Pseudopimelodidae I.D.

[wednesday13]

koltsixx always good and bad reviews from places. I thought it would for sure come in as apurensis and almost got one myself. Hope rod/kevin make it right for ya with at the least some store credit. I recently ordered from them for the 1st time and was pleasantly surprised, i placed 2 orders after. Fish were correct, in good condition and packed well ??‍. Guess i got lucky this round. I think there getting better having kevin in house but i am sad to see it did not go well for u. Rod has “offered up” his phone number on videos. Maybe shoot him a text if emailing doesn’t work. Not sure y they use stock pics. I too “scour” their videos looking for proof of what they have.

 

[koltsixx]

koltsixx always good and bad reviews from places. I thought it would for sure come in as apurensis and almost got one myself. Hope rod/kevin make it right for ya with at the least some store credit. I recently ordered from them for the 1st time and was pleasantly surprised, i placed 2 orders after. Fish were correct, in good condition and packed well ??‍. Guess i got lucky this round. I think there getting better having kevin in house but i am sad to see it did not go well for u. Rod has “offered up” his phone number on videos. Maybe shoot him a text if emailing doesn’t work. Not sure y they use stock pics. I too “scour” their videos looking for proof of what they have.

That was my line of thinking as well. I figured worst case scenario I'd have very small Apurensis which I would have totally been cool with, I would have even been excited about. I hope they'll help me out, but I don't know why I have a bad feeling about it. Maybe because I haven't dealt with them often is causing unnecessary concern. And I too was pleasantly surprised as the purchases I had made from them so far were just as you described, the correct fish in good condition and packed well. It is also funny you mention scouring his videos as I do exactly that for the same reason. Unfortunately, I never found a video where he unboxed the "Fowleri". I'll probably limit my purchases from them to fish I have seen in their unboxings going forward. Thanks for the heads up on the phone number. I'll try finding it and giving them a text today.

 

[Yellowcat]

Worth mentioning is that within the family of pseudopimelodidae there are currently 68 species, new genera and species have been described as valid in recent years, there are likely more yet to be discovered. Most to be found for sale in the hobby are usually described as jello cats, jelly cats and South American bumble bee catfish among other 'pet shop' names. There's also Asian 'bumble bee' cats that are strikingly similar to the untrained eye. Some importers/vendors bother to figure out what they have and advertise them by scientific names, some don't know, some don't care, some will probably know better and will still market them as something more rare, that can command a higher price. You don't have to be an ichthyologist to distinguish an orange fish from a black one. When I saw what is now my batrochoglanis villosus on Exotic Fish Shop's website it was describe as a "jumbo marbled jello catfish". I called the gentleman up to enquire as to it's origin, behavior and many other questions. The photo was of the actual fish on hand. I asked about if he knew the scientific name and he replied he honestly didn't know and really didn't have time to do any research being busy with his extensive stock on hand. Right answer in my book! Vendors such as Wes @ RareFish, WetSpot Fish, Exotic Fish Shop and others will accommodate inquiries with photos and feedback if you ask, I've found. It can be difficult at best to determine the reputation of online sellers unless they can be rated as with eBay or if they are also a storefront LFS. One of my 'wish list' fish is a very rare synodontis longirostris, I found one for sale at an online/storefront place in New York for $350. As with many retail businesses you can find Google ratings or those found on Yelp! I looked 'em up and found ratings good and bad, many expressed disappointment with the store having nasty tanks with dead fish floating, employees being rude or receiving shipped fish in poor condition. I decided to pass on getting that fish. I found another online store/vendor in NYC with some nice rare fish that everyone raved about on many levels, high praises and 5 star ratings. I would probably take a chance on them if they had something not to be found elsewhere. They do have a 5 " batrochoglanis villossus in stock for $325 but I already have one. As for some vendors, I certainly wouldn't buy fish or a used car from them...

 

[Mikepugman]

