stigmatogobius sadanundio is a species of goby native to south asia from india to indonesia including sri lanka and the andaman islands .

it can be found in mostly fresh waters ( occasionally in brackish waters ) of estuaries and the tidal zones of rivers .

it can also be found in the aquarium trade .

stigmatogobius sadanundio

grey knight - goby ( stigmatogobius sadanundio ) from fishbase : technical fact sheet .
lexicon : stigmatogobius : means “goby with spots” . sadanundio : from the local bengal name for the species .
hans - martin braun added the english common name
knight goby
to
stigmatogobius sadanundio ( hamilton , 1822 )
.
stigmatogobius sadanundio are best kept in brackish water ; an sg of 1 . 003 - 1 . 005 should suffice . despite being classed as a peaceful species , it has been known for them to eat small fishes .
grey knight - goby ( stigmatogobius sadanundio ) ng , peter k . l . & n . sivasothi , 1999 . a guide to the mangroves of singapore ii ( animal diversity ) . singapore science centre . 168 pp .
stocking a butis butis , stigmatogobius sadanundio and of course the gobioides broussonetti ! figuring that as long as i can carve the tank up into a few clear territories , add some disguised pvc pipes to the sand and add lots of cover , they should co - exist peacefully .
until recently the genus stigmatogobius contained 18 species , but most have now been reclassified , leaving just 7 species currently assigned to it . s . sadanundio is by far the most common of these in the hobby . it makes an attractive addition to the brackish or hardwater community with medium - sized tankmates .
grey knight - goby stigmatogobius sadanundio family gobiidae updated oct 2016 where seen ? this large greyish goby with spots is sometimes seen in our mangrove streams . features : about 6cm long . pearly grey with 3 - 4 rows of small round black spots on the sides . spots and streaks also on the fins and tail . what does it eat ? according to fishbase , it feeds on small fishes and invertebrates , including mosquito larvae .
larson , h . k . , 2005 . a revision of the gobiid genus stigmatogobius ( teleostei : gobiidae ) , with descriptions of two new species . ichthyol . explor . freshwat . 16 ( 4 ) : 347 - 370 . ( ref . 56945 )
the knight goby ( stigmatogobius sadanundio ) is another of the classic gobies , having been in the hobby for many years . it is a striking fish with beautiful finnage , if not particularly colorful . unlike the previous gobies , it can survive in fresh water quite well and is often found in pure freshwater habitats in the wild , although it will survive in brackish waters . further , it has a voracious appetite and will eat any food offered to it . unfortunately , despite the fun of the names , they cannot be kept with dragon gobies due to the differing water needs and the dietary problems .
greek , stigma = mark , signal + latin , gobius = gudgeon ( ref . 45335 )
freshwater ; brackish ; benthopelagic ; ph range : 7 . 0 - 8 . 0 ; dh range : 9 - 19 ; amphidromous ( ref . 51243 ) . tropical ; 20°c - 26°c ( ref . 1672 )
maturity : l m ? range ? - ? cm max length : 9 . 0 cm sl male / unsexed ; ( ref . 12693 )
dorsal spines ( total ) : 7 ; dorsal soft rays ( total ) : 7 - 8 ; anal spines : 1 ; anal soft rays : 7 - 8 ; vertebrae : 26 - 27 . body pearly grey with three or four roughly aligned rows of round black spots along the sides ; bases of soft dorsal and anal fins with elongate spots and streaks ( aligned with fin rays ) ; elongate blackish spot on first dorsal fin between third to fifth dorsal fin spines ; presence of interobital and post - orbital pores , preopercular pores . second dorsal rays i , 7 - 8 . anal rays i , 7 - 8 . pectoral rays 18 - 21 . longitudinal scales 25 - 29 . transverse scales backward 8 - 10 . predorsal scales 7 - 10 , reaching behind eyes ( ref . 56945 ) .
occurs in estuaries and tidal zone of rivers . prefers fresh water , rarely found in brackish water . feeds on small fishes and invertebrates , including mosquito larvae ( ref . 12693 ) .
a cave - brooder . produces up to 1000 eggs ( ref . 1672 ) .
phylogenetic diversity index ( ref . 82805 ) : pd 50 = 0 . 5078 [ uniqueness , from 0 . 5 = low to 2 . 0 = high ] .
bayesian length - weight : a = 0 . 00871 ( 0 . 00392 - 0 . 01936 ) , b = 3 . 06 ( 2 . 87 - 3 . 25 ) , in cm total length , based on lwr estimates for this ( sub ) family - body shape ( ref . 93245 ) .
trophic level ( ref . 69278 ) : 3 . 8 ±0 . 61 se ; based on food items .
resilience ( ref . 69278 ) : high , minimum population doubling time less than 15 months ( preliminary k or fecundity . ) .
vulnerability ( ref . 59153 ) : low vulnerability ( 24 of 100 ) .
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this page will give a completely detailed profile of the selected fish , from a to z . the profiled fish will be chosen randomly by badman , and will come from the complete genre of tropical fish . new profiles are added on a regular basis . if you would like to submit a profile for the site please contact me . don ' t forget to let us know you experiences with this fish by filling out the
seen more and more at the local shops the knight goby can be an attractive addition to your aquarium .
striking in its own way the night goby is always pleasing to the eye . the base color is a pale gray . the body is speckled with a series of small black dots covering most of the body . the pectoral , anal and tail fin are fringed with a line of white . the dorsal fin has a large black splash in the back
territorial by nature , the aquarium should have plenty of places to to hide such as caves , driftwood and plants . they will defend their space and if you are keeping more than one extra care will have to be given as the are aggressive toward their on species . the aquarium itself does not have to be extra large a twenty gallon long would be great , aside from the above the substrate should be a sand material rather than gravel . being sensitive to poor water quality you must have good filtration and a strong maintenance schedule . . lighting is best subdued as they are timid in bright situations . considered a brackish fish according to fishbase they actually prefer freshwater , be sure to ask your supplier the conditions they have been kept in .
while not an active predator , the knight goby will eat smaller fish in the aquarium , being shy you would not want to keep them with overly aggressive species like the larger cichlids .
no wide scale successes , sporadic reports of breeding are reported with little luck of raising the fry . it is thought that rotifers would be the first food of choice .
i have never kept this species but one reader has had the following experiences . they are awesome fish i ' ve had 6 for about 2 years . they like any kind of worms black , blood , tubiflex . and about the brackish water you should check with the shop you got him from and see if he was bread in brackish or fresh but a little salt wont hurt any way . they also like a high ph about 7 . 2 to 7 . 8 any ways they are awesome little fish but if they are not fed lots they may go after the other tankmates fins .
please remember that the following comments are personal experiences and may or may not apply to your setup . use them as guide to help better understand your fish , like us all individuals will behave differently under different circumstances .
i have had 3 knight gobies for around 2 years now . while most sites say they prefer freshwater , i keep mine in a medium salinity brackish setup , around 1 . 010 - 1 . 012 ppm . they live happily with 4 scats , a mono , mollies , and a black fin shark cat . they are big eaters for their size and will readily devour large chunks of scallop . i believe i have 2 males and one female , as 2 of them are slightly larger and display much more beautiful colours , which range from white to blues to gold . a very beautiful fish when happy !
so i would like to add some info to this thread , if you get a knight goby make sure you have it in water of 1 to 2 tablespoons of salt per gallon , knight gobies are brackish fish and need salt in there life at some point . if you are for some odd reason forced to keep them in fresh water , and only fresh water , ( it is ok to go back and forth between the two ) make sure at some point in there life they end up in salt with a minimum 1 . 005 salt , maximum being 1 . 20 right before marine , but ideally they should be kept between 1 . 005 - 1 . 160 , i have 2 that i keep with a figure eight puffer , they are all very friendly with each other . ii keep my salinity at 1 . 140 and they are very healthy and happy , almost fat because they like to eat so much
these are amazing little fish ! they are such a character ! my knight goby just loves blood worms and i do 25 % water changes weekly and put 2 tablespoons of salt in per gallon and he is very active and healthy . i strongly recommend that salt is added to a knight gobies ' tank . before i put salt in , he was not active and was not looking very healthy . even though they are classified as fresh and brackish water fish , a brackish environment is much better for the overall health and happiness of this fish . these are truly amazing creatures !
we had 8 knight gobies in our community tank for a few months . they have a striking blue patch on their dorsal fins , which appears black on younger members . if you feed them well , they grow quickly . these fish have a great personality , and the way they move is fascinating ( everyone should have a goby ! ) . we sold ours to our lfs because out of the blue they ate 5 otocinclus and 3 hillstream loaches in one day . we wanted a small fish community tank , and so switched to bumblebee gobies , which work great !
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widely distributed . it has been recorded in pakistan , india , bangladesh , sri lanka , thailand , cambodia , malaysia , singapore , indonesia and fiji .
it inhabits estuarine zones , although it is more often found in freshwater than brackish .
30″ x 12″ x 12″ ( 75cm x 12cm x 12cm ) – 70 litres .
a soft , sandy substrate is ideal for this species . also provide lots of caves , nooks and crannies where it can lurk and form territories . although commonly found in freshwater in nature , this goby appears to do better with the addition of salt to around 1 / 4 marine strength ( 1 . 005sg ) in the aquarium . saying that though , this species has also been kept with great success in hard , alkaline freshwater . it will be more active and visible during daylight hours if you provide dim lighting .
an unfussy goby that will accept most dried , frozen and live foods . it also enjoys some vegetable matter in its diet and will often browse on green algae if it is present in the aquarium .
don’t try to keep it with much smaller species as it will eat anything it can fit in its mouth . it may also nip the fins of slow - moving or long - finned species . ideal tankmates are other hardwater or brackish species that inhabit different levels of the aquarium , such as archer fish , chromides , rainbowfish , monos , chanda sp . etc . do not combine it with other territorial species that inhabit the bottom of the aquarium such as many cichlids or there may be some aggression . it can be kept in groups but is also territorial towards conspecifics , so ensure that you provide plenty of hiding places if you do want to keep a few .
males tend to have a higher dorsal fin when mature . females are usually smaller , rounder in the body , and often have a more yellowish body than males .
has been achieved in the hobby but is not very well - documented . apparently it is a cave spawner and following a prolonged courtship display the female deposits up to 1000 eggs on the roof of the selected cave . as with many other gobies the male then cares for the brood until the eggs hatch , at which point parental care ceases . it may well be that the addition of some fresh water could trigger spawning , as with some other estuarine gobies .
here ' s a look at my brackish tank . figure 8 puffer , gobies , live bearers . .
larson , helen k and kelvin k . p . lim . 2005 . a guide to gobies of singapore . singapore science centre . 164pp .
