PlanetCatfish.com

Hello

I have 10 Akysis vespa since 3 weeks ,and arange the tank after the few infos i found in inet (current ,cool water 24°). But wish tank size is ideal (they are now in 45liter tank). Wich waterhardness is preferet (they are now in water with 1 gh 0 kh ,ph 6,8).

thanx

This may probably be not a lot of help, but;
I Have only A pictus and A prashadi at the moment, both are in their own tanks which are species only, I have 5 A pictus which are kept in a 14 litre tank, with a sand substrate and a corner box filter, these tend to bury into the sand with just their nasal barbels showing, but they will come out for food. The others are 4 A prashadi which are kept in a identical tank, but I have introduced some hanging breeding mops, mainly because I have found they seem to like hiding vertical in amongst the mops as opposed to burying in the sand. the water temp is in the low seventies, PH 6.5 , Gh 3, Kh 3,
Both these types like to feed heavily (until their stomachs are bulging) so I only feed them every other day, they get fed a mixture of live and frozen food, the live being mainly white worm and blood worms, and the frozen being brine shrimp. due to them being in a small aquaria and with large appetites I do a 30% water change every forth day.

Thanx for posting. My A. vespa tank is also a species only with fine sand. The vespas often burrowed between the stones and driftwood (over them a small eheim pump creates a current). The tank is filtered with a "Hamburger Mattenfilter" ,placed in one corner ,also a small membranpump is installed for higher oxygene value. In the first time i got these small fishes ,i had no current ,so many of them like to hide in the sand like yours. My vespa mainly nightactive ,then i feed in daytime they search and eat only a bit ,but in nightimes they are very active . Some individuals tend to swimm permanently up ond down aquariumglass during nightimethe (when i first recognize that ,i thought the tanksize is maybe to small ?).I feed mostly red moscito larva , tubifex and enchitraen worms. I only change 1 time per week 70% of the water.
If any proposals or clue please post.

It's not very strange for catfish to swim up and down the glass during nighttime.
I have 7 Akysis pictus. During the day they are buried into the sand, and during the night and/or when fed they are visible. The sand I use is playsand mixed with 2 mm. riversand (2 mm durchschnitt), which makes the bottom a little more natural.
They like a current and cooler water, but are able to resist temperatures of 25 C. for a longer period. Like all hillstream cats they like waterchanges, so you do fine.
I think they don't need large tanks, but sufficient sand on the bottom is (obviously) requiered.

So, are these guys happier in a group or can they be kept singly?

retro_gk wrote:So, are these guys happier in a group or can they be kept singly?

Good question. I have them in two small groups, but with regard to their life style it wouldn't surprise me if a single specimen was perfectly happy.

If they're anything like Hara Spp., they should be fine by themselves.

Yes, although from different families, they may be compared with eachother. Are you going to buy one??

A dealer here has Akysis stock. And I have a spare 2.5 gallon tank... I'm tempted to get some.

Yes, although from different families, they may be compared with eachother

I have to disagree here.
Akyisdae have larger mouths and will if given the chance eat small fish actively chasing then , I have found that this dosn't happen in Hara & Erethistes 'sp' .

medaka wrote:

Yes, although from different families, they may be compared with eachother

I have to disagree here.
Akyisdae have larger mouths and will if given the chance eat small fish actively chasing then , I have found that this dosn't happen in Hara & Erethistes 'sp' .

Hi Medaka,
We were referring to their social(*) habits rather than their feeding habits. They seem very indifferent to company of their own kind.
On the other hand, when having the opportunity to buy some more I would certainly do so.
(* eating tankmates is not very social, is it?)

And I have a spare 2.5 gallon tank...

That's not a tank! even the buckets I use to do waterchanges are ALL bigger than 2.5G......

The fact that it's a small fish doesn't mean you can "keep and feed it in the bag" so to speak.

a 15G tank will be perfect for a group of 5 or so, and then you can add some other fish to make it lively; Akysis spend all day buried in the sand and only come out to feed or at night.

Another thing; 2.5G of water does not keep stable at all; the parameters flip with each change, let alone temperature.....

these cats are fairly tough (a LOT more tough than Hara or Erethistes), but they too need stable waterp[arameters and clean water.

No worries Alex, based on the response here and elsewhere, I've decided not to get these fish