Lake Tanganyikan Synodontis ID

[edds]

Hi all,
My first post and I'm hoping maybe someone can help.
I have a group of 9 synos that were all purchased as multipunctatus in two groups from my LFS. I think they are all actually grandiops apart from two fish that were in the first group I purchased (the fish pictured below and another one I couldn't get a picture of which I think is a form of petricola).

It is consistently much darker than the others and has a different, more evenly sloping head shape.

Is it a hybrid of some type of perhaps a multipunctatus compared to grandiops or are they all just part of the natural variation of either grandiops or multipunctatus?

[edds]

Managed to get a pictured of the other unsure species.

I think it is either a lucipinnis but not 100% sure.

[naturalart]

Hi edds, I've never kept S grandiops or multipunctatus, but I have kept lucipinnis. I do think you have a group of S. multipunctatus based on your pics; or at least a mixture of multipunctatus/grandiops, but don't quote me, I could be wrong. S lucipinnis tops out at smaller size than either of the other two. Have you read the general remarks in the Cat-elog?

https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/sp ... cies_id=95

my 2¢

[edds]

Thanks for the reply. I definitely think the shoal comprises at least 2 species, possibly as many as 4.

There are 5 I think are grandiops (the paler fish in the first set of photos are these fish).

There are then two fish which may be grandiops or multipunctatus. I'm trying to get a decent photo of them when they're up against the glass to count the pectoral fin rays.

There's then the darker fish in the photos in my first post which could be a form of multipunctatus or grandiops but also does bear a resemblance to the photos of S.irsacae on here.

Then the final photo is a single S.lucipinnis (I think!).

[Kryptic]

All the synos in your first post are either multipunctatus or grandiops, best way to tell them apart is to count the fin rays as you already know.

The fish pictured in your second post looks to me like a hybrid, because of its large eye (too large to be a lucipinnis) and white pectoral and dorsal fin spines (the dorsal fin spine on a grandiops/multipunctatus should be black).

[edds]

Thanks Kryptic - does that include the darker individual? I haven't seen any photos of grandiops/multipunctatus that look that dark.

Had a slightly nagging feeling the last one might have been a hybrid as it didn't seem to match either species exactly.

[Kryptic]

Yes the darker specimens are as well grandiops/multipunctatus, they just seem to be a bit darker. I've seen some equally dark specimens of grandiops before so it is definitely just variation between specimens.

[edds]

Thanks very much. Will get on with some pectoral fin ray counting to determine exactly which fish is which species.