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his month we are visiting the Bagridae family of Asia and a very niced marked species going by the common name of the "Harlequin Lancer" and the scientific name of Bagroides melapterus. This is the only species in this genera (monotypic). This is quite a rare visitor to our hobby and information on keeping this species is not very forthcoming so I will report on my findings from this beauty from Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia.

Bagroides melapterus

First thing that you do notice is the thick yellow to cream coloured line running from the gills to the caudal peduncle which is a distinct identification factor for this species. There are a couple of other Bagrids from the Leiocassis genus that also have this trait namely, Leiocassis micropogon and L. poeciloptera but these two species have a very thin midlateral line and not such a bold colouring to the body.

Bagroides melapterus - showing the midlateral line

This species is known from the Rokan River drainage southwards to the Musi River driange in Sumatra, and the Barito River drainage eastwards and northwards to the Rajang River drainage in Borneo (Kalimantan) and found primarily in large, turbid rivers with a moderate flow and is noted as a species with least concern in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (2019).

Harlequin Lancer

Bagroides melanopterus

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Asia: Malaysia, Brunei and Indonesia. Type locality: Bandjarmassing, in fluviis.

23.5cm (9¼ins)

24-27°C (75-81°F)

6.0-7.0.

The dorsal fin spine is short, the teeth on the posterior margin pointing downward; inner mandibular barbels never branched; labial teeth absent. The adipose fin is long and moderately high and has the posterior end free or occasionally adnate. Anal fin, 13-18 rays. Caudal fin forked. Pectoral fin has a strong spine and is toothed on the posterior margin. Ventral fins inserted below the last ray of the dorsal fin. Lateral line is straight and may have a row of white fibrils.

A mottled pattern of bright yellow and black. Colouration depends on the conditions kept in the aquarium, the better the conditions the more yellow and black you will see. Broad yellow to cream midlateral line running through the body.

Some individuals can be mildly aggresive in the aquarium so other tankmates should be chosen carefully as they will attack slower or more docile fish, and also other Bagrids, especially at night. Place in a large aquarium as this fish can grow up to nearly 10ins S.L. All in all a good candidate for a large aquarium.

Not recorded.

Not recorded

Carnivore and predator which will eat most aquarium prepared foods.

Anal fin: The median, unpaired, ventrally located fin that lies behind the anus, usually on the posterior half of the fish.
Caudal fin: The tail.
Dorsal fin: The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the body.
Lateral line: A sensory line, along the sides of the body.
Mandibular barbels: Pertaining to the lower jaw. (mandibular barbels).
Opercle: The bony covering of the gills of fishes.
Pectoral fins: The paired fins just behind the head.
Ventral fins: The paired fins, between the pectorals and the anal fins.

Bagroides: With the appearance of Bagrus.
melapterus: mela[no]-, black; pterus, fin, referring to “violet-black” (translation) colouration on rayed dorsal, pectoral, ventral and anal fins, and “black-violet” (translation) border on caudal fin.

Burgess, W.E. 1989 An atlas of freshwater and marine catfishes. A preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. T.F.H. Publications, Inc., Neptune City, New Jersey (USA). 784 p.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Kottelat, M., A.J. Whitten, S.N. Kartikasari and S. Wirjoatmodjo, 1993. Freshwater fishes of Western Indonesia and Sulawesi. Periplus Editions, Hong Kong. 221 p.
Ng, H.H. 2019. Bagroides melapterus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2019.
seriouslyfish.com
The ETYFish Project Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.

Photo Credits

First image: © Keith Jackson
Second image: © Zierfisch Zentrum Austria
Map: www.britannica.com.