Bumblebee Catfish Id

Hi, I picked up some bumblebee catfish to add to my 75 gal yesterday and I just wanted to double check if I got the south american ones who only grow to max 3 inches or the asian one who grow much bigger..

heres the best picture I could get of one of them ill try again later on but it looks very much like the second picture (not mine).

 

How big is it now would you say? I'm not incredibly reliable on this topic but I can offer some info I read when I wanted some until others that are more knowledgeable come along.

M. iheringI (SA) has a mouth more towards the front of its face. P. siamensis (Asian) has a subterminal mouth (pointed more downward). M. IheringI has a yellow base colour while P. Siamensis has a black base colour. The fork in the tail of P. Siamensis is much more pronounced, the upper and lower parts are separated more clearly. P. Siamensis is deeper around the dorsal area. P. Siamensis also has nasal barbels very close to its eyes while M. IheringI has barbels that are much longer.

I've also read (but can't confirm) that M. IheringI is much more shy and will hide under anything it can, while P. Siamensis is also nocturnal, but is more comfortable swimming - like a synodontis. I'd link to where I read all this but I read them on another forum and I can't find where I got it.

Using all this - I would say that you have M. Iheringi

 

Right now they're all a little over an inch! so they're still tiny..
Since they're so small and I have some leaf litter in my tank right now they're very hard to get a clear picture of but here's some more..

 

(sorry for the blurry pictures my phone can't really focus on them because they never stop moving for long :emoji_pensive

 

The pictures are fine. With their longer maxillary barbels, more subtle fork to the tail and colour I'd say it's south american. Even then it can be one of a number of Microglanis so I went and found some pictures to show you different types of bumblebees. I'm fairly sure, based off of the single stripe on the caudal fin as well as overall appearance, that it is m. iheringI and not one of the others. I'll attach a second link to an Asian bb just to show you the difference. I'm pretty sure I've IDed it correctly and even chose the correct individual species.

 

(sorry for the blurry pictures my phone can't really focus on them because they never stop moving for long :emoji_pensive

Also just to note. If you ever have trouble taking a picture of a moving fish, you can take a video and then find a frame that's clear and screenshot it.

 

The pictures are fine. With their longer maxillary barbels, more subtle fork to the tail and colour I'd say it's south american. Even then it can be one of a number of Microglanis so I went and found some pictures to show you different types of bumblebees. I'm fairly sure, based off of the single stripe on the caudal fin as well as overall appearance, that it is m. iheringI and not one of the others. I'll attach a second link to an Asian bb just to show you the difference. I'm pretty sure I've IDed it correctly and even chose the correct individual species.

Yeah I think your right with them being Microglanis iheringI which is a relief !

 

Yeah I think your right with them being Microglanis iheringI which is a relief !

It definitely is a relief. I forgot to say, they're beautiful! I'm a catfish person and this is one I've wanted for a while. You chose nicely!!