Hyalobagrus
flavus Ng & Kottelat,
1998 |
n the last couple of years there has been an ongoing revision
(and confusion) of the Bagridae family and this is just
one of the fishes involved. You may have known this bagrid as
Pelteobagrus ornatus and it was only in 1998 that Ng Heok
Hee and Maurice Kottelat erected a new genus for this fish, namely,
Hyalobagrus, ( Ichthyol. Explor. Freshwaters v. 9 (no.
4) 340 Fig. 6, a new genus of miniature bagrid catfish from Southeast
Asia).
In researching the new genus they also
found that there was more than one distinct species going under
the name of Pelteobagrus ornatus. Hyalobagrus ( hyalo+bagrus=3D
transparent bagrid) belongs to the subfamily Bagrinae (sensu
Mo,1991) and there are three species. Hyalobagrus flavus (flavus=3D
yellow) only known from the Batang Hari drainage in Sumatra and
the Mentaya Basin in Southern Borneo.
Hyalobagrus leiacanthus (leiacanthus=smooth thorn)
from the Kapaus and Barito Basins in Central Borneo. Hyalobagrus
ornatus (Duncker, 1904) known only from Muar Drainage in the
Southern Malay Peninsula. If you do possess this fish and know
the type locality, you can put a name to it. As far as I have
ascertained the fish depicted in the aquatic books is flavus
and not ornatus as has been thought for a number of years.
Now that we have finished with the
science bit! how do we keep flavus. This is not your typical
bagrid who will cruise your tank at night and have a free lunch
on your tetra's on your behalf, it is a small mid-water to bottom
living species that is diurnally active, constantly on the look
out for foods such as small invertebrates, insect larvae etc.
I find them a little more sensitive to water conditions than its
larger relatives so weekly to two weekly water changes are a must
to keep them in good condition. It is also beneficial to keep
them in a shoal in a planted tank as they seem to prefer their
own company. You will see them sparring with each other now and
again but no damage is done.
This species does seem to be a prime target
for spawning as the females have been seen with a cluster of green/blue
eggs in their clear (transparent) body cavity and they have a
more rounded profile, so buying at least six and placing them
in a well planted species tank with good water quality and water
movement would be a good start.
This fish in good condition and colour
can do well at Fish Shows and I have seen quite a few who have
went on to get best Catfish or Best in Show, because of their
relatively small size and good deportment.
Acknowledgements : To Asian catfish specialist Shane Linder
for his contribution to this months factsheet.
Body: Naked, compressed posteriorly. Head:
Large and slightly depressed towards the rounded snout. Mouth: Sub-terminal,
almost terminal on some specimens. Eyes: Large and superior. Barbels:
Four pairs. Two mandibular, one maxillary and one nasal. All fairly
short and very slender. Hair like in thickness. Dorsal: 1-5/7; Fin
spine with strong serrations along the posterior edge and smaller
but more numerous serrations along the anterior edge, remainder
with slender but sharp spines. Anal: Fin fairly long with 18-21
rays. Caudal: Fin forked. Pectoral: 1-6/7; Fins with slender sharp
spines.
A translucent body with a metallic yellow
tint. Black lateral line from snout, passes through the eye and
ends at the base of the caudal fin. Two finer black lines on top
of the head start at the snout then converge and end just in front
of the dorsal fin spine. Three or four small spots along the back.
The two at the base of the dorsal fin and the start of the adipose
fin are the more apparent. There are two or three small dark spots
on the ventral half of the body, the most prominent are those just
behind the ventral fin and at the base of the anal fin. Small dark
vertical patch, sometimes broken into two spots at the base of the
caudal fin. The translucency of the body is such that the dark lateral
band on the other side of the body can be seen through the fish.
Good catfish for a small community tank or
a species tank, well planted and kept in a small shoal.
Not recorded.
Likes all types of live food such as Daphnia
and Brine shrimp. Also small frozen bloodworm and tubifex. Will
sometimes take flake, but does prefer the aforementioned foods.
| Etymology |
Hyalobagrus:
Hyalo+bagrus=3D transparent bagrid
flavus: Yellow
|
| References |
Linder,
Shane Catfish
Mailing List 1999.
Burgess, W.E., 1989 An atlas of freshwater and
marine catfishes: a preliminary survey of the Siluriformes. T.F.H.
Publications, Neptune City, New Jersey
Baench. Aquarium Atlas 3,1993
Northern Area Catfish Group Information sheet 15.
Allan James @  |
Indonesia,
Batang
Hari drainage in Sumatra and the Mentaya Basin
in Southern Borneo.