the knight goby is a peaceful , hardy fish , and is good for communities . this fish is fairly active , and spends most of its time swimming in the middle level of the tank . it does best in brackish water . it eats frozen foods , such as brine shrimp and bloodworms . it also takes frozen daphnia , but doesn ' t seem to enjoy it as much as the shrimp . another nice feature of this fish is that its eyes are often a nice , bright shade of blue .
i have one of these little dudes and he ' s an awesome character ! he ' ll readily take frozen dillies out of my fingers and seems to have a ferocious appetite ! he also loves blood worms . he is by far the favourite fish in my tank and i ' m anxiously awaiting another consignment to arrive in a few weeks at my lfs so that i can get some more . very unusual looking . darts about the tank when spooked , can be very sloth - like and sit on the bottom of the tank and watch the world go by , and is also very good at hiding !
i love these little guys . they are active without being hyper . i was afraid they might bite my angelfish ' s fins , but i had nothing to worry about . a great fish to spice up your tank a little bit .
the first one i had was very healthy and happy for about 2 years , before it stopped eating altogether and wasted away in his cave ( very sad ) . the second one i kept was beautiful but had trouble finding enough food , because of the competition from the neon tetras in the tank . i think that is why he started murdering and devouring his tankmates . he had to go . these are subtly beautiful fish .
i have had a knight goby for a year now in my 60 l tank . it is a very peaceful fish , and it is good for the beginners . it eats flakes and bloodworms , and other food . the 3 last days i think that he ate 2 of my neons because he is quite big , 9 cm . although it is a beautiful fish ! recommended to beginners !
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occurs in estuaries and tidal zone of rivers . prefers fresh water , rarely found in brackish water . feeds on small fishes and invertebrates , including mosquito larvae ( ref . 12693 ) .
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disclaimer : itis taxonomy is based on the latest scientific consensus available , and is provided as a general reference source for interested parties . however , it is not a legal authority for statutory or regulatory purposes . while every effort has been made to provide the most reliable and up - to - date information available , ultimate legal requirements with respect to species are contained in provisions of treaties to which the united states is a party , wildlife statutes , regulations , and any applicable notices that have been published in the federal register . for further information on u . s . legal requirements with respect to protected taxa , please contact the u . s . fish and wildlife service .
peaceful fish that should be kept together fish fishes that live in the middle water layers . every animal has his own territory . the aquarium should be set up with plants that can live in brackish water and some stones that can be used for hiding places . the substrate should be sandy . to give the fishes more resistance against diseases it is wise to add 1 - 2 teaspoons sea - salt at 10 liters of water . you should give them live food and algae . breeding is rather easy . when the water values are all right and the temperature is higher , up to 1000 eggs are laid and fertilized in caves . after the eggs are hatched the parents care for the fry . source : urltoken
the minimum size of the tanks shown are intended , depending on the species considered , for a single individual , a couple or the smaller group of individuals for schooling fish . depending on fish temper , territoriality , or vivacity , breeding with other animals of the same species or different species may require larger tanks .
main picture usually shows adults . depending on the age and sex , there may be significant variations in the color of the specimens .
prefers live but will take most flake , frozen , dried or sinking pellets .
temperature : 72°f to 81°f ( 20 - 26°c ) ph range : 7 . 0 – 8 . 0 ; dh range : 9 - 19
a 1 % addition of salt is recommendedas these fish are found in brackish water . this can be accomplished by adding 7 . 5 tsp of sea salt / 10 gallons ( 10g / 10 l ) on a hydrometer the reading should be between 1 . 005 to 1 . 010 specific gravity .
from the day we opened the first store in maidenhead , we’ve firmly believed that one key to our success is employing fish keepers .
bangladesh , cambodia , india , indonesia , malaysia , pakistan , singapore , sri lanka , and thailand .
mature females yellower & fuller bodied . mature males with extended rays on first dorsal fin + longer anal & second dorsal fins .
mangrove wood ornament ( 11 . 5 x 10 . 5 x 21 . 5 cm )
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peaceful fish that should be kept together fish fishes that live in the middle water layers . every animal has his own territory . the aquarium should be set up with plants that can live in brackish water and some stones that can be used for hiding places . the substrate should be sandy . to give the fishes more resistance against diseases it is wise to add 1 - 2 teaspoons sea - salt at 10 liters of water .
breeding is rather easy . when the water values are all right and the temperature is higher , up to 1000 eggs are laid and fertilized in caves . after the eggs are hatched the parents care for the fry .
hello to all . i love this site and admire the work you all do . i am hopelessly addicted . i discovered this vast wealth of knowledge about a year ago and my path went from freshwater to brackish and now marine .
i have it bad ! the dragon fish tempted me into brackish and the mollies into marine .
it ' s all been quite an adventure ! i have a violet goby in a 45 gallon long tank ( 48 x 13 x19 inches ) that i am slowly bringing up to marine . i also have a 21 gallon ( 19 x13 x19 inches ) saltwater tank with live sand , live rock and some chaeto . the inhabitants are two small mollies , a blue - legged hermit crab , and a flametail blenny , that i think may be enchelyurus flavipes rather than atrosalarias sp . i would like to move all this to the 45 once the salinity is matched and the gobioides broussennetii has fully adjusted to the addition of more live rock / sand .
< be careful with this ; the gobioides will want a burrow . is there any way to hide a pvc tube or similar behind the live rock so he can have a safe lair that won ' t scratch his skin . >
the smaller tank i think is beautiful but i dislike it ' s size / shape . i think it will make a beautiful shrimp tank though . can this goby and this blenny cohabitate successfully and in a tank this size ?
< gobioides isn ' t a demanding fish , but it can reach some 60 cm / 2ft in length , though more like 45 cm / 18 inches is typical . in any case , a 21 - gallon tank is much too small , and even 45 gallons is undersized . i ' d be aiming for 75 gallons upwards . >
if so , after rehoming the mollies , could i add any additional livestock ? i would like a few more dwarf hermit crabs and a few marine nerites .
< mollies are fine with miniature shrimps and snails . they can also work well with hermit crabs , but anything bigger than that can be risky ; boxer shrimps for example will simply view them as food , and mollies lack the instincts to avoid marine environment predators such as anemones , so approach these with care . likewise very small gobies ( e . g . , gobiodon spp . )
and the like are fine , but damsels can hammer mollies . it ' s telling that were you see mollies in the marine environment , the mollies are usually in very shallow , often over - warm or slightly polluted environments like lagoons where typical marine fish don ' t go , except perhaps as schools of small , minnow - sized juveniles . on the other hand , i have seen mollies kept with seahorses and pipefish , the rationale being mollies turn algae into live food ( fry ) that these stealthy predators can consume . >
maybe a small fish or two later down the road if you don ' t advise against it . my equipment / filtration in addition to the lr / ls would be an appropriate heater , a gutted skilter 400 for the chaeto and some rubble , a small powerhead ( mag 400 ) , an aqua c remora skimmer ( 1200 powerhead ) , and a marineland hot 250 . would this provide enough circulation ? filtration ? i
as a ball park , i think 10 + times the volume of the tank turnover per hour is about right for basic marine systems , but there ' s a lot more to it than that , e . g . , placement of powerheads to ensure adequate movement past those invertebrates that need more / less water movement . >
i thought about putting one on each short end before i got the skilter working again . the sand will be about 1
deep . there is base rock in the 45 now , about 10 lbs , and about 10 lbs live rock in the 21 gallon . i figure i ' ll need to add 20 pounds or so of live rock , but i want to keep the sand as open as possible . i ' ve made a cave with a pipe and base rock on one end of the 45 that the goby is already using and that will be its island , then the blenny and his shell home will be on the other end . the
lfs keeps their tanks at sg 1 . 021 , so i can add the live rock to the 45 when i get it there . ( sg 1 . 015 right now ) should i move the goby ?
i don ' t plan on disturbing its island but i will be adding more sand along with the rock . i still plan on making the 45 into marine whether or not my blenny and goby can get along together .
< they should do ; gobioides are big enough to avoid problems with most non - aggressive fish , and should be fine with salarias - type things , but do be aware that most blennies are territorial fish . >
i do have other tanks . of course they are all occupied ( i did say i am an addict ) , but i ' m sure you all can help me decide the best course of action .
and thank you for recommending such great books on marine aquariums ( bob fenner ' s and michael paletta ' s ) , and brackish water fishes ( neale monk ' s and frank shafer ' s ) , too . i am constantly reading and re - reading trying to learn , understand and hopefully do well . there is just so many interesting things to learn about it makes it hard to focus ! hard to believe one little betta fish started all this . thanks so much for your insight ,
thank you for the quick reply . i ' m honored to be answered by you , neale .
i have a windowsill tank inspired by your article . i apologize for not making myself clear . i should have included more information also . the violet goby is already in the 45 gallon long . when i asked if i should move him , i meant when i added additional rock and sand .
< as a matter of course , i always try to remove all fish when adding rocks and substrate , and definitely always with
bottom dwellers
. i buried a pufferfish one time when i added some sand and didn ' t empty the tank first , and after noticing he ' d vanished , discovered he was under an inch of sand !
none the worse for wear , but the risk was clearly real . bottom dwellers are at particular risk because they tend to stay still when alarmed , whereas midwater fish are moving about and generally keep out of your hands and / or any decorative materials being dumped in the tank . >
from what i ' ve read i considered this tank at 4 ' to be the bare minimum .
the goby is young , about 6
, and is actually my second gobioides broussonnetii . my first one , dozer , lives in a 55 gallon brackish tank ( also 4 ' long ) with a few mollies and a few knight gobies ( population control ) . dozer is about 10
and fat and sassy ( well , for a violet goby anyway ) . silica sand substrate , fake tree roots , rocks arranged into caves , java ferns and java moss , and malaysian trumpet snails to keep the sand stirred . i ' ve had dozer about a year and he has double his length and girth . i didn ' t put the second violet goby in that tank because i ' m sure he would have starved , been harassed by the bigger goby , and the tank is definitely not big enough .
< certainly this species is territorial , but i have heard of two specimens being kept in 55 - gallon tanks , albeit with two pvc tubes so each has its own home . but like most gobies , the males are especially territorial . >
i have been planning on upgrading , but i couldn ' t decide if 48
x 18
would be big enough for one violet goby ' s entire life . of course my dream tank would be 72
