PD: An elongated fish with a snake-like body shape. No pelvic fins are present and the anal and dorsal fins are elongated and joined to the caudal fin. The back is dark beige and the head is silver-beige. The body color is beige and the belly is lighter in color. The body is marked with brown circular patterns. The eye always has a brown stripe running laterally through it. SIZE: To 36" (91 cm) in nature, although usually this species does not exceed 20" (51 cm) in captivity. SS: Other Mastacembelus and Aethiomastacembelus species. HAB: Rivers with sandy riverbeds and heavy vegetation in India and Southeast Asia; Sumatra, Sri Lanka, Thailand. S: bottom TANK: A tank measuring 36” (91 cm) with a capacity of 35 gallons (132 L) is sufficient for fish to 6" (15 cm). Larger fish require at least a 48” (122 cm) or 55 gallon (209 L) tank. For tank set-up, follow suggestions for M. circumcinctus . WATER: pH 6-8 (7.0), 6-25 dH (10), 73-81°F (23-27°C), a little salt is welcomed SB: Do not combine this species with small fish, as they will treated as prey. A good candidate for a community tank with medium to large fish. Will often not get along with others of the same species. A nocturnal species. SC: Large Gouramis, Knifefish, Giant Danios, large Loaches, Loricarids, Eartheaters, Acaras, Cichlasomines, Asian Catfish FOOD: Live; Tubifex, fish, Brine Shrimp, mosquito larvae, bloodworms, Cyclops. SEX: Only distinguishable when mature-females plumper B: Unsuccessful in captivity; probably similar to other Mastacembelus species. BP: 10. This species has not been bred in captivity. R: Will occasionally burrow in substrate while young. Extremely hardy once acclimated. This species is eaten in its native countries. May become friendly around owner. DC: 5. A large, hardy fish that requires live foods in its diet. Recent articles about fish Overfishing may hurt Amazon forest trees (2/5/2008) Overfishing is reducing the effectiveness of seed dispersal by fish in the Brazilian Pantanal, reports Nature. The research suggests that fishing practices can affect forest health. Scientists find fish that literally lives in trees (10/17/2007) Scientists have found a fish that literally lives in trees, according to research published in The American Naturalist and highlighted in New Scientist Magazine. Piranhas originated when Amazon was flooded by seawater (12/4/2007) South America's piranha family of fish -- notorious as eaters of flesh -- can be traced back to a single ancestor which dispersed when the Amazon was flooded by seawater some five million years ago, report researchers from the Institut de Recherche Pour le Developpement (IRD). Today piranhas are exclusively freshwater fish found from the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela to the Parana in Argentina. |
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Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2009 The copy for fish.mongabay.com was written in 1994-1995. Therefore some information such as scientific names may be out of date. For this, I apologize. Feel free to send corrections to me. |
