Help! Sold the wrong fish. What do I do?

[Tayturs]

What do I do about this? 😩

I bought an upside-down catfish at Petco, where I was told it would grow to a max of 4 inches. I did my research and had prepared for a Synodontis nigriventris, cycling a planted 30 gallon tank.

He was in rough-ish shape when I bought him. Ive had him in a 30 gallon for about a week and he’s already looking MUCH better, chubbier and with fin webbing growing back fast. In fact, ALL of him already seems to be growing fast…

I am now fairly certain I was ACTUALLY sold a Synodontis Eruptus, which look much different as juveniles than adults. They also get to be 12 INCHES!!

I am already attached to the guy and happy to have helped him get patched up, but I don’t have a 50+ gallon tank.

Should I try to keep him, or bring him back to petco where his health might go downhill again? Try to sell him on Craigslist? Keep him, and hope I can set up a bigger tank by the time he grows out of this one? I don’t want him to eventually eat my rummynose, either…

Pic is from the day I got him. Hard to photograph due to them being nocturnal and a little shy. 

[nabokovfan87]

Call the store, take it back.  They made the mistake and they have to be aware of what on earth they are selling.

[TheSwissAquarist]

I’m with nabokovfan87 , it’s their mistake and you should have better informed about the fish you bought. You could try squeezing a freebie out of them, but I don’t recommend that.

[Brian]

I would keep the fish and provide it with a great home until you can’t.  Maybe at some point you can purchase a larger tank?  But I think you have several years before you need to worry about it.  When that time comes you can no longer do the best for the animal you can re-home him.  
Let’s be honest, if you take it back to the store….  What future will the animal have?  
Good Luck

[Scapexghost]

How did you come to the conclusion that it is not the smaller species? I'm not doubting you, but I certainly can't tell so i think we should get someone who knows more about catfish than I do to give confirmation. Google lens thinks its a nigriventris. These fish can pretty easily hybridize, and if this is a hybrid, who knows how big it'll get. Honestly, this fish will have better odds if you keep it than if you return it. Its not your responsibility, but you shouldn't feel guilty about keeping it and taking your chance on it either being a smaller species or you coming into a larger tank. If it doesn't fie in the store the next unsuspecting costumer probably will kill it. Maybe you get a year of enjoyment out of it and you rehome it to a cichlid keeper. I don't think these are like red-ear sliders in that they are impossible to rehome.

Edited June 12, 2022 by Scapexghost

[Tayturs]

On 6/12/2022 at 2:50 AM, Scapexghost said:

How did you come to the conclusion that it is not the smaller species? I'm not doubting you, but I certainly can't tell so i think we should get someone who knows more about catfish than I do to give confirmation. Google lens thinks its a nigriventris. These fish can pretty easily hybridize, and if this is a hybrid, who knows how big it'll get. Honestly, this fish will have better odds if you keep it than if you return it. Its not your responsibility, but you shouldn't feel guilty about keeping it and taking your chance on it either being a smaller species or you coming into a larger tank. If it doesn't fie in the store the next unsuspecting costumer probably will kill it. Maybe you get a year of enjoyment out of it and you rehome it to a cichlid keeper. I don't think these are like red-ear sliders in that they are impossible to rehome.

Eupterus juveniles don’t look like the adult, and they look pretty similar to nigriventris. Nigriventris has a black stomach and more of a spotted pattern with some lighter lateral stripes. Eupterus juveniles have more of a wandering stripe pattern, which also continues onto their stomach. My fish has a patterned stomach and stripes. I can try to get a better pic of him this morning.
 

Unfortunately they are easy to confuse without knowing those specifics, and the store specifically labeled them nigriventris. 
 

To be honest I would like to keep him, I think he stands a better chance in my aquarium than back in Petco, but i don’t know how fast he’ll grow (especially if they can be hydrids??) I don’t want him 6 inches long and eating my other fish in a couple months time. 

[Tayturs]

Now I am second guessing myself… I think I am deciding to keep him another week at least. I would rather try to give him away to another fishkeeper if/when he gets too big, in case I am mis-identifying him. 
 

