Oldest Synodontis velifer?

[Xeno]

Hey,
Usually I won't use a net to catch Synodontis, Mystus and Heteropneustes because their 'stings' will be rammed into the net which rips of the tip of the fin.
So I learned how to catch those guys by hand (I don't know how many times I've been stung by those fish but I think a little sting is better than a ripped of fin).

As I said I'll try to recover all those pictures on my old Laptop which might take a few days.
But maybe I'm lucky and I'll be able to shoot a picture while feeding.

Here in Germany hybrids are pretty rare.
They might appear every 1 to 2 years in smaller shops which get their fish from Czech breeders.

 

[Xeno]

Here we go.
It's the female with a piece of the fin missing because I've got a Mystus tengara in this tank and this little beast won't stop biting other fish's fins.

As I said:
They are looking very similar to Eupterus but stoppef growing after reaching about 14cm while Eupterus will cross the 20cm mark and might reach up to 30cm (had one with about 24cm).

 

[Deadliestviper7]

I know Angelica's can live to at least twenty,raphaels to at least 30,and silver dollars can live to over 43 years,I did a fish age thread a while back but no one seemed really interested.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

IMHO, this is a eupterus... granted with some possible deviations in the body proportions (need more photos) but nevertheless easy for me to see it is a eupterus. No doubt in my mind.

Not hybrid. Not velifer.

The size is not a reason to doubt the ID. Many fish mature at smaller sizes in captivity and many fish that are either tank raised or farmed that we get in our ornamental fish trade are underperformers

-- either because they are linearly / selectively bred (limited gene pool) and are never culled

-- or they are stunted (could be at an early stage)

-- or because they are runts, mutants, dinks, deformed specimen, etc., which are culled from healthy population by food fish farmers.

Now, eupterus are not farmed for food, they are farmed for the ornamental fish trade IIRC in SE Asia, could be by Chechs too. This is the most common syno carried in almost every LFS, chain or not. Farming means limited gene pool and lack of natural selection (and dollar, dollar, dollar - chasing profits and cutting costs), so we get a lot of fish that would never be born or survive long in the wild.

No surprise then that half the fish like eupterus we get in our tanks are "substandard". Same is true with many other fish that are farmed for food (for a related but slightly different reason, that is culling) - like TSN, iridescent shark catfish, RTC, Hemibagrus nemurus / spilopterus, walking catfish, paroon shark catfish, TSNxRTC, TSNxAchara hybrids, etc. Vast majority of these do not reach 1/2 the size they are supposed to.

Such are my thoughts. HTH.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

I know Angelica's can live to at least twenty,raphaels to at least 30,and silver dollars can live to over 43 years,I did a fish age thread a while back but no one seemed really interested.

I am.

 

[JasonsPlecosCichlids]

Here is the vid Deb sent me, I've seen this before I think on a FB Fish Group

 

[fishnatics]

Your synodontis looks like a eupterus to me also. Still a nice one.

 

[thebiggerthebetter]

Here is the vid Deb sent me, I've seen this before I think on a FB Fish Group

???

Why does it look like a ghost without fins and with horrible skin and a very bad case of lateral line erosion? Is this supposed to be from the old age? Losing all fins almost completely and most of barbels?

Forgive me guys, I've no time and no way to interview Deb but I exercise my right to remain skeptical. This video may well depict an ancient syno for all I know but it may also show a simply horribly neglected syno.

 

[moe214]

???

Why does it look like a ghost without fins and with horrible skin and a very bad case of lateral line erosion? Is this supposed to be from the old age? Losing all fins almost completely and most of barbels?

Forgive me guys, I've no time and no way to interview Deb but I exercise my right to remain skeptical. This video may well depict an ancient syno for all I know but it may also show a simply horribly neglected syno.

I agree. I'd put it down, looks to be suffering.

 

[Xeno]

Hey,
Then just the size of those two 'oldies' is confusing.
They are not showing any deformities they simply stopped growing.
Well 'bad genes' might really be the answer.

Actually Eupterus are pretty rare in Germany like every Synodontis but Nigriventris, Nigrita und 'Petricola'.
Within the last year several Decorus popped up.
But it's possible to get a big variety of Synodontis if you order those fish from serious shops.

And I'd like to keep more Synodontis again but at least all of my Synodontis which I've kept in all these years liked to stress out fish with large bodies such as Pterophyllum and Heros which I'm keeping in the bigger tanks and a 50gal will simply not work for Decorus or similar species.
So I'll have to wait till I'm able to get another tank over 100gal.