asian stinging catfish

predatory cat · Post by **predatory cat** » 11 May 2003, 03:18

I'm looking into getting a couple of these guys I'm just looking for some basic information on them how fast to do they grow what do they eat are they aggressive how big do they exactly get can I just get some basic first hand experience information

Post by **Silurus** » 11 May 2003, 04:28

They will eat just about anything, small fish included, so don't put them in the same tank. Fairly peaceful to each other as far as clariids go, and they get along well with other fish of the same size or larger.
They will max out at 30 cm (12"). Females will reach about 5" in their first year, and males 2.5".

74ray · Post by **74ray** » 10 Jun 2003, 23:02

I thought this site says they max out at 20"?? I have a shoal of 12 right now, one went from 4"- 7" in about 2 months. They seem to be much happier and swim around a lot more when in groups. My favorite catfish BTW.

Post by **Silurus** » 11 Jun 2003, 00:51

That info was probably copied from the Baensch Atlas (I don't know where the Baensch people got their data from). In truth, I have not seen any individuals of this species larger than 12" (and I have seen a lot).

Post by **Dinyar** » 11 Jun 2003, 01:08

I've had a couple and currently have one. They seem to leave larger fish alone but will definitely eat smaller fish.

Remember to be careful when you put your hands in the tank, as these fish have an extremely painful sting. I'm told they can attack without provocation, but have never experienced this myself. Mine always move away when I put my hand near them.

I agree, it's a neat fish.

Dinyar

74ray · Post by **74ray** » 11 Jun 2003, 07:09

I was hoping that they get 20", but 12" is fine also. I guess mine are growing faster than normal, they have been growing over an inch a month.

retro_gk · Post by **retro_gk** » 12 Jun 2003, 02:53

I'd recommend plenty of hiding places and no aggressive tankmates. I've found them to be very peaceful though they will eat smaller tankmates and may spook larger ones with their nocturnal prowling. Regarding the sting, I've handled a few (very carefully) and have never been stung, been skewered more by mystus in fact. The locals here, even tiny tots, handle them without a care. I think the key is to cup the fish from below an not grab them. DO NOT try this at home though.

kdreymann · Post by **kdreymann** » 12 Jun 2003, 18:58

Dinyar wrote:I've had a couple and currently have one. They seem to leave larger fish alone but will definitely eat smaller fish.

Remember to be careful when you put your hands in the tank, as these fish have an extremely painful sting. I'm told they can attack without provocation, but have never experienced this myself. Mine always move away when I put my hand near them.

I agree, it's a neat fish.

Dinyar

Dinyar, that sounds great

Can you tell me, what kind of species this is? I mean, latin name?

Klaus

Post by **Silurus** » 12 Jun 2003, 19:46

Heteropneustes fossilis. There are four species, but only the most common Indian species (H. fossilis) seems to be exported for the aquarium trade. The Sri Lankan species (H. microps) is on the IUCN Red List.

74ray · Post by **74ray** » 12 Jun 2003, 19:52

Which catfish is the one that has the 2 white stripes down it's body? I have only seen these at the aquarium and they had them labeled as stinging catfish. Mine are all the solid black fossilis, but I would like to find some of the other ones.

Post by **Silurus** » 12 Jun 2003, 20:04

Probably H. fossilis. The color pattern is variable in this species and the bands range from very prominent to almost completely absent. You might be able to find H. kemratensis (the Thai species) in the aquarium trade, although I have not actually seen this species exported from Thailand (you can pretty much buy most local freshwater fishes in Thailand from the LFS there, but I've yet to encounter Heteropneustes there outside of markets).

74ray · Post by **74ray** » 12 Jun 2003, 20:08

So are you sure that the Thailand species are the ones with a prominent stripe? I would really like to get ahold of a group of these, but don't want any more like the ones I have, since I have 12 already.

74ray · Post by **74ray** » 12 Jun 2003, 20:11

BTW, is that a fossilis in the banner pic?

Post by **Silurus** » 12 Jun 2003, 20:14

No, that's not what I meant. What I really mean is that you will almost always get the common Indian species (H. fossilis)...the color pattern in this species is variable and the stripe is present in some individuals, but not others.
You *may* get H. kemratensis, but you will probably have to: (a) look really hard and (b) get them from a source that leaves no doubt that the fish came from Thailand. Besides, H. kemratensis isn't all that different from H. fossilis (and color pattern isn't one of the differences).
Short of going to Asia to catch your own fish, I'd say there's no way to be completely sure what species you are getting.
And yes, that is a fossilis in the logo.

Post by **Dinyar** » 13 Jun 2003, 00:42

Silurus,

I was not aware that there were more than two species of Heteropneustes. Are these recent descriptions?

You must have seen this article which claims that H. microps is just a synonym of H. fossilis: http://wht.org/publications/serials/jsa ... icrops.htm

Dinyar

Post by **Silurus** » 13 Jun 2003, 00:55

Heteropneustes kemratensis is an old Fowler name for the Indochinese population (it was described as Clarisilurus kemratensis), which is now considered a distinct species from H. fossilis. In fact, except for introduced fish like Cirrhinus cirrhosus and Labeo rohita, the fish species thought to occur in both India and mainland Southeast Asia are not the same thing. I suspect the Indian and Southeast Asian Wallago attu are different species, but I digress...
Heteropneustes longipectoralis is the last species, recently described from the Western Ghats in India.
Hmm, I had forgotten about Rohan and Bahir's paper. Well, the question of the validity of H. microps is still not entirely settled, I believe. Sri Lanka seems to have a fair number of endemic freshwater fishes, and I won't be surprised if Heteropneustes is one of them. I know for sure that there are at least one species of Ompok and two of Mystus endemic to Sri Lanka (they are currently recognized as Indian species).