It doesn’t help that many web care summaries and YouTube videos seem to use stock images of many types of “upside down catfish” so they are not always correctly labeled. It’s making it really difficult to know what I actually have. At the very least I can document it for future people with my problem. 

[Scapexghost]

On 6/12/2022 at 9:50 AM, Tayturs said:

To be honest I would like to keep him, I think he stands a better chance in my aquarium than back in Petco, but i don’t know how fast he’ll grow (especially if they can be hydrids??) I don’t want him 6 inches long and eating my other fish in a couple months time. 

Fish grow throughout their lives and catfish live a long time, so its safe to assume he won't be growing too fast.

[SandSea]

sameeeeeee thing happened to me yearsssssss ago. mine grew lightening fast, i mean every week or two i could SEE how big he was by having him in my palm, he is very friendly. i ended up keeping him, he is my favorite fish. he NEVER ate other fish. but i did a LOT of water changes until i could afford a bigger tank. i got mine in november of 2008, he is still going strong, lol 14 years old ❤️ here he is as a babe, and now

[Tayturs]

On 6/12/2022 at 12:18 PM, SandSea said:

sameeeeeee thing happened to me yearsssssss ago. mine grew lightening fast, i mean every week or two i could SEE how big he was by having him in my palm, he is very friendly. i ended up keeping him, he is my favorite fish. he NEVER ate other fish. but i did a LOT of water changes until i could afford a bigger tank. i got mine in november of 2008, he is still going strong, lol 14 years old ❤️ here he is as a babe, and now

Wow he is SO beautiful! Im so glad you ended up with a fish you loved and could care for! 
 

If mine grows at a rapid pace I don’t think I’ll be able to skirt it unfortunately, I am trying to keep the bioload on my 30 gal low since we have well water here that is basically unusable (ph of 9, super dirty, does not budge no matter how you try to treat it), meaning I have to tote 5 gallon jugs to and from the nearest fill station for water changes. 

[SandSea]

@Tayturs ya, wow your water, lugging it, no fun! thanks for the compliment on my fish, I LOVE that guy! I'd stick with smaller fish too if I had to lug water

[Tanked]

On 6/12/2022 at 11:50 AM, Tayturs said:

To be honest I would like to keep him, I think he stands a better chance in my aquarium than back in Petco

You have already answered your own question.

If it is mislabeled The fish could grow to 12" but probably will not. Well cared for, it also will probably never bother the other fish. Unfortunately pet shops and LFSs often label their fish and plants however the vendor labeled them.  Bobitus Heteroclita  becomes Bolbitis Heudelotii, Lambchop Rasbora become Hatchet Fish...  Whatever you decide, enjoy the fish while you have him.

 

[Guppysnail]

On 6/12/2022 at 7:01 PM, Tayturs said:

Wow he is SO beautiful! Im so glad you ended up with a fish you loved and could care for! 
 

If mine grows at a rapid pace I don’t think I’ll be able to skirt it unfortunately, I am trying to keep the bioload on my 30 gal low since we have well water here that is basically unusable (ph of 9, super dirty, does not budge no matter how you try to treat it), meaning I have to tote 5 gallon jugs to and from the nearest fill station for water changes. 

@Torrey may have some suggestions for cleaning up your well water. I know they had REALLY toxic water and found a small filter option.  I can’t remember which thread they put it in but search through their journals it’s there. 

[Biotope Biologist]

That appears to me to be one of the variants of Synodontis nigriventis. While the latin name is in reference to the black belly they exhibit in the wild, these cats have been selectively bred to exhibit more of their cryptic camouflages and I believe there are also golden varieties as well now that appear to completely lack melanin.

 

Synodontis eupterus, even as juveniles, will exhibit a high dorsal hump with a large sailfin like dorsal fin. Where they derive their common name, Sailfin catfish or Sailfin squeaker (a nickname I share with this fish). And again this synodontis catfish also has different variants, making going by markings alone rather difficult. 

 

I might agree that this fish will be best in your care. Also unrelated but in my experience with synodontis they grow quite quickly, and are voracious worm eaters.