/bagridae/mystus/castaneus/1.jpg "Mystus castaneus(1) - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/castaneus/2.jpg "Mystus castaneus(2) - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/castaneus/3.jpg "Mystus castaneus(3) - Click to enlarge")
/bagridae/mystus/castaneus/4.jpg "Mystus castaneus(4) Naturally occuring albino - Click to enlarge")
 Cat-eLog Data Sheet | |
|---|---|
| Scientific Name | Mystus castaneus Ng, 2002 |
| Common Name(s) | Pearl Catfish |
| Type Locality | Serian market, from Sungai Sadong, Sarawak, Borneo. |
| Pronunciation | miss tuss - kast AH nee uss |
| Etymology | The generic name is probably derived from the Latin mystax, meaning moustache, in reference to the long barbels. It was first used by Scopoli in 1777 making it a very old genus that has included many catfishes from throughout the world at one time or another. The specific epithet comes from the Latin word for chestnut brown, in reference to the color in life. |
| Species Information | |
| Size | 150mm (5.9") SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp. |
| Identification | Fishes of the genus Mystus Scopoli are small to medium-sized bagrid catfishes occurring in South Asia. Roberts (1994) recognized Mystus to have an elongate cranial fontanel reaching up to the base of the occipital process, long maxillary barbel, very long adipose fin, 11–30 gill rakers on the first gill arch and 37–46 total vertebrae, about equally divided between abdominal and caudal regions. He included only eight species under the genus. Mo (1991) characterized the genus to have a thin needle-like first infraorbital, twisted and thickened metapterygoid loosely attached to the quadrate by means of ligament or a small extent of cartilage. Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) and Ferraris (2007) respectively listed 44 and 33 species of Mystus as valid.
This species is often misidentified in the aquarium trade as M. armatus (an Indian species). Easily distinguished by its brown body, long barbels and dark triangular mark at the base of the caudal peduncle. |
| Sexing | Males have an elongate genital papilla in front of the anal fin. Females tend to be larger and fuller-bodied. |
| Habitat Information | |
| Distribution | Peninsular Malaysia and the Greater Sunda Islands (except northeast Borneo). Malaysia Waters, Peninsular Malaysia Waters (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) Greater Sunda Island Rivers (hover or click on these areas to show maps or find other species found there) |
| pH | 5.2 - 7.6 |
| Temperature | 24.0-29.0°C or 75.2-84.2°F (Show others within this range) |
| Other Parameters | Does best in soft, acidic (pH 5?6) water, although tolerant of harder (pH 7-7.5) water. |
| Husbandry Information | |
| Feeding | Easily adapts to a wide variety of frozen and prepared food in the aquarium. May eat very small fish. |
| Furniture | The tank should be furnished with ample driftwood and rocks. |
| Compatibility | Compatible with most fishes, although very small fishes will be eaten. Ideal tankmates include larger barbs and rasboras in an Asian biotope setup. This species is not overtly territorial, so more than one can be kept together. |
| Suggested Tankmates | Suitable for a community tank. Ideal tankmates are active mid-water fish such as barbs and rasboras. |
| Breeding | Prior to spawning the fish were kept in warm (23-24°C), very soft (3-4 GH), acidic (pH 6.8) water. A 25% change with water at 11°C reduced the ambient temperature to 21°C. This triggered a spawning response 7 hours later, the male displaying with fins outspread to the female. A few minutes of wriggling wit the fish side by side was followed by a locking of the pelvic fins and the female rolling over to an inverted position, releasing a cloud of several hundred eggs of ca. 1mm diameter. This was repeated for several times over two hours until several thousand eggs were released. The eggs drifted until sticking to plants or to the substrate, and began hatching after 24 hours The fry were free swimming three days after hatching. |
| Further Information | |
| References | Ann. Wien. Mus. Naturges.v. 1 (no. 1) - pp25 F Garside, 1985. The pearl catfish. Some notes on breeding. Aquarist and Pondkeeper 49(11):38-39. |
| Registered Keepers | (1) ali12345, (2) Silurus, (3) Nikita, who also notes: "Steve is 8" TL (without those barbels) and seems to have stopped growing. Bought as a 5" specimin because he was in a crappy tank and couldn't be identified - it took me this site and about 4 years to do it. Kept on black sand in a 72 x 24 x 24 tan", (4) Amaranth, (5) Moomoo, (6) Liam50LB, (7) bgates. Click on a username above to see all that persons registered catfish species. You can also view all "my cats" data for this species.  Add this species to your "my cats" page. |
| Breeding Reports | None. |
| More Resources |
 - CotM  2004 June -
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| Hits | 13404 hits. |
| Last Update | 2011 Apr 08 14:26 (species record created: 2002 Jan 27 00:00) |
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