x 24
, but i don ' t see that as feasible within the year .
but 48
x 18
would be and possibly 48
x 24
if i could find a used one reasonable .
< a very nice size aquarium , but not commonly seen . water depth doesn ' t matter to gobioides spp . though , which may mean a long , shallow tank fits into your budget . >
i just wanted to get my little flametail blenny out of the 21 gallon first and thought he and the smaller violet goby might work in the 45 gallon . i had read here and your book that gobioides broussonnetii could live in full marine , but could not find anything anywhere about compatible tankmates in a marine aquarium .
< not much kept in marine ( heck , it ' d be nice if they were always kept in brackish ) but in general terms is much like any large goby . because it ' s non - piscivorous , you can choose any tankmates that leave it alone . violet gobies are almost blind though , so nippy or even semi - aggressive tankmates might cause problems . that said , any non - territorial , basically peaceful reef fish should be fine , like hawkfish , though an interesting approach might be to choose other species that favour open sandy areas rather than rocks , such as goatfish . that way you could minimise the rocky part of the tank while expanding the open sandy area . do bear in mind violet gobies come from mudflats , and aren ' t really associated with rocky reefs . >
i was also concerned about the roughness of the live rock , which is why i made the island with the pipe and base rock as a test to see if it would end up damaging . so far so good on that , although the goby is using the space between the pipe and rock instead of the pipe itself , and i ' m still not sure he won ' t damage himself .
thank you so much for your time . i know this will sound silly to you and probably anyone in this hobby for years , but the idea of a thin glass box sitting on a little metal frame with 55 gallons of water in it was a little scary to me .
< and yet stories of burst aquaria are relatively rare , and in my personal experience , the two times it ' s happened have both been my fault for doing something stupid . >
not to mention being responsible for everything in it . it was something i had to work up the confidence to achieve . it started with a betta in a 3 gallon tank a year and a half ago . i got my 6 gallon windowsill tank ( ghost shrimp and nerite snails ) and then went to a 20 gallon long with the first violet goby , guppies and ghost shrimp .
< ah now , do think about setting up alternative to a reef aquarium - - could simplify things . look at mangrove roots ( or substitutes , such as bogwood ) and think about siliconing oyster shells to them to create a reef - like habitat for shrimps and gobies . the roots themselves could be siliconed to the back pane of glass , leaving the bottom inch or two uncluttered . you can then add a layer of sand deep enough for the violet goby , while creating a complex , shady environment at the back of the tank that would ably suit gobies , blennies and other small fish . this is a major type of reef not modeled in aquaria , but when you see them in the wild ( as i did a month or two back in belize and mexico ) you quickly see that oyster / mangrove reefs are teeming with juvenile marine fish , even baby butterflyfish ! >
it took me a year to get confident enough for a 4 ' tank and brave enough to try a saltwater aquarium . in that year i have learned a quarantine tank is a absolute necessity among other things . i do hope someone will let me know if i am on the right track equipment / filtration wise for the 45 as a marine tank . thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience with all of us .
oh wow , what a great idea , neale ! i ' ve read other faqs where you mentioned oyster shells / mangrove roots but never thought of it as a reef , and thought oyster shells would be too sharp for the violet goby . siliconing them to the roots and then siliconing those to the back glass leaving the bottom for the goby sounds great and something i could do , after more research . i enjoy doing research and if i can keep my creative / artistic side in check , so as not to go overboard , this will be a wonderful project and very satisfying to accomplish . no doubt you will hear from me along the way .
< do google image search the terms
oyster
and
mangrove
and you ' ll find lots of inspiration ! good luck , neale . >
have done a little research but am really just looking for a definitive answer and understand you are the people to go to .
want to ask the question before i get the tank as opposed to making a mess of it after it ' s stocked and too late .
i ' m looking to start a brackish tank , low end brackish . i ' d love to stock a
, the more brackish type i believe ) . this leads to my first question , i know a violet goby prefers a sg of 1 . 010 as optimal and the bumblebee gobies are happiest at 1 . 005 to freshwater .
< both will be perfectly happy at sg 1 . 010 , or indeed anything between about sg 1 . 005 and 1 . 010 . contrary to popular misconception , bumblebee gobies ( bbgs ) aren ' t specifically freshwater fish or brackish water fish . the imported species at least ( and identifying it is virtually impossible )
appears do well in both . above all else diet is the reason bbgs die . they can actually be pretty adaptable in terms of water chemistry . >
will the violet goby be happy to drop down to 1 . 005 sg with no adverse health effects or is it going to be best if these two don ' t go in together ?
< they ' re an odd mix , and your problem isn ' t salinity but feeding . the bbgs will be a total pain in the backside when it comes to feeding because they ' re so slowly and picky . you ' d be hard pressed getting them to eat enough with the violet goby slurping everything it sees ! i ' d go with a more active , midwater goby to be honest . perhaps something like knight gobies or clay gobies ( dormitator lebretonis ) or even crazy fish ( butis butis ) , all of which are fairly available in the hobby . with a bit more effort , you could alternatively track down species such as eleotris fusca or a brackish - water blenny like omobranchus zebra . >
so far been looking at guppies and mollies . i know these can be easily acclimated to brackish but am concerned that they will eat all the food before the two gobies get a look in .
< certainly strong competitors with regard to the bbgs . violet gobies aren ' t so difficult to feed because they ' re big and easily tamed . throw in some live brine shrimp and watch them scarf them down ! they also eat bloodworms and algae wafers , which the livebearers won ' t eat too quickly . >
so is there any other sort of oddball fish that will co - exist happily with these two .
small livebearers can be excellent . rather than mollies , why not endler ' s or else something out of the ordinary - - micropoecilia picta or micropoecilia parae . both of these are colourful and fun to watch , and while not easy to obtain , they are both traded as well as available through livebearer associations . >
something outside the norm a bit . seeming as live food will be going in frequently , feeding won ' t be a concern and picky eaters are welcome . i ' ve been looking at the freshwater soles , but would be concerned on the larger species predatory nature and also the aquarium floor would be getting kind of crowded by that point wouldn ' t it ?
< freshwater soles are very difficult to feed , and i ' d recommend keeping them alone or else with small , day - active tankmates only ( the afore mentioned livebearers would be ideal ) . soles feed at night mostly be smell , so you can ply them with wet - frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp easily enough , but if there ' s anything competing at nighttime , they ' ll starve .
best keep on their own , in groups if you want , in a smallish tank specially set up for them . >
have just received the book and had a quick thumb through . to be frank i ' m absolutely amazed at the number of fish that can live in brackish conditions . the common opinions seems to be that you ' re limited to a tiny number of species , this is clearly not the case .
very taken with the number of gobies on offer . going to try to recreate a mangrove looking tank using various driftwoods to represent roots , a few large rocks and a soft sand substrate .
< i agree . while these can be aggressive towards one another ( knight goby pairs less so ) they generally ignore dissimilar fish . >
got my eye on a nice sized tank that i think will accommodate all fish happily .
would love to try my hand at mudskippers , but feel that due to the territorial nature of the other fish in the tank it might not work well .
< in any event , mudskippers don ' t really mix well with
proper
fish anyway . >
may be a better life if a dedicated species tank was set up for them .
something for the future certainly . unless one of the apocryptes spp . would be happy in with the other fish ?
< does depend on the tankmates . they don ' t handle aggression or nervous tankmates well , but smallish , harmless tankmates such as small livebearers and smaller gobies could work . >
i ' m under the impression that they spook quite easy and aren ' t happy around the more boisterous tank mates .
< indeed . in the wild they live in inch - deep water , where they feed on algae and whatnot . needless to say , with so little swimming room and things like wading birds hunting for them , they have to react to sudden shadows and noises very quickly . >
i think i may be on your side of the atlantic ! live in the uk . i know the email address is a bit of a false lead . had it since before aol made its push over seas and started offering
urltoken
.
< generally very good . aquarium shops like wildwoods have built up a good sideline doing this sort of thing , with few reports of problems . >
prefer to be able to see the fish myself before purchase and have always been apprehensive about placing an order . is this unfounded or can there be complications ?
< if you think about it , the fish in an aquarium shop were air - freighted there . so there ' s little risk to shipping fish if it ' s done right . >
tank mates for violet gobies 10 / 22 / 05 < hi , pufferpunk here > i have a violet goby and i would like to know what are their tankmates ? i keep him in brackish water and i have a 20 gallon tank . i am getting a 55 - 100 gallon around christmas . i have no other fish in there with him . he is about 4 - 5 inches long . i have been told a dinosaur eel would be good but i am not sure . please tell me some tankmates . thanks in advance for the help . < the
dinosaur eel
or polypterus , is not a bw fish . in the tank you have now , you could keep the goby with other gobies , like knights or bumblebees . when you get a larger tank , you could add more gobies or even a few figure 8 puffers . the problem with your goby is competition for food . once you add other fish with them , there is a large chance they will be out - competed for food & starve . they are filter feeders & practically blind . are you using marine salt to make his tank brackish ? see : urltoken for more ideas . ~ pp >
this article is a stub . we can not complete the encyclopaedia without your help . you can contribute to the aquarium wiki by expanding this article . dont be shy ! .
the males of this species have larger fins while the females are smaller and coloured light yellow .
a generally peaceful fish provided tank mates are not small enough to be considered food . best kept with larger robust yet peaceful fish which prefer brackish or hard alkaline water such as archerfish or chromides .
they will eat all insects , small fish , shrimp , mussels , snails , etc . should also accept dry foods .
set up , although it can do well in hard , alkaline freshwater also .
knight gobys are generally peaceful but can have unpredictable temperaments . best kept as the only bottom dwelling fish .
this page was last edited on 13 december 2017 , at 02 : 58 .
content is available under creative commons attribution - sharealike 3 . 0 unported license unless otherwise noted .
alongi dm ( 2002 ) present state and future of the world’s mangrove forests . environ conserv 29 ( 3 ) : 331–349 . doi :
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synodontis is the largest genus of mochokid catfishes .

