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Steven Grant (2) Adrian Taylor (2) Beta Mahatvaraj (4) Johnny Jensen's Photographic Library (4)

The images of the albino specimen were collected from Toofangang, Coochbehar District, West Bengal and was only the second albino specimen to be collected there. Habitat: Occurs in slow-moving hill streams with sandy bottom, rivers and beels. A very sluggish fish. Aquarium Care: A sand substrate that has small rounded pebbles roughly scattered in amongst it, with a few grass and fern like plants intermittently planted would make an ideal biotype for them to live in. Small danio's and rasbora's make excellent tank mates. Good water quality is essential in keeping these catfish for any length of time or attempting to breed them, as they tend not to tolerate too well nitrate levels above 12.5mg/l. Ideally a pH range from 6.7 to 7.2 and a GH between 6 and 12 should be provided. Temperature is not critical as long as there is a high level of dissolved oxygen present at the higher temperatures, however; they seem more at home in the cooler temperatures of between 20°C and 22°C. Diet: Varied live foods such as small bloodworms, grindal worms, sifted daphnia, cyclops and newly hatched brine shrimp should be provided as they tend not to feed on prepared food. Etymology: Erithistes, Etymology not explained, presumably erethizon, porcupine and–istes, adjectival suffix, i.e., porcupine-like, referring to strong and serrated dorsal and pectoral-fin spines. The species epithet jerdoni is named after the ichthyologist T C Jerdon. Remarks: This species is still listed as Hara jerdoni in Fishbase and a few other online sources but this name is treated as a synomyn in Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes.

Dwarf Anchor Catfish

Hara jerdoni

Sisoridae

Asia: India, Bangladesh. Type locality: River Kosi, now Hooghly River south of Ranaghat, by neotype designation.

2.5cm. (1ins)

23-27°c (72-78°f.)

6.2-7.2.

Adrian Taylor: pers. comm.
Thomson, A.W. and L.M. Page 2006 Genera of the Asian catfish families Sisoridae and Erethistidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes). Zootaxa 1345:1-96.
The ETYFish Project. Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.