By far the most popular squeaker catfish (Synodontis) is the upside-down catfish (Synodontis nigriventris). The species comes from the Congo, where it colonizes the central section of the river (including Pool Malebo, the former Stanley Pool); the settlement area also includes the basins of the Kasai, Ubangi and Kouilou-Niari rivers. It is not the only […]
Synodontis eupterus inhabits the White Nile, the Niger and Chad basins and the Volta River. There it is found over mucky and sandy substrate. Nowadays, however, practically all animals in the trade are captive-bred. A striking feature of this catfish, which can grow up to 25 cm long, is its magnificent dorsal fin with elongated […]
Some time ago a small Synodontis appeared in the hobby, which is called “White Polli”. But the “White” has little in common with the actual Synodontis polli. The dorsal fin spine of “White” is bicolor, black in the lower half, white in the upper half. This species is distributed in the hobby almost exclusively as […]
This is one of the large river catfishes of Africa. We were able to import some specimens once more from Nigeria. However, the species has a very far distribution and is found in the Nile, most parts of West Africa and also in the rivers that flow through the savannahs and riparian forests of East […]
Squeakers or upside-down catfishes are a fish family occurring exclusively in Africa. The best known genus is Synodontis, which comprises over 130 species. Closely related to this genus is the genus Microsynodontis. The genus name means “small Synodontis” and is program, because these fish already become sexually mature with 3-4 cm of length, are thus […]
One of the most beautiful squeaker catfish (Synodontis) comes from the Congo: Synodontis decorus. The slender species grows about 20-30 cm long and is relatively peaceful. One must always consider that all squeaker catfish have a hierarchy among each other, where “social biting” is absolutely necessary and not alarming, since it only comes to superficial, […]
For a long time it was believed that there were only two species of electric catfish, namely the widespread Malapterurus electricus and the Congolese M. microstoma. Then two independent revisions of the genus appeared practically at the same time, one by Roberts (2000) and one by Norris (2002), which drastically increased the number of species, […]
We usually get electric catfish from Nigeria in the form of the species Malapterurus beninensis. This is a medium sized species that grows to 20-30 cm in length. In April 2017 we received electric catfish from the Congo. From there 4 species are registered: Malapterurus monsembeensis (Syn: M. gossei), M. melanochir, M. microstoma and M. […]
Squeakers or upside-down catfishes are a fish family occurring exclusively in Africa. The best known genus is Synodontis, which comprises over 130 species. Closely related to this genus is the genus Microsynodontis. The genus name means “small Synodontis” and is program, because these fish already become sexually mature with 3-4 cm of length, are thus […]
Until recently only two species of Auchenoglanis were recognized as vaild: A. biscutatus from the Nile and the whole of West Africa and A. occidentalis from Central Africa. But in 2010 the genus was revised by Retzer, who accepted a total of 8 different species, 7 already described formerly and one new species, namely A. […]
The airbreathing catfishes of the genus Clarias are among the most important food fishes that are bred in aqua culture in the tropics. They are absolutely undemanding in respect of water quality and the fact that they readily accept any food as long as it contains enough protein makes them ideal candidates for aqua culture. […]
We obtained a very rarely offered squeaker catfish from the Congo: Synodontis soloni. The species is medium sized (for squeakers): 20-25 cm long specimens can be called real big ones. The large caudal fin and the slender body give hints that this is a rheophilic species. Against conspecifics our specimens, which are currently 12-15 cm […]
Among the imports from central Africa this beautiful catfish is a real rarity. It is known so far only from the central Congo basin. From that region only few fish are imported regulary. The species attains a length of approximately 40 cm. Thus it is a perfect tankmate for show aquaria with larger species of […]
We obtain a very strange catfish on a regular basis from Nigeria: Gymnallabes typus. Sadly the fish has been given the name Channalabes apus in the hobby; this is a different species from the Congo. The catfish has an eel-like body, becomes 20-30 cm long, has an impressive mustache and tiny little eyes. In the […]
There does exist a good number of species of Synodontis that tend to swim upside down. The best known species is without any doubt the upside down cat, Synodontis nigriventris from the Congo. Now we were able to import the very rarely offered Synodontis batensoda from Nigeria, which shows a similar behaviour. It seems to […]
Until recently only two species of Auchenoglanis were commonly accepted, namely A. biscutatus and A. occidentalis. This changed with the revision of Retzer (2010), who recognizes eight different species. In the Congo the genus is represented by Auchenoglanis wittei, which can be easily identified by the “reticulated giraffe”-pattern of the body. However, this is the […]
This is another catfish-beauty originating from Nigeria. Someone once said that this species of Synodontis can be characterized by three adjectives: peaceful, beautiful, and hardy. In fact S. ocellifer is one of the most peaceful species of Synodontis at all. The maximum length of S. ocellifer is about 20 cm. When they get older they […]