it is the biggest genus within the 10 genera and 190 different species in the mochokidae family .

synodontis has over 131 different species within the genera .

synodontis are also known as squeakers , due to their ability to make stridulatory sounds through their pectoral fin spines when handled or disturbed .

synodontis make a sound that sounds like squeaking by rubbing their spines together .

they do this when they have been frightened or when they become angry .

" synodontis " may also squeak when they are taken out of the water .

these catfish are small - to medium-sized fish with many species exhibiting attractive spotted markings .

some species are also known for naturally swimming belly-up , earning the name upside-down catfish .

some of these species are synodontis contractus and synodontis nigriventris .

while some of these species are known to swim upside down , another species , synodontis multipunctatus , is a brood parasitic cuckoo catfish .

synodontis

lateral view of synodontis ornatipinnis , illustrating the striking patterns seen in some species of synodontis ; cu 91403 . ©
synodontis schall surface shore bottom habitats araoye , p . a . spatio - temporal distribution of the fish synodontis schall ( teleostei : mochokidae ) in asa lake , ilorin , nigeria
synodontis ocellifer was , at one time , a fairly rare fish in the hobby . what was once a fish shipped accidentally with other synodontis is now imported separately in fairly decent numbers .
spine anatomy reveals the diversity of catfish through time : a case study of synodontis ( siluriformes ) .
synodontis schoutedeni is known from pool malebo ( stanley pool ) and from the central congo river basin .
a synonym of brachysynodontis barensoda ( rüppel , 1932 ) . see the species synodontis batensoda rüppel , 1932 .
i think i may be experiencing auditory hallucinations . i am convinced i have heard my synodontis squeaking at me .
synodontis schall is able to adapt to many different kinds of food and habitats , increasing the chances of survival .
synodontis soloni is a benthopelagic species . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) .
synodontis pleurops is a benthopelagic species . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) .
spine anatomy reveals the diversity of catfish through time : a case study of synodontis ( siluriformes ) . - pubmed - ncbi
bi tree of synodontis catfish . voucher and field numbers ( see the electronic supplementary material ) are used to distinguish multiple specimens . lm , lake malawi ; lv , lake victoria ; rm , river malagrasi ; sa , south africa . photographs top to bottom : s . nigromaculatus , s . njassae , s . granulosus , s . multipunctatus , s . victoriae , synodontis cf . tanganaicae , s . af . petricola , synodontis dhonti , synodontis polli and s . cf . petricola .
if you really want to know , this article from planet catfish is an excellent in depth guide to identifying hybrid synodontis .
synodontis species vary greatly in adult size , from 5 cm total length ( tl ) in the recently described s . acanthoperca ( friel & vigliotta , 2006 ) up to 80 cm in other species . larger synodontis are important food fishes in many parts of africa . species in other mochokid genera are even smaller as adults ( e . g . , microsynodontis and chiloglanis ) , but none are larger than the largest synodontis . synodontis angelicus may reach about 25 cm tl ( poll , 1971 ) .
whether you care if your synodontis is a hybrid or not will depend on whether you intend to attempt breeding ( a very noble goal indeed , given the difficulty of breeding synodontis , ) or whether you are paying a premium for a ' pure ' fish .
if you are keeping several synodontis in the same tank , ensure that you provide plenty of hiding places and have a spacious aquarium .
also look out for synodontis sp . ' golden eye ' , which is a bit like synodontis multipunctatus . it ' s being bred in the uk and some specialist stores are stocking the very attractive juveniles . look out in this mag next month for more details .
a large - scale phylogeny of synodontis ( mochokidae , siluriformes ) reveals the influence of geological events on continental diversity during the cenozoic .
froese , rainer and pauly , daniel , eds . ( 2011 ) .
synodontis schall
in fishbase . december 2011 version .
there are many species of synodontis , and there are many hybrids and crossbreeds between the species which pop up as well , quite often in pet shops . synodontis appear to be quite happily and readily crossbred to the chagrin of purists who do not approve of such abominations .
musschoot , t . , and p . lalèyè . 2008 . designation of a neotype for synodontis schall ( bloch and schneider , 1801 ) and description of two new species of synodontis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . journal of natural history 42 ( 17 - 18 ) : 13031331 .
fossil mochokids ( almost exclusively synodontis ) are widespread in africa and date as far back as the early miocene ( stewart , 2001 ) . interestingly , fragments of synodontis pectoral spines dating from the early oligocene have been found in oman , an area where mochokids do not exist today .
synodontis : from the greek syn , meaning together , and odontos , meaning tooth ; in reference to the closely - spaced lower jaw teeth .
evaluation of the fossil fish - specific diversity in a chadian continental assemblage : exploration of morphological continuous variation in synodontis ( ostariophysi , siluriformes ) .
fossil mochokids , of the genus synodontis , have been found in deposits from eastern and northern africa dating to at least the early miocene ( at least 20 mya ) ( stewart , 2001 ) . interestingly , fragments of pectoral spines of synodontis dating from the early oligocene have been found in oman , an area where mochokids do not exist today ( otero & gayet , 2001 ) . fossil mochokids outside of the genus synodontis are presently unknown .
the true upside - down catfish , synodontis nigriventris , is adapted for feeding from the surface on insects and other items that fall into the water .
synodontis multipunctatus is native to lake tanganyika and therefore also a suitable inhabitant for rift lake cichlid fish aquariums . s . multipunctatus is one of the most popular of the synodontis catfishes . this popularity started with those aquarists who kept cichlids from lakes tanganyika and malawi and has spread widely from that base .
synodontis is a genus of upside - down catfishes . they are members of the african catfish family mochokidae which contains about 150 different species in 10 genera .
favours fast - flowing rocky habitats and is the only synodontis species found in rapids , where it lives in crevices ( tweddle et al . 2004 ) .
synodontis pleurops is known from the lower congo , pool malebo ( stanley pool ) and the congo river basin , with exception of the luapula - mweru system .
6a . eyes with free orbital margin ; 17 principal caudal - fin rays ( only 13 in synodontis contracta ) ; tail forked ; 6 to 10 pectoral - fin rays ( usually 8 or 9 ) ; lateral mandibular barbels with single , gracile branches at each point along length or doubly branched ( fig . 27a–b ) … synodontis
don ' t worry . synodontis do sometimes make noises that are audible outside the aquarium . this has earned them the name ' squeakers ' in parts of africa .
a large - scale phylogeny of synodontis ( mochokidae , siluriformes ) reveals the influence of geological events on continental diversity during the cen . . . - pubmed - ncbi
to cite this page : mr . thomas vigliotta , 2006 ,
synodontis angelicus
( on - line ) , digital morphology . accessed july 9 , 2018 at urltoken
synodontis schall has a shield on its body and has strong bony spines on the pectoral and dorsal fins . some areas of new evolutionary forces have allowed for the synodontis schall to have different phenotypes . recent studies have found evidence for an increase number of teeth and gill rakers which could possibly point to a change from them being herbivores to carnivores .
one in particular — a small , “common” synodontis — can be considered the standard bearer for the genus . the upside - down catfish ( synodontis nigriventris ) is without doubt the most popular and widespread ( in aquariums ) of the synodontis catfishes . this popularity is certainly not as a result of its color . the base color is generally brown , with small darker spots scattered on the body and head . two broad bands of lighter color may be seen on the body to the front and rear of the adipose fin .
day , j . j . , and m . wilkinson . 2006 . on the origin of the synodontis catfish species flock from lake tanganyika . biology letters 2 : 548552 .
. . . the consumption of fish scales by synodontis species has been observed by several authors ( e . g . lauzanne , 1988 ; ofori - danson , 1992 ) . however , whether or not the synodontis , especially s . koensis actively searches for scales or ingest them at random is a question that remains to be investigated . . . .
a much deeper - bodied synodontis , the synodontis eruptus is also known as the featherfin squeaker because off its beautiful feathered dorsal fin and the fact that it can produce a high pitched squeaking with it . these fish grow up to 20 centimeters , though 15 to 17 is more common , and have been reported as being more aggressive than other catfish .
for the concatenated data set , a total of 7 partitions were identified using partitionfinder ( table 1 ) . based on the concatenated data set and individual gene trees , the genus synodontis is monophyletic ( fig . 1 ; supplementary fig . s1a–d , doi : 10 . 5061 / dryad . b6225 ) . synodontis forms a clade with its successive sister taxa microsynodontis , mochokus , and mochokiella , which itself is sister to a clade , including chiloglanis , atopochilus , and euchilichthys . brachysynodontis batensoda and hemisynodontis membranaceus , 2 previously monotypic genera ( poll 1971 ) , nest within synodontis supporting morphological data ( vigliotta 2008 ) . based on our results and previous morphological findings , we therefore place these genera in the synonymy of synodontis .
