PlanetCatfish.com

Hi there,

I brought a new syno today, but the LFS id not know what t is.

I have browsed the images here and think it may be S. ocellifer, but I would welcome your thoughts.

I have posted some pictures, (although they are a little blurry) at http://spaces.msn.com/j4uuk/


I will add some more photos if I can get some good ones.


It is about 4 inches long, a matt yellowish colour, with 14 well defined black spots distributed evenly over it's body.

It's dorsal fin is not as well developed as those such a eupterus, but the first spine is a little prominent. It's adipose fin runs from the dorsal fin down to the tail and is rather thick, and not translucent.
It has a standard syno tail covered in smaller black dots.
It's body is somewhat thinner than that of my eupertus but it looks like he may fill out a touch when he grows on.

If you want more info then contact me via the link above then leave a comment.


Thanks..

Jonny

It is hybrid, not a real thing...

jonny wrote:, with 14 well defined black spots distributed evenly over it's body.

I can't tell you what it is, but what strikes me is the incredible regularity of the spots. Quite amazing in my view.

Looks pretty much like an ocellifer to me.

Marc van Arc wrote:

jonny wrote:, with 14 well defined black spots distributed evenly over it's body.

I can't tell you what it is, but what strikes me is the incredible regularity of the spots. Quite amazing in my view.

I thought the same, and as it was lookin sooo very sad when I saw it in my LFS i just had to rescue him. The photos on my site don't do him justice, I will post more when the he keeps still long enough to get a few better ones.

Thanks all for your replies, Thanks to Silurus for confirming the ID.

jonny

i'm withb silurus, it looks just like my ocellifer
i don't think the regularity of the spots is any
indication of it being a hybrid,you just got lucky
with such a uniform pattern.

Second picture shows that it has very coppery eyes
http://tk.files.storage.msn.com/x1ppa1W ... giL3W3tAHw

Mika, the "coppery eye" well thats "red eye" caused by the flash and my poor photography.

In actual fact the eye is dark, appears the normal not much different from that of my eupterus. This will hopefully be evident when i manage to get better shots of him.

Thankyou all for your thoughts,

Jonny

it looks like a regular ocellifer; but next time try to take a pic of it submerged in a little plastic tank or something.

the shape and coloration all point at a regular true ocellifer.
coppery eyes are indeed something that for example Synodontis polli has; but species like nigrita, eupterus and ocellifer often show coppery eyes when flashed.

if it's at home -in a tank- the coloration of a true ocellifer should be a bit greenish; like the lightbrown color has a bit of olive in it.
often in well-lit tanks they're plain grey.

the spots are a characteristic: large and well-spread.....it's in the name!
"ocellifer" translates as "having eye-spots" (roughly)

hybrids like the infamous ocelliferxmultipunctatus often have a quite pointed snout, many spots and a creamy, golden yellowish color.