# Not a cichlid, but close (Synodontis ID?)



## mike1234 (Feb 16, 2010)

Got these guys the other day.. They were mixed with angels and cory cats. Tricked the girl into thinking they were corys. Supposed to be Syno. Multipunctatus. Not great with iding synos, so I figured I would ask before buying the rest. I really want to see catfish shoot out of a cichlid lol. Sorry about the horrible quality..


----------



## matto (Apr 3, 2012)

its either a multi or a petricola


----------



## sus (Aug 29, 2009)

Most probably multi; petricola has white border on both front and back of dorsal.

Here are the pics:

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...=MWikT6L8PIb88gTwvYjAAw&sqi=2&ved=0CFwQ9QEwAA

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...PN4yc8gSq8ZnTAw&sqi=2&ved=0CGEQ9QEwAg&dur=297


----------



## 702Cichlid (Feb 28, 2010)

Tough to tell at that 3/4 head on angle, but I'm 95% sure it's not a petricola. Pets will have a white lead and trail on their dorsal fin, and have a much smoother, uniform spotting pattern, and typically have a yellower body color and more of a tubular body habitus (sausage-like).

It could be a young Multipunctata, a profile view would give me a much better idea. Multis definitely have a small to large spot transition, but it's typically much smoother than i'm seeing here. Get me a profile pic and i can give you a much better idea. If i were a betting man I'd say that there's a pretty good chance it's a Multipunctatus. (It could also be a Synodontis Grandiops which look almost identical in coloration and body habitus, but have one fewer dorsal ray and slightly larger eyes while staying smaller as an adult.)

I would warn you that there's a good chance that your friend there got in trouble for selling you a $20-25 LFS priced juvenile fish for the $4-6 dollar Cory price. Odds of you getting the same deal when you go back probably aren't so good especially if you 'tricked her'. That's the kind of inventory someone's going to miss.


----------



## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

Lot of hybrids for sale now at less serious pet stores. Not sure if it is pure from those shots. The eyes seem small for a pure Multi.

I'm assuming that a store that dealt with pure Multis may not keep them with Cory cats.


----------



## mike1234 (Feb 16, 2010)

That's what I was hoping for. They have 2 more. Would a group of 4 work better than just 2?


----------



## noki (Jun 13, 2003)

mike1234 said:


> That's what I was hoping for. They have 2 more. Would a group of 4 work better than just 2?


With Multis, the more the better. They love groups and make a swarm.

Just 2 Synos may lead to one picking on the other. They have pecking orders the same as cichlids. The females seem to pick on the males for whatever reason. :-?


----------



## mike1234 (Feb 16, 2010)

I was ready to pay 15 a fish (price) as that's amazing for around here. When your selling 4 types of elongatus in the same tank, all of which happen to be the 12 dollar variety though all look different, wheres theirs? Also try to pass off low grade yellow labs as yellow Malawi tropheus (new species to me) for 16 a piece. I paid 6 each for them, along with food, filters, media etc. I personally see no issue with taking a gamble at a store that admits to selling hybrid synos. I have my reasons for doing it. And If I buy more, I will pay full price.


----------



## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

mike1234 said:


> I was ready to pay 15 a fish (price) as that's amazing for around here. When your selling 4 types of elongatus in the same tank, all of which happen to be the 12 dollar variety though all look different, wheres theirs? Also try to pass off low grade yellow labs as yellow Malawi tropheus (new species to me) for 16 a piece. I paid 6 each for them, along with food, filters, media etc. I personally see no issue with taking a gamble at a store that admits to selling hybrid synos. I have my reasons for doing it. And If I buy more, I will pay full price.


--You can try to justify it any way you want. But you said that you "tricked her" which indicates that you knew that you were doing something wrong. And she may get in trouble for it. If you have a problem with the store's quality of fish or prices, the solution is simple---there are plenty of other stores. You can get almost anything online now, if there aren't any in your area that have what you want.


----------



## 702Cichlid (Feb 28, 2010)

At their current size (i'm guessing they're abount 1.5" right now) it can be VERY difficult to tell if you have pure multis, as *Noki* mentioned earlier hybrids Synos are becoming more prevalent in the hobby. As i mentioned the delineation between the spot pattern is a bit abrupt, and as *Noki* mentioned the eyes do look a tad bit small so there is a chance this could be a hybrid. Unless you're very confident in their acquisition (which it sounds like you're not) you're definitely taking a chance. Also, as long as the LFS labels their hybrids as such they aren't really doing anything unethical--perhaps a disservice to the hobby in some people's eyes, but not strictly unethical.

