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Adrian Taylor (4) Johnny Jensen's Photographic Library (4) Ian Fuller (1)

Description: There has been some confusion on the identity of this diminutive mothcat over the years. At one time it was thought that it was a small Erethistini that was first described by Professor Kottelat in 1983 as Erethistes maesotensis. However, E. maesotensis proved to be a Hara type not an Erethistes type, due to it having the serrae on the anterior edge of the pectoral spine antrosely directed and not divergent. It has since been diagnosed that E. maesotensis is Erethistes (Hara) filamentosus (Ng & Kottelat, 2007). Yet the Erethistini pictured were the type that was being seen in our local fish stores under a variety of  trade names such as burmese mini mouth cats and burmese rock cats. It was assumed that these were Erethistes maesotensis and therefore the synonym of Hara maesotensis and again as later Hara filamentosa. However these small Erethistini have  proved to be Erithistes minusculus (Ng &  Kottelat, 2007) and the differences between these two when Erithistes filamentosus and Erithistes minusculus are juveniles of comparable size, is subtle and misidentification therefore can be forgiven. In profile Erithistes minusculus has a curvature to its head whereas in Erithistes filamentosus the profile is more angular. Aquarium Care: A tank with a sandy bottom and rounded stones and pebbles with a good water flow as befits an asian hillstream setup. Good water quality is a must for this family. Keep the water temperature on the cool side of a tropical aquarium. Tank mates such as the zebra danio (Brachydanio rerio) and asian fish such as Rasboras of the same small size will make good tankmates. Diet: Prefers live foods such as bloodworm, grindle worm, daphnia and Artemia naupli. 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 minusculus meaning 'minute', known for its small size. Remarks: You will still find this species on some online searches as Hara minuscula.

Burmese mini mouth cat, Burmese rock cat

Hara minuscula

Sisoridae

Asia: Myanmar (Burma), Sittang River drainage.

7.0cm. (2¾ins)

22-24°C (71-75°F)

6.5-7.2.

Adrian Taylor: pers. comm.
Ng, H.H. and M. Kottelat, 2007. A review of the catfish genus Hara, with the description of four new species (Siluriformes: Erethistidae). Rev. Suisse Zool. 114(3):471-505
The ETYFish Project. Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.