The White-Whiskered Catfish Thread!

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put some ich treatment in cos he had some small spots. He then started whizzing around around and exploring the tank. Don't know if it was four to the ich treatment but either way it is nice.

While he is in quarantine, let's start a discussion. This species breeds by going into riparian( fast moving stream) rivers. Is it impossible to breed a fish which migrates into a breeding ground? I have a few ideas.IMG_20200612_170307.jpgIMG_20200612_170259.jpg
 
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Do they live in these rivers normally? I replicated a river with a nice stream setup for my Centromochlus catfish
 
Hendre said:
Do they live in these rivers normally? I replicated a river with a nice stream setup for my Centromochlus catfish
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Normally they come from still boggy waters and then go en masse into riparian streams to breed. Atleast, that's what I have read.
 
That is interesting, perhaps seasonal flow would be ideal to try and induce spawning
 
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thebiggerthebetter said:
Excellent thread. Thank you so much for it.

What is the reason for this ID? I looked briefly and have failed to confirm it for myself. To me this seems like the good old black lancer Bagrichthys macracanthus https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=36

Majusculus for comparison: https://www.planetcatfish.com/common/species.php?task=&species_id=1563
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Well, the fish was bought as a Bagrichthys majuscules. And what I have heard, the Bagrithcthys Macranthus has black whiskers, not white whiskers. But, Macranthus has a white lateral stripe whereas majusculus doesn't. To add to the confusion, my fish has the body shape of a majusculus when looking at the photos. the macranthus looks much more stocky but maybe that is just how the fish looks when they reach maturity. Another indication could be that the majasculus grows about 3 inches smaller, but we will have to wait for that one out. Fins also seem to be darker for the macranthus, but maybe that is just adult colouration.

Either way, both species are quite rare. I think there needs to be more research, maybe I just have a white-whiskered variety of the macranthus.
 
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Macracanthus barbels appear bi-colored, dark on the top and light on the bottom.

While majusculus barbels appear indeed all light colored.

Which one matches your cat?
 
thebiggerthebetter said:
Macracanthus barbels appear bi-colored, dark on the top and light on the bottom.

While majusculus barbels appear indeed all light colored.

Which one matches your cat?
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Appears to be all white barbels.
 
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Nice try but you won't tell a difference easily from the colour. Obvious one from photos is the white stripe, but majusculus can have that too. Both can differing colour barbles too, especially as these fish stress easily and change colour when stressed.
Hoek Hee Ng described majusculus in 2000 and it was accepted as a separate species in 2001. From what I can tell you need to look for a slightly longer dorsal fin, slightly longer pectoral spines, slightly wider head and better defined teeth. None of which you will really spot without having one of each side by side. Then you can look for fin ray counts and such like. If you knew the fish came from the Mekong river you could take it to be majusculus and not macranthus but finding out exactly where it was caught is no mean feat.
I think it best to go on the fact that both like the same conditions and you may only know which you have if it exceeds six inches!
 
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Dr. Heok Hee Ng is the member "Silurus" on Planet Catfish. If you cared deeply about the best shot at the ID, you could posit your query there. He may ask you where it was collected and for better photos but who knows...
 
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