ID of possible synodontis ornatipinnis (?) bought as corydoras

[crpr]

Dear experts,

We are absolute beginners. We bought about 18 months ago two small fishes. They were labelled as corydoras by the supplier and they were in their corydoras tank. They had amazing patterns for a cory. Now they have grown into something larger than expected, and they do not look like corydoras. We cannot find them on the identification tables in the guides we have. We checked with the new expert at the supplier, who says he does not think they are corydoras but synodontis, but he struggles to pin down the species. From the pictures on the forum, it may look like Synodontis ornatipinnis, but we are not certain at all, and we do not have identification tables or guides. We would like to keep them, they are beautiful, and they are very interesting. Can you help us with an ID? We would like to give them the best conditions (even if they seem to be thriving in the current conditions).

Kind Regards
Corrado, Benedetto, & Rina

[Jools]

Hi

Welcome to the forum!

I'd say it is

Synodontis sp_hybrid(9)

.

Jools

[crpr]

Dear Jools,

Thank you very much, really appreciated! Where can we find more information about the conditions? In particular, we would like to know about the size to which they grow, to determine whether the tank size is sufficient, and whether they prefer to be alone or not, how many we can host in the current tank, and whether we can host them with other species (the current tank is mono species, 85 litres, and there are two of them)? At the moment they seem to be thriving, but we are really concerned about the size against the size of the tank, since they seem to be developing fast ....

Kind Regards
C,B & R

[Martin S]

If you click on the link Jools provided above, you can find out more about the fish. As Jools says, it's a hybrid (mix of at least two species) and will definitely be too large for an 85L tank. It's not a typical community fish, unless that community are medium to large fish. I'd either suggest you return them to the store for credit towards something more suitable, or look to see if you can pass them on to someone who has the appropriate tank for them...or buy another tank for them

[crpr]

Dear Martin,

Thank you for the additional information. We had already visited the link Jools sent before posting, but unfortunately there is little information on size, and size of tank, hence the question. We went back to the supplier with a complaint, and they told us it is a species, that is a dwarf species, and that it came from the wild (which we had explicitly told them we did not want, grrrrr!!!!), and that they are going to send us more information, but we have not received anything yet. They also told us they are going to get more from South America in February. I guess their concept of dwarf is different from ours because the fish is already about 12cm, so it doubled in size in about 18 months. Unfortunately, we have grown quite fond of them after such a long time (18 months, as I explained), and they are indeed so beautiful and interesting that we would much prefer not to give them back against credit, everybody is really fond of them, particularly the kids. We are looking for the solution of changing the tank, and that is why we are trying to understand more about their size as adults, and about the best conditions. What size of tank should we go for? Also, at the moment, we are looking at medium sized plecos as companions. What do you think? Of course, we are also looking at changing the supplier once and for all ....

PS: I guess they took a good economic hit, since we paid them as a common small cory, and synodontis sell for more than four time the price in our area, so there is a silver lining after all.

Kind Regards

[naturalart]

Hello crpr, Since they are possibly hybrids, no one knows just how big they will grow to. If I were you, I would move them into about a 40 gallon/150L tank, just to be on the safe side. If they grow to 6inches/150mm I would get them into a larger tank.

I would be careful about adding plecos, as they are both bottom dwellers and there's a good chance for battles for hiding holes/territory, etc. And it appears you don't know the temperment of these fish yet? Maybe try a common Ancistrus sp. and see how that goes before adding more expensive plecos.
my 2¢

[Martin S]

I'd also be wary of your supplier, as the true Synodontis don't come from South America at all, they are from the African continent. Often these hydrids come from breeders in Europe, and so they definitely did not come in with a South American shipment. As stated above, they are not suitable for your tank size regardless of tank mates and they suspect (though as above, we can't be 100% sure) will get to somewhere between 6-8".

[crpr]

Dear Martin, Naturalart,

Thank you for the information about size and company.

I absolutely agree on the origin, S. ornatipinnis is supposed to come from the Congo basin. I simply textually quoted their answer to our complaint. They keep surprising us, and every time we are in touch they dig themselves into a deeper hole. At the last message they suggested that they are not Synodonties after all, but either C. barbatus, or A. hanckocki, which I think are both completely wrong (please, feel free to correct me if I am wrong), so we decided to stop asking.

A the end of the day, we decided to keep observing the fish into the current tank, to see whether they continue to grow at this rate or not. We will also try to understand their behaviour better, and take some more accurate pictures and possibly video. Once we have understood a bit better we will make a decision on tank size and shape, and on companion.

Let us know what you think.

Kind Regards
C, B & R

[bekateen]

Hello C, B & R,

Indeed,

Scleromystax barbatus

and

Platydoras hancockii

are South American, and neither even closely resembles the fish you received. The supplier seems to be "fishing" for names to give you.

Cheers,
Eric

[Ralfieboy]

I have a bunch of different Synodontis species from Ocellifer, Decorus to Lucipinnis.
I loved the way Hybrid Species 9 looked and 4 years later he is on par with the Decorus. I figure Decorus makes up part of the Hybrid Species 9. My Synodontis are in a 180 gallon with a lot of rock work. They are cool catfish and do get big.

[Ralfieboy]

[Jools]

I loved the way Hybrid Species 9 looked and 4 years later he is on par with the Decorus. I figure Decorus makes up part of the Hybrid Species 9. My Synodontis are in a 180-gallon with a lot of rock work. They are cool catfish and do get big.

I like them too, even though they are artificial. Can I ask about the temperament - how do you find them?

Cheers,

Jools

[Ralfieboy]

I have no issues with him. He hangs out with the Decorus, Petricola, Multipunctatus, Grandiops, Njasse, Crocodile Island Syno, Lucipinnis, Ocellifer, and Harlequin Lancer Catfish. The other residents do not get bothered by him from Humphead Glassfish, Red Tail Hemiodus, Roseline Barbs, Pearl Gourami, Geophagus Sveni. Multilineatus Mascara Tetra….i used to have the Hybrid Piedratus that are being sold as Granulosus and they were mean and I got rid of them…..highly recommend this Hybrid Species 9 if you have the room.