This
week we want to focus on unusual species of catfish from Nigeria.
Today: Synodontis clarias. This is the first species of Synodontis that
became known by scientists. The original scientific description dates
back to 1758 and was done by Linnaeus. Nevertheless the species is
exported only very occasionally for aquaristic purposes. The fish
attains a length of more than 30 cm. It has an enormous distibution: the
Nile, Chad, Niger, Volta, Gambia and Senegal. S. clarias is a food fish
in all countries it occurs.
Juveniles,
like the 6-8 cm long specimens we were able to import now, look very
different to adults in respect of coloration. Adults have a
slate-coloured body and a red caudal fin.
For our customers: the fish have code 174803 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