Interesting, Lophiosilurus Fowleri (formerly Cephalosilurus Fowleri) had been banned for export by Brazil since 2012 I believe but I did read recently that their export is now permitted. Obviously the first thing to know is if the fish @ Predatory Fins was imported from Brazil as this species is only endemic to one river there, The Rio Sao Francisco, same river as L. Alexandri. Lophiosilurus Apurensis are only found in Venezuela and Colombia. From the photo's shown on P. F.'s website, the one showing the fish in hand, (easily a 6" fish) could be L, Fowleri, the other photo with the blue gravel background was taken from the PlanetCatfish website. The stated size of the fish for sale is 3". The two species are very similar in appearance as juveniles. When comparing the two from a profile, Fowleri's have a flatter head than Apurensis. The more obvious difference is the belly markings of lack thereof, in that the Fowleri will have a clear pale belly whereas the belly of Apurensis will be heavily marked/spotted by comparison. Look in the Cat-eLog on PlanetCatfish for both species, some photos found there are of my former Fowleri and Apurensis. I recently lost my L. Fowleri after 17 years and would easily have another, an all time favorite. Both have similar behaviors but Fowleri tend to be less aggressive and only grow to about 18" where Apurenis are more aggressive and will grow to 28". I think, not sure, that the owner of PredatoryFins is a friend of Viktor's, perhaps he has talked to him about these? Perhaps a call to the vendor might reveal information as to the origin of the fish and maybe a photo of the underside of the fish which would be very helpful. All this being said, he may indeed have real L. Fowleri's and if so, great! At the asking price stated it would be a good deal in todays market, even if it turned out to be L. Apurensis, still a good price for one of them too...

Is this a Cephalosilurus Fowleri?

youtube.com

 

[Yellowcat]

No Mike, it's probably another batrochoglanis raninus as discussed in the other recent post started by koltsixx, titled "Pseudopimelodidae I.D."

 

[Mikepugman]

No Mike, it's probably another batrochoglanis raninus as discussed in the other recent post started by koltsixx, titled "Pseudopimelodidae I.D."

Thank you Yellowcat. As you can tell, I’m not familiar with using forums, but am hopeful to learn. Fortunately for me, I had the privilege of meeting Viktor, the bigger the better, and he is a great asset to MFK.

 

[Mikepugman]

Thank you so much wednesday13 ! Really disappointing as they are so commonly available, and I never picked one up as it just wasn't what I was looking for. I had thought they had been getting better as well and with all the rare fish they had been getting lately I was hoping I guess beyond reasonably that it might be a actual Fowleri. I was waiting on Mikepugman thread on his that he told Viktor he'd be making after buying one but he hasn't posted one and when I found out Pfins had only 3 left I took a chance and it as can be seen didn't go well at all.


Thanks kno4te for the help with the ID. Much appreciated.


Totally. I guess to some degree I fooled myself. My first real monster as I've said was a Apurensis and I loved him and always thought I'd like the coloration on a Fowleri so I had really hoped Predatory actually had them. I had guessed Raninus too but was hoping beyond hope I was wrong. lol

I have bought from Predatory in the past but not often. I watch his youtube and to be as polite as I can think of as possible it's not always very confidence inspiring. Still, they have gotten some very rarely available or imported fish including my 2 Franciscodoras Marmoratus from them. But I have definitely seen their incorrect ID's. Someone had posted on here about Predatory selling Lithodoras Dorsalis a long while ago and the pic Predatory had of the actual stock looked like Platydoras sp. Maroni. I informed the poster, but they took a chance and unfortunately it did indeed wind-up being Maroni. Predatory did eventually get Lithos but that doesn't help the poor guy who got stuck with a Maroni. Between that and Predatory recent uses of other peoples pics to represent what they have instead of their own pics of their stock is making me even more hesitant to buy from them. I did send them a email and I guess I will let everyone know the end result but I am not feeling very hopeful.

Again thank you guys for the help.

Hello there! As I mentioned to Yellowcat, im not familiar with using forums and haven’t had a chance to get back here. Last night I posted a short video of the fish I bought from PF….very disappointing as like mentioned earlier, the bubblebee is available in several places. I didn’t want one of them, but will care for it as just as I do ALL my fish( and Sammy my FRT). I have made several purchases for PF and have had no negative experiences with my purchases. Thank you

 

[koltsixx]

Hello there! As I mentioned to Yellowcat, im not familiar with using forums and haven’t had a chance to get back here. Last night I posted a short video of the fish I bought from PF….very disappointing as like mentioned earlier, the bubblebee is available in several places. I didn’t want one of them, but will care for it as just as I do ALL my fish( and Sammy my FRT). I have made several purchases for PF and have had no negative experiences with my purchases. Thank you

It's cool, I just mentioned me waiting for you to post a thread as a matter of fact, part of the chain of events; I hope it didn't come off as me faulting you in any way.

Yeah, unfortunately Raninus is one of two of the most frequently available Pseudopimelodidae. As I said before my experiences with Predatory have been good and this transaction hasn't been resolved so I don't consider this one negative either as of yet. After all mistakes happen to everyone. Even the most knowledgeable fish keeper or retailer can make one, we are all fallible and it is in my opinion from admitting this that gives us one of our greatest strengths. Keeps us open and allows us to grow and learn. At the end of the day, it is how we deal with these mistakes that define our experiences and that is how I'll determine if this was a good or negative one.

Anyway, I know it's late to say it but welcome to MFK! I hope to see you around more.