bishai h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1968 . studies on the biology of genus synodontis at khartoum . iii . reproduction . hydrobiologia 31 : 193202 .
sanyanga , r . a . 1998 . food composition and selectivity of synodontis zambezensis ( pisces : mochokidae ) in lake kariba , and the ecological implications . hydrobiologia 361 : 8999 .
gastrointestinal helminth parasites of the fish synodontis clarias ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) from lekki lagoon , lagos , nigeria por : akinsanya , bamidele , et al . publicado : ( 2007 )
there is also evidence of other recent dispersal events between the biogeographic clades . this is apparent within the ea clade , with dispersal into the cb ( 95 % hpd : 0 . 8–2 . 9 ma ) as the distinctive congolese taxon synodontis acanthomias is sister to the southern african synodontis nigromaculatus . in the reverse direction , the ea taxon synodontis afrofischeri ( lakes victoria / albert ) nests within the cb clade ( 95 % hpd : 4 . 0–8 . 6 ma ) . the single taxon ( synodontis aff . laessoei ) described from the cuanza ( angola ) ichthyo - province is also identified as having originated within the cb , but diverged much earlier from its congolese ancestor 11 . 9–21 . 3 ( 95 % hpd ) ma .
lalèyè , p . , chikou , a . , gnohossou , p . , vandewalle , p . , philippart , j c . & teugels , g .
studies on the biology of two species of catfish synodontis schall and synodontis nigrita ( ostariophysi : mochokidae ) from the ouémé river , bénin
. belgian journal of zoology 136 ( 2 ) : 193–201 .
synodontis generally mix well with other fishes and are easy to keep . larger ones could eat very small fishes , and they are often quite territorial towards other catfishes , especially other synos .
bishai h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1965a . studies on the biology of genus synodontis at khartoum . i . age and growth . hydrobiologia 26 : 8597 .
sanyanga , r . a . 1998 . food composition and selectivity of synodontis zambezensis ( pisces : mochokidae ) in lake kariba , and the ecological implications . hydrobiologia 361 : 89 - 99 .
they are also known as the cuckoo synodontis as they have a habit of eating the eggs of other fish and depositing their own in place for the other fish to tend as they grow .
bishai h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1965b . studies on the biology of genus synodontis at khartoum . ii . food and feeding habits . hydrobiologia 26 : 98113 .
if you are trying to identify whether or not a synodontis is pure , pay special attention to fin shape , size and coloration , to the nature of the barbs around the mouth , to the overall body shape of the fish and to its markings . if your synodontis seems to have the characteristics of more than one species , there is a fairly decent chance that it is a hybrid .
a peaceful synodontis species , these do not grow much over 12 centimeters . unlike other species of synodontis , these have been bred in captivity relatively easily , but prefer to live and spawn in groups , so a pair may not spawn alone . these are easily confused with multipunctatus , however they sport a white trim which is not present in the multipuncatus . they tend to be quite expensive .
the mochokid fossil record is represented largely by synodontis , predominately isolated robust fin spines ( pinton et al . 2006 ) . there are good diagnostic characters for fin spines of african catfish genera developed through extensive comparative material ( gayet and van neer 1990 ; pinton et al . 2006 ) , although extant synodontis are currently defined by 2 synapomorphies based only on soft tissue characters ( see vigliotta 2008 ) .
poll , m . 1971 . révision des synodontis africains ( famille mochocidae ) . annales de musée royale de l ' afrique centrale ( ser . 8 ) , sciences zoologiques 191 : 1 - 497 .
synodontis decorus is one of the most magnificent of the synodontis species ! it is hard to find a more stunning sight than that of an adult s . decorus swimming in an aquarium with its long , black dorsal fin trailer flowing behind . when seeing this species at the smaller sizes they are usually imported at , they are quite attractive , but this is merely a hint of the beauty to come .
synodontis schoutedeni is a benthopelagic species . its electric organ is located dorsally and consists of modified striated muscle ( møller 1995 ) . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) .
lt cichlids are both polyphyletic , implying independent colonizations of the lake , and paraphyletic , demonstrating that radiations within the lake have subsequently become a source for secondary seeding of rivers and younger lakes ( salzburger et al . 2002 ) . in contrast , platytelphusidae crabs ( marijnissen et al . 2006 ) and cleopatra gastropods ( west & michel 2000 ) are monophyletic , consistent with single origins and no dispersal out of tanganyika . a current phylogeny is lacking for east african synodontis and thus it is not known whether the lt species flock is a single radiation . molecular markers have undermined the traditional taxonomies of some other lt groups ( e . g . rüber et al . 1999 ) , but have not yet been applied to synodontis , so that the extent of phylogenetic diversity of the lt flock is unclear . here , mtdna data are used to test current species concepts and to infer a dated phylogeny for lacustrine and fluviatile species of primarily east african synodontis . the phylogeny is used to test alternative hypotheses of the evolutionary history of synodontis in east africa , and in particular , whether the lt synodontis constitute a single radiation . synodontis catfish provide a parallel system that can be compared to other lake faunas to test the extent to which there are common patterns and processes of diversification in lt .
bishai , h . m . and y . b . abu gideiri . 1965 . studies on the biology of the genus synodontis at khartoum . i . age and growth . hydrobiologia 26 : 85 - 97 .
wright , j . j . and l . m . page . 2006 . taxonomic revision of the lake tanganyikan synodontis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . the bulletin of the florida museum of natural history 46 : 99154 .
synodontis schall is a benthopelagic , potamodromous species . it is found both in deep , open water and in quite shallow water , but it is never close to the shore ( worthington , 1929 ) . this species is an omnivore and feeds on insect nymph , larvae , eggs and detritus ( willoughby 1974 ) . it also feeds on fish , bivalves in the sudd and snails in gezira irrigation canals . synodontis schall is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) . breeding occurs during the flood season ( bailey 1994 ) in comparatively shallow and sheltered waters ( worthington and ricardo 1936 ) . synodontis schall is utilized for human consumption .
in another article , i presented a brief overview of some of the basic principles for maintaining synodontis catfishes in the aquarium . now i would like to introduce a few of the various species that are available to hobbyists .
the genus synodontis is by far the largest and most well known in the family , and dozens of species are available in the hobby , ranging in size from just a few cm to well over 30cm / 12
.
wright , j . j . and l . m . page . 2008 . a new species of synodontis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) from tributaries of the kasai river in northern angola . copeia 2008 ( 2 ) : 294300 .
in the wild the synodontis live in lagoons and other slow - flowing waters , often forming good sized groups . they are fish of the twilight and darkness and spend much of the day hidden under submerged tree trunks or riverbanks .
synodontis nummifer is known from throughout the congo river basin . it has not been found in centre of the democratic republic of the congo and in the southern tributaries of the congo river . records from the lower congo require confirmation .
synodontis soloni is known from the pool malebo ( stanley pool ) rapids and from libenge . it is also widely distributed in the lower congo ( roberts and stewart 1976 ) and from the ubangui river at zongo ( gosse 1968 ) .
araoye , p . a . ( 2000 ) .
pectoral spine size in synodontis schall ( teleostei : mochokidae ) from asa lake , ilorin , nigeria
. revista de biología tropical 48 ( 2 - 3 ) : 509–10 .
synodontis eupterus is , to my mind , one of the most outstanding of the synodontis catfishes . although it is not especially notable for its coloration ( a base gray - yellow to gray violet with darker markings in the form of winding lines in the young and small spots in the adult ) , the finnage , especially the dorsal , is what catches the eye . this fish well deserves its common name : feather fin synodontis . the dorsal fin , even in many juveniles , shows a distinct feathering . as the fish grows , this is additionally accentuated by increased prolongations of the soft rays , along with the accompanying membrane . the dorsal spine also shows similar extension with the growth of the fish .
monsters , these synodontis can grow over two feet in length . not at all recommended unless you have a very , very large fish tank , even 100 gallons won ' t cut it with one of these fish when they reach maturity .
synodontis nummifer is a demersal species . it is oviparous with distinct pairing during breeding ( breder and rosen 1966 ) . stomach contents contained sand , mud , plant debris , herbs and insect larvae ( mainly chironomids ) ( matthes 1964 ) .
