Edit Akysis varius
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Name
Scientific name
Akysis varius
Described by
Authority Ng & Kottelat, Year 1998
Family
Akysidae
Common names
Variable Stream Catfish
Photograph credits
All 1 credited
Summary
The variable stream catfish, Akysis varius, is a small akysid catfish from the Mekong drainage in Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. The number o…
Size and aquarium
Maximum size
40mm, standard length
Aquarium size
Minimum length 45 cm, Minimum depth 30 cm, Water movement High: fast-flowing river or riffle
Water
Water conditions
Temperature 16.5–24°C, pH 6–7.5
Hardness
2–12dGH
Conductivity
Not recorded
Behaviour
Temperament
Peaceful
Social needs
A shoal or group
Community suitability
Community-safe
Where it lives
Countries, regions, rivers and lakes
Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Mekong, Mun, Siem Reap, Xe Bang Fai
Writing
Etymology
Akysis: from the Greek á- (Gr. ἀ), meaning 'not, without' and kýstis (Gr. κύστις), meaning 'bladder', in reference to genus members lacking a swim bladder. var…
Distribution
Described from the Xe Bangfai river system with type locality around 3 km upstream of Ban Pakphanang village in Khammouane/Khammouan province, central western …
Habitat
Members of this genus are near-exclusive inhabitants of swiftly-flowing streams and rivers with substrates generally consisting of any combination of sand, gra…
Aquarium size
A tank with base dimensions of 45 ∗ 30 cm is more than sufficient, even for a group.
Maintenance
Not difficult to keep but should really be provided with a soft, sandy substrate since some of its time is spent completely buried, or with only eyes protrudin…
Water conditions
Not written yet
Diet
Akysis species are primarily nocturnal micropredators feeding on small aquatic crustaceans, worms, insect larvae and other zooplankton. They can be a little pi…
Behaviour and compatibility
Not especially competitive and should not be kept with much larger or more aggressive fishes. Miniature schooling cyprinids such as Boraras, Microdevario or sm…
Sexual dimorphism
Unreported, but sexual dimorphism has been reported in A. alfredi (Ng and Kottelat, 1998), A. fuscus (Ng, 1996)[2] and A. microps (Ng and Tan, 1999)[3]. In the…
Reproduction
Unreported, though a short report was published in the description of A. vespa (Ng and Kottelat, 2004)[9], in which a successful spawning event in that species…
Notes
This species is among the smaller members of the family. It can be differentiated from all other Akysis species by the following combination of characters: cau…
References
References
13 on this profile