Mystus mysticetus Care Guide
Mystus mysticetus is a small peaceful Southeast Asian bagrid catfish that lives in shoals and suits larger peaceful communities.
Overview
Mystus mysticetus is a small bagrid catfish of the Mekong, Chao Phraya and Maeklong basins, recorded from Laos, Thailand and Cambodia. FishBase reports a standard length of about 13 cm. It is a peaceful, shoaling species often found around submerged objects.
Taxonomy
- Family: Bagridae
- Genus: Mystus
- Scientific name: Mystus mysticetus
- Describer: Roberts, 1992
Habitat
The species lives in rivers and migrates into flooded forest areas during the wet season, returning to the rivers around November–December. FishBase classifies it as freshwater, demersal and potamodromous; Seriously Fish reports a temperature of about 22–27 °C, pH 6.0–7.0 and hardness of 3–10 °H, and notes it is a facultative air-breather.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 150 L
- Temperature: 22–26 °C
- pH: 6–7.5
- GH: 2–15 °dGH
- Adult size: 10–13 cm
- Lifespan: 5–10 years
Diet
Mystus mysticetus is omnivorous, with a trophic level near 3.1. In the wild it browses surfaces for zooplankton, aquatic insects, crustaceans and rotifers. In the aquarium it accepts most small live, frozen and dried foods; variety is recommended, offered once daily.
Compatibility
A peaceful, gregarious, bottom-dwelling catfish best kept in a small group where space allows. It works well with larger peaceful community fish, but may eat very small fish as an adult, so tiny tankmates and shrimp are best avoided.
Breeding
The species is oviparous, with possible distinct pairing. Aquarium breeding is rarely reported.
Conservation status
IUCN Red List: Least Concern, assessed 20 February 2011.