koblmüller , s . , c . sturmbauer , e . verheyen , a . meyer , and w . salzburger . 2006 . mitochondrial phylogeny and phylogeography of east african squeaker catfishes ( siluriformes : synodontis ) . bmc evolutionary biology 6 : 49 .
. . . gy of synodontis in lake kanji ( nigeria ) described s . schall as omnivorous feeding on insect nymph and larvae , fish eggs , and detritus . hickley and bailey ( 1987 ) studying s . schall in the sudd swamps of the river nile ( sudan ) have pointed out the importance of detritus , benthic algae , macrophytes , benthic crustaceans , insects and fish in its diets . ofori - danson ( 1992 ) working on the ecology of some synodontis species in kpong headpond ( ghana ) indicated the dominant food items of s . schall as detritus , insects , oligochaeta , nematoda and hirudinea . sanyanga ( 1998 ) studied the food composition and selectivity of synodontis zambezensis in lake kariba and reported molluscivorous feeding habits . the specie . . .
synodontis ( mochokidae , siluriformes ) is a freshwater catfish endemic to africa . the 118 extant species are present in almost all hydrographic basins . some species are restricted to a single stream , whereas others have a vast distribution . synodontis is known in the fossil record since the miocene , and its history depends on the connections among african basins through time . the identification of species in the fossil record is essential to reconstruct this historical pattern . catfish pectoral and dorsal spines are robust , they preserve well and they form most of the fossil remains for the genus synodontis . unfortunately , the criteria for the identification of extant synodontis species are not applicable to fossil specimens . here , we define 11 original morphological characters that permit to discriminate four extant species from the chad - chari hydrographic system . six of these characters are defined on pectoral spines and five on dorsal spines . we then show that these characters can be used successfully for identifying fossil specimens . in particular , we present a case study in which we identify synodontis cf . schall and brachysynodontis cf . batensoda in the hominid - bearing sector toros - menalla ( late miocene , northern chad ) . we show that spine anatomy can be a powerful tool to recognise catfish species through time and thus to identify historical diversity pattern .
beyond diet , there isn’t a great deal known about the ecology of synodontis or other mochokids . synodontis stomach contents have included insects , nematodes , crustaceans , mollusks , annelids , seeds , algae , fish scales and incidentally sand ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1965 ; sanyanga , 1998 ; winemiller & winemiller , 1996 ) . the diets of the three sucker - mouthed genera ( see above ) may contain a higher proportion of plant matter , but it seems likely that all members of the family are omnivorous .
friel , j . p . , and j . p . sullivan . 2008 . synodontis woleuensis ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) , a new species of catfish from gabon and equatorial guinea , africa . proceedings of the academy of natural sciences of philadelphia 157 : 312 .
friel , j . p . and t . r . vigliotta . 2006 . synodontis acanthoperca , a new species from the ogôoué river system , gabon with comments on spiny ornamentation and sexual dimorphism in mochokid catfishes ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . zootaxa 1125 : 4556 .
de weirdt , d . , e . vreven , and y . fermon . 2008 . synodontis ngouniensis , a new species ( siluriformes : mochikidae ) from ngounié and nyanga basins , gabon and republic of congo . ichthyological exploration of freshwaters 19 ( 2 ) : 121128 .
most fish have a cryptic colour pattern called countershading and their backs are darker than their bellies , making them more difficult for predators to see . but because synodontis swim the wrong way up , they use reverse - countershading so that their bellies are darker than their backs .
bayesian phylogenetic hypothesis of synodontis catfish reconstructed from the concatenated data set . outgroups ( gray branches ) , bpps are given in full below nodes , bs values are given above nodes : black square > 95 % , gray square 94–90 % , and gray star 89–85 % .
abu - gideiri , y . b . & nasr , d . h . ( december 1973 ) .
sound production by synodontis schall ( bloch - schneider )
. hydrobiologia 43 ( 3 - 4 ) : 415–428 . doi : 10 . 1007 / bf00015360 .
friel , j . p . and t . r . vigliotta . 2006 . synodontis acanthoperca , a new species from the ogôoué river system , gabon with comments on spiny ornamentation and sexual dimorphism in mochokid catfishes ( siluriformes : mochokidae ) . zootaxa 1125 : 45 - 56 .
synodontis is by far the largest genus in the family mochokidae and , indeed , one of the largest among all catfishes ( about 120 species , a close second to corydoras , about 150 species ) . and so , synodontis is often the stand - in when people think about mochokid catfishes . but , in fact , the family ( 10 genera , ~ 190 species ) is much more morphologically diverse when you consider some of the other recognized genera . euchilichthys , atopochilus and chiloglanis are particularly notable for their ventrally - directed sucker - shaped mouths . others like mochokus and acanthocleithron are very poorly known , but exhibit unique morphologies of their own . synodontis angelicus , like many mochokids , is typified by branched mandibular barbels , well - developed nuchal plates , a large cleithral process and s - shaped mandibular teeth set in a deep cavity / cup of the dentary .
the earliest synodontis is 21 . 8–16 . 6 myr old ( burdigalian ) , but younger fossils cannot be reliably assigned to extant species ( pinton et al . 2006 ) . molecular divergence time estimates were calculated using a pruned tree ( eliminating intraspecific data ) , assuming either 21 . 8 or 16 . 6 myr as the age of synodontis , and using the optimal smoothing parameter value , determined through cross - validation in penalized likelihood as implemented in r8s ( sanderson 2003 ) . confidence limits on age estimates were based on two mcmc chains sampling 500 generations and enforcing topological constraint .
nine genera and approximately 200 valid species are currently recognized . some fossilized pectoral spines have been attributed to synodontis , but none of them are described as new . phylogenetic relationships among the mochokid genera were investigated by vigliotta ( 2008 ) who found that chiloglanis is possibly a paraphyletic assemblage , that synodontis must include s . membranaceous and s . batensoda ( formerly placed in hemisynodontis and brachysynodontis respectively ) and that the reciprocal monophyly of atopochilus and euchilichthys are questionable at best ; all remaining genera are recovered as valid and monophyletic . the general relationships between mochokid genera are illustrated in the phylogeny below .
lt radiations leading to secondary colonization of rivers are rare in lt cichlid tribes ( salzburger et al . 2002 ) . the occurrence of a non - endemic synodontis within the lt species flock might be similarly explained if the flock were monophyletic . the phylogeny does not support this , but it and the time - scale are consistent with s . victoriae having originated in this way . thus , synodontis may provide a second example of recolonization . it is tempting to suggest that the ability to recolonize rivers is correlated with mobility , and that synodontis are more similar to cichlids than to benthic invertebrates , for which there is no evidence of recolonization ( e . g . marijnissen et al . 2006 ) , in this respect . unfortunately , the placement of s . victoriae is not compelling . we cannot reject the alternative hypothesis that the lt endemics are a single monophyletic radiation , which has not seeded any other rivers or lakes . east–west african faunal divisions , consistent with continental - scale vicariance , are reported for many terrestrial ( e . g . matthee et al . 2004 ) , but few aquatic groups . synodontis phylogeny reveals an initial east–west split and subsequent dispersal between the regional faunas .
my synodontis was 2
long in 1986 ! no typo . . . 1986 ! i know because in 11 / ' 86 we took our appaloosa stallion to the world champ show 100 ' s of miles away , for a week . had so many fish i got an amateur to feed while i was gone but worried what syno would eat . never let an amateur feed pellets ! the fish lucked out as the amateur quit the job after 1 day ( went deer hunting ) . this synodontis is still going as of 10 / 6 / 2013 . . . 27 yrs later !
julia j . day , claire r . peart , katherine j . brown , john p . friel , roger bills , timo moritz ; continental diversification of an african catfish radiation ( mochokidae : synodontis ) , systematic biology , volume 62 , issue 3 , 1 may 2013 , pages 351–365 , urltoken
synodontis catfishes span the entire geographic range of mochokids ; they inhabit a large proportion of african freshwaters including most of sub - saharan africa and the nile river basin and can be found in large rivers , smaller fast - flowing streams and the massive african rift lakes . some species are known to swim in mid - water and some will shoal ; others are primarily benthic and relatively solitary . synodontis angelicus is distributed throughout the congo river drainage ( poll , 1971 ) . anecdotal reports tell of angel squeakers using holes in submerged logs for shelter ; this practice is probably more widespread in the family .
