Mislabelled Fish

[Bugdozer]

I'm sure most of us have seen fish being wrongly identified as other species in the LFS - some understandably so, maybe others you just thought "what the...?"
Let's hear your tales of the most wrongly identified fish, be it in the shop or by confused owners!

 

[m1lky12]

I think my worst one was a catfish that wasn't identified at all by my LFS, was when i was younger so out of naivety brought it anyway. Was in my tank for all of 48 hours until I noticed pretty much my entire group of guppies had disappeared over the two nights. Put 2+2 together and took my catfish back.

Didn't think anything of it until I looked at a thread on here the other day where I saw a picture of a crystal eye catfish and realised it strikes a pretty close resemblance to my mystery fish all these years ago, and now I know why my guppies had all gone missing.

 

[Ruskull]

I saw 3 interesting looking Gouramis in a mixed Gourami tank at the local Pet Supplies Plus & they staff told me they were Dwarf Gouramis. I knew they weren't but I assumed they were a yellow version of Honey Gouramis. After a bit of research I figured out they're actually Sunset Thicklipped Gouramis!

How's that for a example!

 

[JohnDyer]

An old store I visited years ago had half the fish named algae eater, with no other information. Common plecos, bristnoses, cories, CAEs, SAEs, and several catfish. That, and some guy insisted than his angelfish was a discus, and demanded $40 for it.

 

[aquariumart22]

Um so I when I first started fishkeeping my brother, who gave me the tank, was like you have to get clown loaches! They play dead! I was like Oh cool!

So a new LFS just opened in my town and I went there. I told the guy I wanted clown loaches and ended up with one clown loach and one panda cory! I got it home and I'm like that doesn't look like a clown loach.. Did some research and found out it was a cory, who is now one of my favorite fish

Looking back, I don't know how anyone that knows anything about fish could mix them up. Especially the fish guy!

I don't go there anymore

 

[Zante]

In one of the fish shops I go to they have labelled tanks, but the stock does not correspond to what the label says. When they receive stock they just put the fish in any free tank.

The staff knows its stuff, so no big issue, but it's mildly amusing to see espei rasboras labelled as bristlenoses

 

[ian]

I saw 3 interesting looking Gouramis in a mixed Gourami tank at the local Pet Supplies Plus & they staff told me they were Dwarf Gouramis. I knew they weren't but I assumed they were a yellow version of Honey Gouramis. After a bit of research I figured out they're actually Sunset Thicklipped Gouramis!

How's that for a example!

^^this happens a lot...take a good look at those little fish before you buy em.

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

Synodontis hybrid sp.5 "Valentine" incorrectly labelled as Synodontis decora.

Nanochromis parilus incorrectly labelled as the far more desireable Nanochromis nudiceps.

Synodontis congica recieved rather than a Synodontis notata... I have one of each these days, the former is a lovely very nervy ~9cm specimen that is very diurnal for a big eyed syno in my 48x12x15, the latter is a lovely ~25cm gentle giant in my 5x2x2

Microsynodontis polli received rather than a Microsynodontis batesii... No complaints, lovely social syno in my 48x12x15, slightly smaller adult size than the planned batesii.

Ctenopoma occelatum possibly bought in amongst my purchased Ctenopoma acutirostre.

 

[ParadiseGuerrero]

maybe not a mislabel as such but I once asked what sort of cory was in the tank and the guy has no idea so he asks around the store. Ten minutes later... it's a catfish I got that from the corydorus catfish label

 

[Yanks15]

Synodontis hybrid sp.5 "Valentine" incorrectly labelled as Synodontis decora.

Nanochromis parilus incorrectly labelled as the far more desireable Nanochromis nudiceps.

Synodontis congica recieved rather than a Synodontis notata... I have one of each these days, the former is a lovely very nervy ~9cm specimen that is very diurnal for a big eyed syno in my 48x12x15, the latter is a lovely ~25cm gentle giant in my 5x2x2

Microsynodontis polli received rather than a Microsynodontis batesii... No complaints, lovely social syno in my 48x12x15, slightly smaller adult size than the planned batesii.

Ctenopoma occelatum possibly bought in amongst my purchased Ctenopoma acutirostre.

Were these all through the mail? It seems as though there is a pattern there. Does the supplier not know exactly what they are selling or are they trying to substitute, either because of not stocking your order or trying to get one over on you? Did they notify you of the changes? For me personally, I just had to rectify an order that was incorrect. The supplier was more than apologetic and acted quickly to make things right. Did you question them?


Thanks,
Steve

 

[N0body Of The Goat]

The received congica and polli were online purchases and I did let them know, but like I said, the misidentifying made no odds to me as the supplied fish were similar natured and would fit in with the tanks I have.The political unrest in the Democratic Replublic of Congo means there is still so little known about the fish there, at a time where ichthyologists are making great inroads in more friendly areas of the world..

The bushfish were bought locally the size of a 20p coin, as one got bigger the dark blotches all heavily faded except the one by the tail fin, which makes me think it might be a related species known as a "Zulu Perch."

The Nanochromis and Synodontis hybrid were in the same local store, at a time when I was looking for more decora to add to my ~18cm specimen, but I thankfully knew of this decora hybrid in advance and avoided them like the plague.

Just remembered another two species from another store, I picked up a group of Microsynodontis sp.1 that the staff thought were M. polli, plus a group of Phenacogrammus nigropterus that the staff thought were Phenacogrammus sp. cherry.

 

[sadguppy]

I bought some "yoyo loaches" I'm suspicious of, I posted pics in the cyprinids forum and my journal thread if anyone wants to guess!

 

[Yanks15]

Your stories are a little unsettling to the novice keeper You obviously have had a ton of experience with fish and even as I try to research fish for possible stocking, I still can't identify them when they young. I know the obvious ones but it's so hard with Mbuna as juveniles. Fortunately I do research enough that before I buy a specific fish I know what it is supposed to look like from juvenile to adult. But to just look at LFS and identify any of them, not yet.


Thanks,
Steve

 

[fluttermoth]

My best friend knew someone who bought a 'weather loach' that turned out to be a channel cat

To be fair, she was as thick as two short planks!

 

[FishBlast]

The pet shop I get my fish from know the names of their fish and have all tanks labeled.

However, back in my noob days, I used to buy fish from market merchants. Or more like my dad used to buy them, few things I've bought from there myself: two swordtails.
But what my dad has bought was either:
a) Mislabeled
Corydoras, hoplos and fossilis were labeled as "cleaner fish", although for the fos, they also mentioned what it was.
b) Lack of info on their care.
Not only was the fossilis poisonous, the hoplos grew huge and i wasn't even supposed to keep them in a 40L tank, but also dad bought 4 fantail goldfish (1 black moor, 2 silver and 1 gold fantail) which made my water stink, never grew much, lived only 4 years in that 40L with the rest of the fish soup I had.