Akysis prashadi (Hora
1936)
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Following swiftly on from last months factsheet
on Akysis longifilis by
contributor Steve Grant, we herald in a new year (2008) with another
member of the same genus, the "Indawgyi stream catfish",
Akysis prashadi, and another contribution by regular
subscriber and webmaster of the Hillstream
catfish site, Adrian Taylor. Adrian is also secretary of the Catfish
Study Group and with no further ado I will hand you over.
kysis prashadi
is one of the largest of the species, one that we find frequently
in our local fish stores today, and one that is highly active
when feeding.
In general their markings differ slightly from specimen to specimen,
although their general appearance and colouration remains consistent.
Generally speaking the head is a golden tan with brown speckles
to it in colour, with the body also having a golden tan colouration
to it, which contain three areas of dark brown along the body,
the first running from the pectoral fin and ending level with
the posterior edge of the dorsal fin, the second area starts
midway between the ventral and anal fin and ending level with
the posterior edge of the adipose fin, the third area runs through
the caudal peduncle. There are thin brown irregular lines connecting
these three bands, in some specimens these connecting lines
can be absent or extremely thin, but generally it is usually
the connecting line between the adipose and caudal brown areas
that is hard to discern.
Sexing is relatively easy with the female having larger ventral
and pectoral fins. There have been reports of their spawning,
but as yet there are no reports of fry development.
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. So the next time you see a tank labelled ‘Akysis’
and there appears to be an empty tank, check the substrate to
see if you see any barbels protruding out of the substrate.
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.
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.
Akysis hendricksoni
is often confused with Akysis prashadi and can be misidentified
as such by our local fish stores, yet can be readily distinguished
from Akysis prashadi by being somewhat smaller, having
a narrower head and more closely set eyes.
Dorsal spines (total): 1 - 1; Dorsal soft
rays (total): 4 - 5; 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.
Head is a golden tan with brown speckles
to it in colour, with the body also having a golden tan colouration
to it, which contain three areas of dark brown along the body, the
first running from the pectoral fin and ending level with the posterior
edge of the dorsal fin, the second area starts midway between the
ventral and anal fin and ending level with the posterior edge of
the adipose fin, the third area runs through the caudal peduncle.
There are thin brown irregular lines connecting these three bands,
in some specimens these connecting lines can be absent or extremely
thin, but generally it is usually the connecting line between the
adipose and caudal brown areas that is hard to discern.
Fish like barbs and rasbora’s make
excellent tank mates, however as they have quite wide mouths,
any fry from livebearers or fish around that size would be readily
predated upon.
In their natural habitat they lay their
eggs in nests constructed by the males in shallow, rocky areas
in the summer months.
There have been reported spawings in the
home aquarium as well as in Public Aquaria.
| Sexual
differences |
The females have larger
ventral fins and deeper pectoral fins.
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| Feeding |
Frozen or live foods such as bloodworms, brine
shrimps, white worms and daphnia, as they tend to ignore commercially
prepared foods.
| Glossary
of Terms |
Dorsal :
The primary rayed fin(s) on top of the
body
Pectoral: The paired fins after head and
before anal fin.
Posterior: The tail end of the fish. Situated
behind.
Interorbital: The space between the orbits
of the eyes.
Nasal Barbels: On top of the head, by the
nostrils.
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| Etymology |
Akysis:
A = without;
kysis = bladder, in reference to the lack of a
swimbladder.
prashadi:
Named after the Indian ichthyologist, Dr. B. Prashad.
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| References |
Froese, R. and
D. Pauly. Editors. 2007.FishBase.
World Wide Web electronic publication. www.fishbase.org, version
(10/2007).
Hillstream
Catfish: online resource: http://www.hillstreamcatfish.com/index.html
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| Photo
Credits |
nos: 1 @ 2: ©
Adrian Taylor @
no.3: © Zhou
Hang @ 
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