in african freshwater , curved teeth are typical of mochokid fish . within the family , this shape is observed in synodontis , microsynodontis , mochokus and chiloglanis members ( pinton , otero , pers . obs . ) . this kind of tooth is usually attributed to synodontis in the fossil record because living species of microsynodontis are very small and because chiloglanis is a genus that inhabits fast moving waters , whereas synodontis are large - bodied and widespread , living in a variety of habitats . however , the description of giant fossil fish in another minute mochokid genus in the late miocene of chad , i . e . , mochokus [ 32 ] , suggest that one should not rely on size features to assign fossil remains to a given genus , notably in the case of mochokids . finally , the identification of mochokids at dur at - talah based on a single minute tooth is rather fragile and needs further confirmation .
ltt plots for the original synodontis data set ( dark gray ) and including missing species added at random ( light gray ) , estimated from sampling 100 bayesian trees generated from the concatenated data set . the solid line indicates the expected number of lineages under a constant rate model of diversification with no extinction .
unless you have a very common species , it may be difficult to tell if what you have is a hybrid or not . there are currently well over 100 different identifies species of synodontis , and more than one syno has been misidentified as a hybrid when it was , in fact a new species .
synodontis notatus is not one of the most attractive of the synodontis , but because of its general availability it deserves note here . this species has a gray - brown body color , with the ventral region being white . on the sides there are varying numbers of round , black spots along the midline . there may be as few as one spot per side — usually there are less than five — but on occasion there are more . the numbers of spots on each side of the body do not necessarily match . very rarely , an individual without spots on one side or the other may be seen .
a native of lake malawi , synodontis njassae is a pretty catfish with lovely coloration which can vary widely from fish to fish . some specimens may have many spots covering their body , others have but a few . some keepers break these into large and small spotted varieties . they grow to around 20 centimeters .
one species of synodontis is known for an interesting bit of its ecology ; s . multipunctatus is a brood parasite of mouth brooding cichlids such as haplochromis ( sato , 1986 ; wisenden , 1999 ) . adults of this species will ‘dump’ their own fertilized eggs into the mix while cichlids are breeding and the catfish eggs are taken into the mouth of a cichlid . the synodontis eggs hatch first and will eat the host eggs before they leave the host mouth . visit this link to see video of s . multipunctatus spawning with cichlids , and this link to see pictures of s . multipunctatus fry emerging from a cichlid mouth .
even more peculiar is the habit of some species of synodontis that are known to swim upside - down . this habit seems to be correlated with feeding while upside - down at the water’s surface ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1965b ) , but upside - down catfishes will rest and swim in the inverted position on a regular basis . chapman et al . ( 1994 ) showed that an upside - down posture near the surface also facilitates respiration in poorly oxygenated water . while the genus synodontis presents the most well - known species with their fascinating behaviors and natural histories , the family is actually much more interesting when taken as a whole .
the oldest reported fossil synodontis comes from the earliest lower oligocene , sultanate of oman at thaytiniti dated to 34 ma ( roger et al . 1993 ; otero and gayet 2001 ) and is represented by fin spines . these fossils possess a number of characters that in combination are used to diagnose synodontis from other african catfish ( gayet and van neer 1990 ) . these include : strong denticulation on the posterior border , round tubercles on the anterior border , a cleithral surface developed ventrally , a dorso - lateral process developed both anteriorly and laterally , and a well - developed auxiliary process ( gayet and van neer 1990 ; otero and gayet 2001 ) .
since the publication of the most recent taxonomic review of synodontis ( poll 1971 ) , a further 13 species have been described . the inclusion of multiple samples for species that have broad distributions within our study reveal reasonably distinct genetic divergences within taxa with large ranges , particularly across the n - s biogeographic region . k2p distances based on cyt b and coi range between 0 . 7 % and 2 . 1 % and may imply at least some cryptic speciation within the following taxa ( k2p distances for cyt b and coi given in parenthesis ) : synodontis sorex ( 2 % , 1 . 6 % ) , synodontis schall ( 2 % , 2 . 1 % ) , synodontis nigrita ( 1 . 6 % , 1 . 2 % ) , synodontis obesus ( 1 . 8 % , 1 % ) , synodontis clarias ( 1 % , 0 . 8 % ) , and the congo species synodontis angelica ( 1 . 2 % , 0 . 7 % ) . although not all these distances are > 2 % , often indicative of distinct species ( see april et al . 2011 ) , they are much greater than mean within species divergence ( 0 . 39 % based on coi ) reported in various marine fish species , for example ( ward et al . 2005 ) . the minimum timing of divergences within those taxa whose distances are < 2 % is 0 . 7–5 ma based on our multi gene data set . this pliocene–pleistocene timeframe was when the subtropical african climate periodically fluctuated between distinctly wetter and drier conditions , with evidence for increases in aridity at 2 . 8 , 1 . 7 , and 1 . 0 ma ( demenocal 2004 ) . these oscillations would have led to expansion and contractions of waterways potentially leading to isolation of populations . however , more extensive sampling of populations is needed to fully test the hypothesis for cryptic speciation in these taxa . additional new species from the cb that are highly cryptic in nature are also identified in this study ( fig . 1 , s . sp . nov . 2–4 ) . as such , our study highlights the need for further biodiversity surveys of african rivers , particularly the comparatively unexplored congo basin that will undoubtedly yield further species new to science and enhance the opportunity to test hypotheses of diversification scenarios .
synodontis schall was caught throughout the year , but highest catches were recorded in january and february , while total catch decreased from september to november when the lake became flooded as a result of increased water levels ( monthly mean range = 12 . 20 to 12 . 80 cm ) due to the rains that commenced in april (
all synodontis catfishes originate from africa . there are three areas of that continent where the majority of synodontis seen in the hobby come from : west africa ( mainly nigeria ) , zaire ( the “congo” ) and the rift lakes . i will discuss briefly , by geographical origin , some of the more than 100 species in this genus . although there is only space to deal with a small number of these fish , i hope you will have at least a better understanding about some of these fascinating catfishes . ( note : all sizes given are in total length [ tl ] , which is the full length of the fish including the tail fin . )
in the wild , this species is known to feed heavily on algae , so the addition of this or other vegetable fish foods to its diet is strongly recommended . with its small adult size and other similarities to s . nigriventris , this species offers good potential for someone wishing to try their hand at spawning a synodontis species .
lagrange recovered both dispersal and extinction rates of synodontis to be 0 . 003 per million years , respectively . figure 2 shows the most likely scenario of ancestral area reconstructions for nodes of interest summarized on the dated species - tree of the study group . three distinct biogeographical groupings are identified for synodontis based on the analysis combining wa regions . these comprise wa ( that includes the combined ichthyo - provinces : n - s , lgf , ugf ) ea and the cb , with wa rendered polyphyletic . in this scenario , the genus synodontis is inferred to have originated in the broad region of wa with subsequent dispersal within this region ( relative probability [ rp ] 0 . 99 ) . the picture is , however , less clear when these regions are coded separately , with the best likelihood reconstruction inferred for the origin of this genus as n - s with subsequent dispersal within this region , although this finding is equivocal ( likelihood scores were not significantly different between multiple reconstructions , rp 0 . 44 ) .
day , j . j . , peart , c . r . , brown , k . j . , friel , j . p . , bills , r . and moritz , t . 2013 . continental diversification of an african catfish radiation ( mochokidae : synodontis ) . syst biol 62 ( 3 ) : 351 - 365 .
the mochokidae are a family of catfishes ( order siluriformes ) that are known as the squeakers and upside - down catfish . there are 10 genera and about 188 species of mochokids here i will just deal with the most popular genera , the synodontis catfish . they are becoming more popular as availability increases , the synodontis are an interesting addition to any aquaria . their native ranges are the rivers and lakes of africa south of the sahara desert . all the family members are found only in africa . in the home they are most commonly seen in african cichlid tanks fulfilling the role of scavengers . to view some statistics on many individual fish , just click on any picture .
visual inspection of the ltt plot for synodontis indicates a near constant rate of diversification with no strong indication of a slowing down , irrespective of missing species added ( fig . 3 ) . net diversification rate for synodontis is 0 . 12 per ma assuming no extinction ( ϵ = 0 ) , decreasing to 0 . 07 per ma when assuming a high relative rate of extinction ( ϵ = 0 . 9 ) . our data , however , are better explained by low - extinction rates , that is , a pure - birth model ( ϵ = 0 ) , as opposed to a birth–death model ( ϵ = 0 . 9 ) , based on likelihood ratio tests generated in laser ( rabosky 2006a ) .
