help with a synodontus

**Pearl Trade** · 07-26-2008, 03:20 AM

can someone help me ID my fish? i thought it was a syno. multipunctatus until i made a visit to the LFS a few weeks ago and they had some syno. petricola. to me my fish looks more like a petricola but i'm not completely sure. sorry for the bad pictures, hes always moving around.

**Red** · 07-26-2008, 03:21 AM

ahh i think those are petricola... i have those they like to be in groups

**Pearl Trade** · 07-26-2008, 03:32 AM

Originally Posted by The Red Severum

ahh i think those are petricola... i have those they like to be in groups

putting a $15 dollar fish in groups gets expensive quick

**Red** · 07-26-2008, 03:48 AM

oo i know dont worry i looked and looked for a local breeder and found mine for 5$

**Pearl Trade** · 07-26-2008, 03:53 AM

i wish i could have gotten that price for mine. he (or she) is filled with personality - swims upside down at feeding time. i think hes nipping at my sun cat unfortunatly so i need to figure out what to do with him :/

**Red** · 07-26-2008, 04:50 AM

damn that sucks get rid of the sun cat they get big :) i wish you were closer i would take him
lol

**Pearl Trade** · 07-26-2008, 05:18 AM

haha i'd give him to you in a heartbeat, he's eaten all the other fish i've put in with him

**toddnbecka** · 07-26-2008, 05:51 AM

Deefinitely either a petricola or lucipinnis, but NOT a multi. S. multi's have white bellies.
How big is the rogue?
Incidentally, even a 29 is too small for a group of any Synodontis species. I'd advise returning the fish to the lfs for credit toward another, more suitable species (Cory cats come to mind for a 29, or a BN if you have algae problems.)
I'd love to take the fish off your hands, but $15 is a bit too much for a single specimen that goes for $5-8 online, plus shipping costs.
For future reference, S. petricola and/or lucipinnis have white edges on all their fins, but NOT the tail. The other distinguishing difference is the spotted belly that multi's DON'T have. S. multi's also grow a bit larger (~+1"), and generally require cichlid hosts for spawning. They will scatter eggs w/out hosts if conditioned for spawning like petricola/lucipinnis, but usually eat them soon afterward.
I strongly believe the sun cat is the culprit in the disappearing fish case. They are a predatory species, unlike the Synodontis genus in general.