Two weeks ago we presented to you some species of catfish we imported from Nigeria. This wonderful shipment contained also some by-catches, which are species that were send erroneously along with the ordered specimens. One of these by-catches came with Synodontis clarias. It was the extremely rarely imported species Synodontis sorex. This “Scissortail-Squeaker” has a […]
The species in our small series on catfishes from Nigeria is – in contrast to the species described so far – always available and it fits perfectly in any community tank: the African Glass Catfish, Parailia pellucida. The maximum length is given with 15 cm in literature; however, we see only very rarely specimens larger […]
The African genus Bagrus contains large, predatory catfish. The maximum size of the different species is between 30 cm and more than one meter! Sadly the determination of the species is rather difficult, because most of the 11 species that are regarded as valid currently have been described before WW2. A modern revision does not […]
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 […]
There does exist a good number of species of Synodontis that tend to swim upside down. The best known species is without any doubt the upside down cat, Synodontis nigriventris from the Congo. Now we were able to import the very rarely offered Synodontis batensoda from Nigeria, which shows a similar behaviour. It seems to […]
Sometimes it is almost impossible to distinguish between a food fish and an ornamental fish. The marbled Clarias is, however, bred in Southeast Asia as a food fish for human consumption. It grows extremely fast, is very hardy and can survive on the market without water for many hours, because it has an accessory breathing […]
We were able to import a pretty species of squeaker from the Congo: Synodotis notatus. The species attains a maximum length of about 25 cm and is worth mentioning for at least two reasons: first, the number of spots on the flanks varies a lot individually. Most specimens have only one spot, but there are […]
The squeakers (Synodontis) are a very species-rich genus. More than 130 species are known, all of them originate from Africa. In the countries of their origin most species are used for food. In the aquarium hobby most species are unknown with a few exceptions. Among the most pretty, smallest and rarest species of Synodontis is […]
The squeakers (Synodontis) are a species-rich genus of catfish from Africa. Currently 131 accepted species are known. The maximum size of these fish lies between 8 cm and 60 cm. Most species attain a maximum length of 15-20 cm in the aquarium. In their home-countries these fish are very common and heavily used as food […]
We received with the current Cameroon importation this beautiful squeaker, which can attain a maximum length of about 20 cm. The species is known only from the river Dja and its affluent Libi. This is the reason why the fish is considered an endangered species, for the Dja is heavily destroyed and polluted due to […]
This species represents without any doubt the most popular African catfish at all. The Upside Down Cat (Synodontis nigriventris) has reached us in good numbers and a perfect size again. Currently the fish are 3-4 cm long. For our customers: the fish have code 183402 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the […]
Code: 183003
We currently have a limited number of the very pretty and rare Synodontis sp. aff. nigriventris ZEBRA in stock. The species differs from the “common” Upside Down Catfish by the extremely contrasting pattern. The species is – as far as it is known – restricted to the Mai Ndome region in the DR Congo. Size […]
Parauchenoglanis punctatus: Among the imports from central Africa this beautiful catfish is a real rarity. It is known so far only from the central Congo basin. From that region only few fish are imported regulary. The species attains a length of approximately 40 cm. Thus it is a perfect tankmate for show aquaria with larger […]
This beautiful Synodontis is a real dwarf compared with its numerous congeneers: it reaches only 8-10 cm (very old specimens in extreme spacy aquaria may reach 15 cm). In the hobby it became popular under the name “dwarf petricola”. Some species of Synodontis occuring in Lake Tanganyika (where S. lucipinnis is an endemic species) have […]
(June 6th 2008) Actually we are able to supply one of the most beautiful member of the Synodontis family. They come from the Lake Tanganjika so they need harder water with a higher pH. These are extremely active fishes which grow up to 25cm, so they should only be kept in bigger tanks. Adults are aggressive […]
The Spatula-barbeled Catfish, endemic for Lake Tanganyika, has a very special way of reproduction for catfish: they are biparental mouthbreeder. This small catfish is the only representative of its genus and can be easily distinguished by the long barbels on both sides of the upper jaw, which are ending into a spatula form. The total […]
Microsynodontis polli is one of three poorly documented pygmy Synodontis species, the other two being M. lamberti and M. batesii. They origin from Western to Central Africa, M. polli is reported for the upper Niger in Guinea and Liberia. Their maintenance is no problem as long as the water is soft and slightly acidic, although […]
From the Katanga province of the Congo we could import some partly striped specimen of Synodontis angelicus. Formerly these forms were regarded as the subspecies Synodontis angelicus zonatus, today they are considered however as a color variant of the species. In any case they are very decorative and should not be missing in Congo basins […]
