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Erethistes pusillus Müller & Troschel, 1849

Image contributors to this species:

Steven Grant (1) Chris Ralph (1) Jeff Wood (4) Adrian Taylor (5) Andrew Rao (1)

ScotCat Sources:

Other Sources:

Relevant Information:

In Ferraris 2007, Erithistes has been moved back to its original placement in the Sisoridae family which had been moved there by de Pinna in 1996, along with Conta, Erethistoides, Hara and Pseudolaguvia. Habitat: Occurs mainly in hill streams and muddy parts of rivers overgrown with vegetation. 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 of the same small size will make good tankmates. Diet: Prefers live foods such as bloodworm, grindle worm and daphnia. 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 pusillus meaning very small, presumably referring to size (4cm S.L.).

Common Name:

Moth Catfish

Synonyms:

Erethistes hara

Family:

Sisoridae

Distribution:

Asia: India, Ganges River basin, Assam. Type locality: Assam.

Size:

4.0cm. (1¾ins)

Temp:

22-24°C (71-75°F)

p.H.

6.0-7.5.

IUCN Red List

Although we do not know the exact distribution of this species, Erethistes pusillus appears to be a relatively common fish wherever it occurs. Coupled with the fact that collection of this species for the ornamental fish trade is currently occurring at a level where it is not projected to adversely affect the global population, Erethistes pusillus is assessed here as Least Concern, although future monitoring of harvest levels and the identification of any potential threats to its habitat is probably required, and needs updating, (IUCN 2010).

Reference:

Adrian Taylor: pers.comm.
Ferraris, C.J. Jr., 2007. Checklist of catfishes, recent and fossil (Osteichthyes: Siluriformes), and catalogue of siluriform primary types. Zootaxa 1418:1-628.
Ng, H.H. 2010. Erethistes pusillus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2010.
Talwar, P.K. and A.G. Jhingran, 1991. Inland fishes of India and adjacent countries. Volume 2. A.A. Balkema, Rotterdam, i-xxii + 543-1158, 1 pl.
The ETYFish Project. Fish Name Etymology Database © Christopher Scharpf.
Thomson A.W. & Page L.M. 2006. Genera of the Asian Catfish Families Sisoridae and Erethistidae (Teleostei: Siluriformes) Zootaxa 1345: 1–96.

Family: Sisoridae Back to Ident-A-Cat Click on Thumbnails

Erethistes pusillus

Erethistes pusillus
Head view

Erethistes pusillus

Erethistes pusillus
Close up of barbel arrangements

Erethistes pusillus

Erethistes pusillus
Showing the pectoral fin serrae which is divergent on the anterior edge

Erethistes pusillus

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