Are Synodontis lucipinnis available in the US?

[Duke79]

I am putting together a 75 gallon African Cichlid tank and would like to include a group of Synodontis lucipinnis in the stock list. Unfortunately I haven't been able to locate any at a LFS or on-line store. Are they available or are they so very rare that I should give up trying to find a group?

I know that Synodontis cf. petricola would be a nice option if I can't find the Synodontis lucipinnis ... but I believe the lucipinnis are a bit smaller when they are mature and I wanted a small syno catfish in this tank.

Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

[blue2fyre]

They are readily available but often mislabeled. Most Synodontis petricola you find are actually Synodontis lucipinnis. I know this to be the case in my area. Every petricola around here turns out to be lucipinnis. Dave's fish has some usually but they must be out of stock right now.

 

[toddnbecka]

I have a well-established group of 7 adults in a 55. I've been growing them out for several years now, (wanted to breed them) but they took so long to mature I don't have tankspace for spawning/raising until I move out some other fish.

 

[Duke79]

Most Synodontis petricola you find are actually Synodontis lucipinnis.

Thank you for this information. Is there an easy way to know if you are getting a petricola or lucipinnis?

 

[blue2fyre]

It can be tough to tell when they are little. Mine were 2" before I could tell for sure. The spots on the body tend to be more irregular on lucipinnis while petricola have spots that tend to line up. On lucipinnis the edges of the spots are less clear and the spots tend to toch each other and be larger than petricola.

Here's a link from planet catfish. Some lucipinnis are easier to tell than others. Once mine got large enough it was pretty easy to tell I had lucipinnis and not petricola.
Mine look more like these

 

[toddnbecka]

Adult petricola have smaller spots, more densely patterned and more-or-less in rows.

 

[Barbie]

S. petricola are also not regularly spawned in aquarium (although it is being reported more frequently). If you find tank raised fry, odds are quite good they are actually S. lucipinnis. Get a bunch. They're like potato chips. You can't have just one. Groups of 10 or more are quite impressive .

Barbie

 

[DLV082]

To tell the difference between Petricola and Lucipinnis, look at the spots on the "thick" portion of the body, before it tapers off to the tail zone... basically between the gills and the anal area...

The Petricola have a "straight-line" pattern of spots, whereas the Lucipinnis have a "staggered" pattern of spots.

Hope this helps

 

[blue2fyre]

Of course all of these differences can be difficult to see considering the way these guys zoom in and out of their hiding places.

 

[Duke79]

Thanks for all the help on this! I sure appreciate it. I have 6 Lucipinnis on order from one of the well-known on-line rare aquarium fish vendors. He didn't have them on his stock list, but when I contacted him was told he had a few in stock.