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Rainboth, W.J (1) NHM (3)

Description: Nasal barbel shorter than head length and tip of snout dark. Large dark blotches on lower part of body, lighter above. Akysid catfishes are known from across a large area of Southeast Asia. Roberts (1989) described them as small to minute fishes with cryptic colouration, tiny eyes, and completely covered with unculiferous plaques or tubercles. In some genera some of the tublercles on the body are enlarged and arranged in distinctive longitudinal rows, the number of which may be diagnostic. Among akysids, fishes of the genus Akysis are very small, cryptically coloured species generally found in fast-flowing streams with a sandy or rocky bottom and, until recently they have been poorly studied, mainly due to the paucity of material in museum collections. Aquarium Care: Akysis are easy to keep for any decent fishkeeper. You can keep in small tanks (30cm wide x 20cm high x 30cm deep) with a sand bottom, small pipes, and caves. They will either bury themselves in the sand or hide in caves and pipes. They are not usually active during the day but will spring to action and eat voraciously and crazily if food is put in the tank. Diet: They will eat bloodworm, chopped earthworms, whiteworm, daphnia, and sinking pellets (although they seem to prefer live or frozen food). Etymology: The genus name Akysis: A = without; kysis = bladder, in reference to the lack of a swimbladder. The specific name variegatus: Variable; variously coloured.

None

Pimelodus variegatus

Akysidae

Asia: Northern Borneo and Mekong basin. Type locality: Batavia.

3.0cm (1¼ins)

18-22°C (63-71°F)

6.5-7.5.

Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Froese, R. and D. Pauly. Editors. 2011. FishBase. World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version.
Kottelat, M., A.J. Whitten, S.N. Kartikasari and S. Wirjoatmodjo, 1993. Freshwater fishes of Western Indonesia and Sulawesi. Periplus Editions, Hong Kong.
Rainboth, W.J., 1996. Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong. FAO Species Identification Field Guide for Fishery Purposes. FAO, Rome, 265 p.