these are synodontis with shark - like fins which have made them very popular indeed . they can command quite high prices both in pet stores and out of them . these synos grow to around 12 centimeters , so they are not terribly large , and if you have the funds , you can quite happily keep several of them in a 90 gallon tank .
synodontis contractus is a small species ( 4 inches [ 10 centimeters ] ) and one of my personal favorites . it is somewhat similar in appearance to s . nigriventris but has a generally more thickset body and “chunky” build . like s . nigriventris , it will spend a good amount of its time in the inverted position and is also a schooling species .
beyond information gleaned from captive breeding of certain species of synodontis , very little is known about reproduction in mochokids . the best studied mochokids in this regard are most likely nile river synodontis ( including s . membranacea and s . batensoda , previously placed in other genera ) . still , details are limited ; the studies indicate that spawning occurs from july to october , which coincides with the flooding season , and that pairs swim in unison during spawning bouts ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1968 ) . the most interesting and detailed information on mochokid reproduction relates to a species from lake tanganyika , synodontis multipunctatus , which is a brood parasite of mouth brooding cichlids such as simochromis and haplochromis ( sato , 1986 ; wisenden , 1999 ) . adults of this species spawn in the midst of spawning cichlids and the fertilized catfish eggs are taken into the mouth of a cichlid . the catfish eggs hatch first and will eat the host eggs before they leave the host mouth . most amazingly , this species has been able to parasitize mouth brooding cichlids from south america in captivity ( loiselle , 1998 ) .
synodontis gambiensis is one of the more recognizable species that is seen regularly mixed in with shipments of catfish from the group above . it is easily spotted among such imports because it is a solid gray - colored fish . the ventral region is whitish . other identifying characteristics include whitish barbels and a somewhat indistinct dark band on each lobe of the caudal ( tail ) fin .
space considerations dictate that this article must come to a close . i have barely scratched the surface in regards to this interesting group of catfishes . i do hope that i’ve provided at least some useful information on synodontis and strongly suggest that if you haven’t kept them before , consider doing so now . i think you will receive as much enjoyment from them as i have .
based largely on coloration and pattern some scientists and aquarists have recognized ‘species flocks’ of synodontis . the largest and most visually impressive of these is the lake tanganyika synodontis species flock . the flock consists of at least six species , all endemic to the lake , that show amazingly similar coloration and patterning . recent work suggests that this ‘flock’ is not monophyletic and that the biogeographic scenario is more complicated than a simple radiation after lake formation ( day & wilkinson , 2006 ; koblmuller et al . , 2006 ) . regardless , in this group of species , the nearly constant color pattern consists of a light brown base color and darker brown polka - dots . it is made more impressive by the fins , which have dark brown membranes basally and stark white trailing edges . the cryptic nature of lake tanganyika synodontis has led to an underestimate of the actual number of species present ( wright & page , 2006 ) ; three new species were described and two others were resurrected in that work . there are several other smaller flocks with their own unique patterns and pigmentation outside of the lake , and cryptic species probably exist for these as well .
spatio , temporal distribution of synodontis scha ! l in asa lake was studied for 24 months ( march 1991 to february 1993 ) . distribution of individual was : 28 . 40 % ( surface ) , 35 . 60 % ( shore ) , and 36 . 0 % ( bottom ) . catches wilhin lhe habitat were nol significantly differen ! . similarly catches within lhe ha . . .
koblmüller , s . , sturmbauer , c . , verheyen , e . , meyer , a . , & salzburger , w . ( 2006 ) .
mitochondrial phylogeny and phylogeography of east african squeaker catfishes ( siluriformes : synodontis )
. bmc evolutionary biology 6 : 49 . doi : 10 . 1186 / 1471 - 2148 - 6 - 49 . pmc 1543664 . pmid 16784525 .
quite common , these synos reach just four inches in length , which makes them the perfect catfish for a smaller aquarium . they are known widely as the ' upside down catfish ' . they reach around 10 centimeters , or four inches and are very pretty and entertaining to watch as they defy gravity . it is best to keep this type of synodontis in groups of three or more .
dorsal view of heads illustrating sexual dimorphism of the opercular spine in synodontis acanthoperca : a . cu 89005 , male holotype , 44 . 1 mm sl ; b . cu 89006 , female paratype , 40 . 4 mm sl . the pectoral spines in both specimens have been removed from the images to make the margins of the head more distinct against the background . scale bar equals 1 mm . ©
chronogram , where synodontis are dated at either 21 . 8 ma ( blue ) or 16 . 6 ma ( green ) , with confidence limits calculated as 95 % credible intervals conditional on the tree topology . inset with ages ( and confidence limits in parenthesis ) for nodes a–g . 1 , age of lt ; 2 , onset of deep water conditions in lt ; 3 , age of lm .
the surprise is baby s . multipunctatus ! this species is by far the most commonly spawned ( in captivity ) synodontis . what makes them unique is that they will spawn in conjunction with the cichlid fish and that the female cichlids will then incubate the catfish eggs along with their own . there is not enough room here to go into detail , but do be aware that it can and does happen .
little is known about the ecology of most mochokids . what is known pertains mostly to diet and is biased towards species of synodontis . stomach contents from synodontis have included insects , nematodes , crustaceans , mollusks , annelids , seeds , algae , diatoms , fish scales and , incidentally , sand ( bishai & abu gideiri , 1965a ; bishai & abu gideiri , 1965b ; winemiller & kelso - winemiller , 1996 ; sanyanga , 1998 ) . from observations of stomach contents , the diet of most mochokids is probably very similar ; that is , they are omnivores . for some of the larger sucker - mouthed species ( i . e . , atopochilus and euchilichthys ) the stomach contents contain a high proportion of silt , algae and detritus . for these taxa it seems likely that scraping or grazing is the predominant method of feeding .
within synodontis 2 principal clades are identified ( a and b ) , which are further subdivided into the 4 main subclades ( a1 , a2 and b1 , b2 , fig . 1 ) . support for a monophyletic synodontis and main subclades based on bpps is excellent , with all major nodes except clade a ( 0 . 55 bpp ) receiving > 98 % support , with bs values slightly lower ( fig . 1 ) . support for internal nodes within the main clades is generally good , although some relationships forming the base of clade a1 are less well supported by bpp and receive no bs support . support for clade a is considerably improved ( > 0 . 95 bpp ) by the removal of the unstable sister taxa synodontis albolineatus and synodontis batesii that are sister to clade a2 ( 0 . 53 bpp ) . the position of these taxa is contentious , as while they are also placed as sister to clade a2 in the cyt b gene tree ( supplementary fig . s1b ) and mtdna tree , they are alternately sister to all other synodontis taxa in the rag2 gene tree ( supplementary fig . s1d ) . their placement in the co1 gene tree is unresolved ( supplementary fig . s1a ) , but these taxa are not resolved as sister to clade a2 as found in the cyt b tree . unfortunately , these taxa did not amplify for s7 ( supplementary fig . s1c ) . the disparity in placement of these taxa may represent insufficient data or real conflict , for example , homoplasy or cyto - nuclear discordance . however , to test between these hypotheses additional nuclear genes and samples of these taxa would need to be sequenced . support for the position of synodontis ocellifer as sister to clade b2 is weak ( 0 . 70 bpp , 57 % bs ) with this taxon also indicated as unstable using leaf stability metrics . individual gene trees for cyt b + trna - pro , coi , and s7 reveal reasonably good support for the majority of relationships identified when these data are concatenated and although there is no support for clades a1 , b1 in the co1 or s7 gene trees , there is no support for alternative hypotheses ( supplementary fig . s1b and c ) . conversely , rag 2 ( supplementary fig . s1d ) does not perform as well and yields only partial support for these clades . comparison of the concatenated tree ( p = 0 . 577 ) to the mtdna ( p = 0 . 414 ) and ncdna ( p = 0 . 000 ) trees based on au tests rejects the latter tree as a significantly worse fit to the data .
as noted above , these catfish are suitable inhabitants of malawi cichlid fish aquariums . the water conditions maintained for the cichlids are also excellent for the catfish . s . njassae is generally active enough to stay out of the way of the often aggressive cichlid fish . this synodontis appears to prefer the company of its own kind , so it would be a good idea to try to keep at least two together in an aquarium .