's not only 1 of the most beautiful synodontis species, but also one of the most docile and easy to keep.
and not at all for sale on this side of the North Sea at all.....but nothing new there.
the UK seems to float on great suitable catfish, while the Dutch wholesalers do their utter utter utter best at avoiding getting any species not attached to a number starting with an "L"

you can buy a whole truckload of Pseudoplatystoma's and Phractocephalus in any LFS, but getting this Synodontis or Callichthys etc is like trying to find unicorns.

if you check the country where this species lives it says Eala, Zaire.
better known as "Congo" ......

uh oh

right now whole armies of child soldier mercenaries are killing millions of people there; it's been going on for years. all for coltan and other stuff cellphones are made of.
it's mass slaughter at a scale not seen since WWII or Vietnam. millions of people have died in that hellhole and in general it's viewed as the most dangerous place on earth, even surpassing Irak atm.

no wonder certain species are captive-bred only.

[racoll]

the UK seems to float on great suitable catfish

Don't count on it! We do have some very good shops, but there aren't that many of them. 95% are just as bad as yours!

Seems like poor taste in fish is universal.

[sidguppy]

well, at least you have them.

I'm the loony nutcase that drives 900 (600 miles give or take) km in 1 day to get nice fish, but i draw the line at introducing a boattrip or airtrip.

driving from here to the UK including the bloody ferry would make the Callichthys a very expensive fish. they make you pay through the nose to get a car to the isle.

and flying is cheap but most airlines are hellbent on bringing a box of fish along. they refuse to cooporate at all. bummer

[Jackster]

I have Synodontis flavitaeniata available for $12 each at 1". I can also help out anyone
who is wanting to purchase larger quantities and probably get you a better deal on
a dozen or more. PM me if your interested.

[rahendricks]

Cat-eLog mentions:
"Although reported to grow up to 15.5 cm in the wild, S. flavitaeniata is rarely if ever seen at more than 8 cm in the aquarium. "
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with this. A local shop has one at about 3 inches and its the first I've seen in the area. They're asking $40 US.

[MatsP]

From what I understand, until recently, they weren't at all common in the trade, so growth rate and max size may not be fully explored. My book said that they export something like 12 a year - that's not a whole lot across the whole world - even if it's not accurate, I've seen more than 12 in the last few weeks, and it appears that they are turning up here there and everywhere. $40 doesn't sound like a crazy price in either direction - a fair bit more than Jackster's price, but then the fish is three times larger, so that's fair enough. It's less than one of my local shops is asking for similar size fish.

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Mats

[syno-kev]

these are a very very slow ! growing synos and live for around 30 years if all is kept well by the aquarist,
mine is around 8-9cm but i have seen a good 4 inch plus fish in the past when they were a bit more expensive but recently the shops i have seen them in have all been very small which may suggest someone is breeding them in the far east,
as theres nothing at all coming out of the congo for obvious resons.

[Sam]

They are eleven pounds here in uk available all the time in Nottingham at least for the last seven years or so, I think your LFS charging far too much
unless any current conflict in stanley pool region of the Congo where they hail from?