New Auchenoglanis species??

[MarkSmith]

This species came in through Rehoboth Aquatics, listed at Auchenoglanis cf. occidentalis Bouche. It was exported out of Guinea, according to Toyin. Any ideas??

[Birger]

Two described species from this area are

Auchenoglanis senegali

and

Auchenoglanis occidentalis

this is not the first so the second would be the best to go with...keeping in mind there are undescribed populations one of which is an undescribed population(from a list from Sierra Leon) from the Upper Guinean fish faunal group that has

four to five very large spots along the side of the body

which this fish does have.

These at the moment seem difficult at the juvi stage...as adults key features are the shape of the nuchal plate(can be seen in good photos) and tooth patches(very much harder for the aquarist)patterns and things like barbel color does come into play but will take some time to get used to.

Let me know if you want to peek at the recent revision for yourself.

Birger

[MarkSmith]

Thanks Birger!

I will try to post additional images of this one as it grows larger. I would love to take a peak at the recent revision too. Thanks in advance!

[Richard B]

The Bouche name is appearing in other places as well...

http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/ ... 1296951504

[MarkSmith]

Just an update: As of today, my specimen from the photo is now approx 13 cm. It was about 7.5 cm total length when the photo was taken a few weeks ago. Seems like a fast growing species and indicative of a large growning species too.

[MarkSmith]

Here is the same individual at 20 cm total length as of today, 5/22/11.

[Birger]

What I find most interesting so far is the changes in coloration of the barbels.

Not saying you should change the substrate but I wonder how much of a change a darker substrate would cause.

Birger

[MarkSmith]

That, along with it not being stressed, would show a darker pattern for sure.

[Viktor Jarikov]

what a nice thread - i love them regular updates on one fish with pics - they are the most edifying in the forum, IMHO... thank you, Mark!

[MarkSmith]

Thanks, my pleasure Viktor. It is interesting to see the morphological and chromatic changes that occur as its grows larger.

[Viktor Jarikov]

I sense the fellow scientist... ...using them big words with greek- (or latin-?) derived roots
While I am very keen onto learning the finer things, it is the basics that I derive most use out of atm... for I'm a low level amateur, and in that way, perhaps, I represent 90% of this forum goers. So I thanked you for all of them

[crkinney]

Gotta love it Vitor ain't been in the south but a couple of weeks and he's all ready turning into a redneck.
Nice fish mark how big will it get?

[MarkSmith]

Perhaps "armchair ichthyologist" would be a better fit, and a pretty ignernt one at that.

Not sure how how large this Auchenoglanis will grow. This is my first attempt at keeping such a fish. Don't most Auchenoglanis species attain a large size, 2 to 3 feet?? (60 to 90 cm)??

[MatsP]

I'd certainly count on a good possibility of reaching over 2ft/60cm.

--
Mats

[Viktor Jarikov]

I am fuzzy on "most" or % but my current understanding is that many sp in this genus stay small, under 1'. Am I wrong?

[MatsP]

The Cat-eLog does indeed list most of them around 1ft/30cm.

--
Mats

[Birger]

I am fuzzy on "most" or % but my current understanding is that many sp in this genus stay small, under 1'. Am I wrong?

Some of these measurements came from field studies that were done in the wild...I would be surprised if they did not get bigger, we just do not have the proof(yet).
I would think larger specimen would move into larger/deeper bodies of water where they are harder to collect and preserve. Market pictures often show larger fish as well but those end up as someones dinner unidentified and unmeasured.

Birger

[Viktor Jarikov]

are all the auchenoglanis, according to the current knowledge, in cat-elog?

[Birger]

are all the auchenoglanis, according to the current knowledge, in cat-elog?

Yes,...but...there is the variant mentioned above...another from the Rukwa drainage that is most likely another species and possibly more, it isn't finished yet.

Birger

[MarkSmith]

Here it is at approx. 25 cm total length.

[sidguppy]

interesting

it already shows the proportions of a mature Auchenoglanis at this size

any "wittei" or occidentalis at this size will be elongated still and don't even get chubby at 40 cm or more.

it's not exactly a "dwarf", but it wouldn't surprise me if it never grows larger than 1 foot.

[MarkSmith]

Hi Sidguppy, interesting observation. It would be nice if it doesn't get too large, as I would like to keep it longterm.

Please feel free to give examples that contradict my assumption - that catfish do not grow quickly to their full adult size, but that rather slow down well before reaching the end of their growth range? So far, this species has not shown itself to slow down on growth, averaging approx. 1 inch (2.5 cm) of length per month thus far.

[Birger]

Good point Sid, the body has deepened since the last picture.

This fish seems to be living quite a luxurious life, thanks to Mark.

So far it has grown 17.5 cm in 7 months, that is some decent growth.

Birger

[MarkSmith]

Well gentlemen, if we are going to keep our fish, we must do it properly. We got to love our cats! Or, rather it is "love me, love my Auchenoglanis!"

[Viktor Jarikov]

that's excellent growth by my experience: mine 4-5 giraffe's (~3 different types) would have been lucky to get half-to-a-quarter of this growth rate (they are all in catfish heaven now).

[MarkSmith]

I have kept the water temp higher than normal, at approx. 83 to 84 degrees F, as well as feeding it twice daily, along with 70% water changes weekly. This has likely contributed to its rapid growth.

[Viktor Jarikov]

i see; mine were at 77-79 F, one feeding daily in the company of gluttons - they likely never filled up to the max and sometimes they were too slow to come out to get anything at all; 50% WC weekly; 120 gal

[MarkSmith]

Well, time for an update. This Auchenoglanis has really slowed down growing, as it is now approx. 28 cm total length. Also, including a photo of the mouth. Does anyone know what the two wart-like structures are on the uppter lip?

[sidguppy]

thats the darkest and most gorgeous Auchenoglanis I've seen....

I used to think the wartlike structures where the first 2 nostrils, like a Polypterus or a Spiny Eel he would have elongated nostrils with a long passage and the exit would be the small slitlike opening in front of the eyes.

but that doesn't make sense; a fish that spends half its life with its nose in the sand wouldn't smell much.
I think they're taste papilla or something.

[Mike_Noren]

Add to cat-elog as Auchenoglanis sp. 1?