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ve never forgotten the first time I viewed a documentary on the Okavango Delta in Botswana and the Hippos gliding through the papyrus grass channels. It was a fascinating program on this World Heritage Site and I often wondered what catfishes reside in this environment. So we have 20 species of catfish with 8 of them belonging to the Synodontis genera.

Synodontis nigromaculatus

One of them is the Blackspotted squeaker Synodontis nigromaculatus, where its most southerly limit is the Okavango Delta. It can be found in the papyrus and reed fringes along river channels and around perennial lagoons. Its range is quite vast with the type locality being in northeastern Zambia over 1000km (650 miles) away. It can also be found in the southernmost end of Lake Tanganyika in Zambia.

Synodontis nigromaculatus - head view

In Lake Bangweula its main diet is chironomid larvae with also weeds and other vegetable matter taken so for feeding in captivity this is a good guide to its dietary needs. Below is an image of the Lake with vegetation being abundant in the swamps. Its feeding habits in the Okavango Delta are similar with their stomach contents also containing the larvae and eggs of the local Cichlid populations.

Swamps of Bangweulu lake, northeastern Zambia

Blackspotted squeaker

Synodontis zambezensis, S. melanostictus, S. colyeri.

Mochocinae

Africa: Luapula System, Moero, Bangwelo, Lake Tanganyika, upper Kasai, upper Zambezi, Okovango, Cunene and Limpopo. Also present in the Zambian Congo. Type locality: Lake Bangwelo.

25.0cm. (10ins)

22-26°C (71-79°F)

6.0-7.5.

D 1, 7; A iv-vi, 7-9. Body deep. Head bony with a triangular humeral process located behind the gill opening and pointing backwards. Mouth ventral, snout short, barbels long and slender, with maxillary barbels having filamentosus branches. Dorsal fin tall, dorsal and pectoral fins with a hardened, serrated spine, Caudal fin forked.

Body yellowish/olive, with all fins covered in small black spots and sometimes forming vermiculate streaks.

Does not seem to be problomatic in its care. Good community catfish in a larger setup but as with all Syno's will need their own space, meaning their own bit of bogwood, PVC pipe or rockwork to reduce the territorial behaviour of this genus. Tankmates should be large enough not to become harassed by this species, such as small tetras.

In its natural habitat it breeds in the rainy summer and flood season and lays its green eggs on to plants where they are left to their own devices.

Not recorded

Will take most prepared aquarium foods such as frozen bloodworm, whiteworm, shrimp, prawns, tablet food, a good quality flake food, pellets and a bit of veggy food such as cucumber now and again. A wide varied diet will provide a healthy specimen for many years.

Adipose fin: Fleshy finlike projection without rays, behind the rayed dorsal fin.
Anal fin: The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
Caudal fin: The tail.
Dorsal fin: The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Humeral process: Bony extension of the pectoral girdle.
Maxillary: Pertaining to the upper jaw (maxillary barbels).
Pectoral fins: The paired fins just behind the head.

Synodontis: From the Greek syn, meaning together, and odontos, meaning tooth; in reference to the closely-spaced lower jaw teeth.
nigromaculatus: Black spots.

Bruton, M., Merron, G., Skelton, P., Fishes of the Okavango Delta & Chobe River, Botswana. Struik Nature, 2018.
Encyclopædia Britannica. Africa Map.
P. B. N. Jackson. The Fishes of Northern Rhodesia, A Checklist of Indigenous Species. 1961. The Government Printer, Lusaka. 140 p.
Poll, Max. 1971 Révision Des Synodontis Africains (Famille Mochocidae) [Revision of the African Genus Synodontis (Family Mochokidae). 523 p.
Seegers, L. 2008 The catfishes of Africa. A handbook for identification and maintenance. Aqualog Verlag A.C.S. GmbH, Germany. 604 p.
Skelton, P.H. 1993 A complete guide to the freshwater fishes of southern Africa. Southern Book Publishers. 388 p.
www.britannica.com

Photo Credits

First & Second images: Author
Other images: www.britannica.com
Map: www.britannica.com.