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Description: Dorsal spines (total): 1; Dorsal soft rays (total): 45; Vertebrae: 34 - 35. Posterior edge of pectoral spine without serrations. Head length 20.6-23.8% SL; head width 21.4-25.1% SL; interorbital distance 35-37% HL; length of nasal barbel 63-68% HL. Caudal fin deeply emarginate. Aquarium Care: Like other members of its genera, Akysis prashadi is more at home in aquaria having a sand substrate interspersed with small rocks and pebbles mixed with thick clumps of plants. Unless feeding, when they are highly active, they can be over looked in aquaria that has a sand substrate as they like nothing better than to bury themselves, leaving only their nasal barbels which protrude slightly from the sand to indicate where they are. Water conditions although not critical, (as long as it is low in nitrates) should be provided with a temperature range of between 18°C and 27°C, and pH values of between 6.5 and 7.2. Diet: Feeding Akysis prashadi does not cause any difficulty, as long as you use frozen or live foods such as bloodworms, brine shrimps, white worms and daphnia, as they tend to ignore commercially prepared foods. Etymology: The genus name Akysis: A = without; kysis = bladder, in reference to the lack of a swimbladder. The specific name prashadi: Named after the Indian ichthyologist, Dr. B. Prashad.

Indawgyi stream catfish

Akysis variegatus variegatus

Akysidae

Asia: Indawgyi Lake and northern Irrawaddy River basin, Myanmar. Type locality: South end of Indawgyi Lake, along sw. shore, Myitkyina Dist., Upper Burma.

6.5cm (2½ins)

18-27°C (63-81°F)

6.5-7.2.

Ng, H.H. 1999 The Akysis of Myanmar: a review (Teleostei: Akysidae). Raffles Bull. Zool. 47(2):541-548.
ScotCat Factsheet no. 139. Jan. 2008.