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I purchased 3 of these fish today at the lfs. They were labelled as Corydoras Melanistius and I paid $11.95 each for them. I had been brushing up on what types of corys I wanted to buy and while I couldn't remember what a Melanistius looked like, I did remember the name and that it was a good looking fish.
When I got home and checked the cat-elog I found it is definitely 'not' a Melanistius.
I am even having doubts that they are even corydoras at all. For one thing, one has claimed the bn log for itself. They like to swim up the glass on their bellies, and when I turned the tank light off, they started swimming upsidedown!
Don't get me wrong, they are a spectacular looking fish and I love them but what the heck are they?

As you found out on PlanetCatfish, you have juvenile Synodontis eupterus. They'll get rather large, and the coloration changes to a spotted coloration, though the dorsal fin does extend. They're peaceful so long as there are enough hiding places for everyone, I think; I have also heard of them being a little pushy, too. If you're going to keep these, you're going to have to find a way to keep 3 8" fish. At the very least you might need a 55 or 75.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

Hi there,
yes, these are Syno. Eupterus, the Featherfin Catfish.
Nice fish, grow to about 8 inches long, and usually dont tolerate each other very well as adults.
Need a big tank 55g+, I would say 75+ if you want to keep more than 1 and even then that may be pushing it.
Keep in mind when buying Cory. Cats, they will never have whiskers that branch or are extremely long and stick out from the sides of their face.


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Keep in mind when buying Cory. Cats, they will never have whiskers that branch or are extremely long and stick out from the sides of their face.

Not to mention that callichthyids all have armor.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

I don't think so, actually. I vote for Synodontis schoutedeni. S. eupterus has dots all over the body in maturity and has a higher dorsal fin and there are 3 pairs of barbels, whereas S. schoutedeni is striped all the time, has a slightly less tall dorsal fin and 2 pairs of barbels. Maybe I'm not seeing the third pair?

I vote! Do you?

I'm pretty sure all Synodontis have three pairs of barbels, so I'm not sure where you heard that, but it's not a valid way of differentiating Synodontis. That said, the pictured fish have three pairs of barbels.

It doesn't really look like a schoutedeni to me.

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The aquarist is one who must learn the ways of the biologist, the chemist, and the veterinarian.

The really, really funny part is, I directly asked the lfs if they had any upsidedown catfish for me to look at as I have never seen one in real life and they denied having any.

This link goes into barbel descriptions.
http://www.scotcat.com/factsheets/synodontis_schoutedeni.htm

Well, if you don't want them, you can always phone & take them back. Especially if they where wrong labled & you were looking for Corydoras.

They are nice fish but grow quite big.......

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I emailed the manager of the lfs and pointed out the error of his staff. He has looked at his orders and the fish is indeed an S.Eupterus. He offered to take back the fish and give a refund but I love these fish and I am not returning them. I did cheekily ask for a discount on a 4 or 5ft tank in the future.

Schoutedeni have one of the most variable colorations I know of--lines, spots vermiculations, what have you. That being said, this is not the said species.

I'm pretty sure all Synodontis have three pairs of barbels, so I'm not sure where you heard that, but it's not a valid way of differentiating Synodontis.

Yep, stupid me, you're right. 3 barbels, but no nasal barbles for this family.

I vote! Do you?