All LFS except the creme de la creme are going to have issues like a 'Assorted African Cichlids' tank, or a tank where they put several species from the same complex (like the elongatus cited in your example). I've yet to visit one where there wasn't something like that going on. As for selling poor yellow labs as Yellow Tropheus, I wonder if that was just a mispelling of the Tropheops Sp. Maleri Yellow, a relatively rare Malwai species that can look a bit like a low quality/hybrid Yellow Lab. See if this picture seems familar

http://www.cichlid-forum.com/profiles/species.php?id=968

In answer to your question, Multi's are a social fish that will always feel more comfortable in groups, so the more you get the better off your chances are. They are a lot like cichlids in that they will fight one another and establish a hierarchy within the tank. I wouldn't feel comfortable keeping just two, but I know people that have done it without severe repurcussions.


----------



## lilcountrygal (Dec 27, 2011)

I don't have a problem with what the OP did. I had a friend visiting who found an OB Zebra mislabeled in a tank at Walmart for $2.50. Of course she grabbed it. My thought is, if Walmart is not going to take the time and employ at least semi-knowledgeable workers in their fish section, then they need to be prepared to eat some of that inventory. Where I personally wouldnt "trick" an employee into a discount, if they are naive enough to mis-label it and give me a major discount, I'm certainly not going to be the one to jump up and scream "hey... no. You're under-charging me by $20". Maybe when that store realizes how much profit they are losing out of mis-labeled tanks and less than knowledgeable employees, they will try and hire someone who knows something more than "fish swim in water".


----------



## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

The guys I feel sorry for are those that go on line and pick a recommended suplier and get sent the wrong fish.
Personaly I am far from convinced the OP has not picked up a cheap Syno hybrid that kind of looks a bit like a genuine Syno species.
So everyone got a leason in Karma?

All the best James


----------



## tycoonbob (Feb 19, 2012)

So I went into PetSmart about two weeks ago. They are having a sale right now on several cichlids, so I wanted to see what they had. they have a tank that they keep Yellow Labs and Demasoni in, and both are labeled below the tank, with pictures of each fish (come on, one is blue and one is yellow). The Dems were on sale for $2.50/ea (which I thought was crazy cheap, as my usual LFS sells them for $10-15/ea), and the Labs were on sale for $4/ea (normally $7-10 at my LFS). I bought 5 labs, expecting to pay $20. She kept calling them Demasoni and wrote the UPC number of the Dems on the bag. Did I say something? Nope. Poor girl would be embarrassed...and I would have had to pay $10, instead of $20. I didn't change the price, it was the stores fault.

If a store accidentally priced a filter way under, which I knew was wrong...I still wouldn't say anything, since they did it. They work there, they should know their products/stock. Now I wouldn't exploit that and buy all they had in stock to go sell them for profit or anything, nor would I change price tags myself...but when it's the stores fault, it's the stores fault.


----------



## oldcatfish (May 27, 2009)

Personally I do think there is a bit of difference between a mistake that they made, as opposed to intentionally trying to trick the employee. I'm not saying that what you did isn't wrong (you could have said something), but I compare it to the following scenarios:
1) A store has cheap filters on sale. They also have an expensive filter that looks similar priced for the same sale price. Their employee mismarked it. This is similar to your case.
2) You see an expensive filter that you like. You see some cheap ones that look similar on sale. You take the expensive one up to the cashier, but tell her it is the cheap one. She believes you and charges you the cheaper price. This is more like what the OP described.


----------



## dreday (Oct 12, 2007)

I would say it is neither species. It looks to be a hybrid to me, AKA green jaguar. The spots just dont fit for a multipunctatus. They are much smaller and more uniformed. These look all over the place. Could be the pic but thats my two cents.

If the people at the store dont know the difference between a cory cat and a cichlid they should loose money. it goes with any type of sales job, know your product. how can you expect to sell something you know nothing about??


----------



## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

Very young pure multipuncs do have odd spots http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/im ... ge_id=2562

But given the sorce I would bet hybid as they seem to outnumber the pure 10 to one in LFSs these days.

Not heard the name green jaguar but yep seen loads of hybrids sold as multipuncs in LFSs. opcorn:


----------



## 24Tropheus (Jun 21, 2006)

With the shop not being able to tell the difference between Corys and Synos I very much dought they would be bothered to ensure their baby Synos come from a sourse that is not hybrid.

Any chance of an updated photo? If pure the spots should start to sort out into a recognised pattern but I do not hold out much hope of that.


----------

