knife catfish?

[pudgeking]

I was looking around at petco, usually not a good spot for oddball/rarer fish, but they had a couple catfish there that I haven't seen, at least not recently.
I didn't take a picture, but they were labelled as "knife catfish" and they're bodies were shaped like a knife fish, with a long anal fin (don't think it was connected to the caudal, but it might have been). They were a smudgy pale grey coloration, and about 4-5 inches long. I think they had a superior mouth type (overbite) but I'm not 100% sure.

Any idea what species it might be? What kind of knife-ish catfish would you be most likely to find in a hellhole like petco? Any info on them?

 

[Joee3196]

clown knife or african knife?

 

[pudgeking]

just to clarify, they had barbels and were definitely catfish

 

[ermgravy]

did you see there dentures?? few indian-asian or Australian sp. could fit the bill if we talking teeth?

 

[pudgeking]

nope, I didn't see any teeth. judging from what I've been able to find on the internet, they looked like maybe a neosilurus species, although I feel like the mouth was a bit different. Maybe I'll go back there and get a picture soon

 

[Oddball]

Sounds like one of the Heteropneustes species. The most commonly offered is H. fossilis. Use caution handling these. They're spines are reinforced with a venomous sting equal to a wasp sting.

 

[pudgeking]

@ oddball, I don't think so, he didn't have those crazy clarias whiskers. I almost want to say they had a mouth shaped somewhat like a pangasius shark catfish... definitely smaller whiskers than the fossil

 

[Oddball]

Can't be sheatfish at a PetCo. Must be an Ompok bimaculatus:

 

[kevinfleming21]

I was also thinking ompok

 

[pudgeking]

that's it! nice call

even so, odd fish to be seeing at a petco