Akysis microps and Erethistes jerdoni

[bekateen]

This weekend I was at Fishtoberfest 2024 in Portland, Oregon. After visiting the Wet Spot fish store, I picked up ten each of what were imported as Akysis microps and Erethistes jerdoni. Although the Erethistes is a common import, Cameron at Cichlid Exchange pointed out that their color seemed different than the usual fish they import, so I picked them up too .

Cameron also thought the microps didn't quite look right. I don't know.

What do you think?

[Silurus]

Akysis microps

has a truncate caudal fin. These look more like

Akysis hendricksoni

to me (assuming that they are caught in the same region as A. microps).

[bekateen]

Akysis microps

has a truncate caudal fin. These look more like

Akysis hendricksoni

to me (assuming that they are caught in the same region as A. microps).

Thanks HH. Yes, that's the alternative ID Cameron gave me. I thought the tail looked too forked to be A. microps. I'll update the Akysis pics as they grow, because right now, all ten or my fish are less than 25mm SL.

I'll also post better pics of the Erethistes when I have them.

Cheers,
Eric

[bekateen]

Here's their tank setups:

[bekateen]

Here's one of the Erethistes:

The information I have from the importer is this:

They came by way of Thailand, as opposed to them normally coming through Singapore from India. I'm not sure if there's any reports of them from Thailand, but at the very least the catch location seems very different. The jerdoni I see by way of Singapore are typically all brown, these Thai ones are significantly more mottled and almost more of a brownish-yellow. I'll try to see if I can find the catch location!

Does that change the ID?

Cheers,
Eric

[bekateen]

And here's one of the Akysis:

[bekateen]

After reading the most recent description of a species of Erethistes (Mahapatra, BK & S Kar, 2015. Hara nareshi, a new species of catfish (Pisces: Erethistidae) from the Barak River system of Assam, India. Records of the Zoological Survey of India 115: 31–35.), which has a key to the genus (which I've posted HERE), my photo above of my Erethistes definitely does not have a "deeply forked" tail, so that would lead me to conclude that my fish are

Erethistes jerdoni

, in spite of the slightly atypical color and in spite of the atypical export source. That said, I struggle to see the difference between the tail of my fish and the tail of several other fish which are keyed as having "deeply forked tails."

Cheers, Eric

[bekateen]

I had a surprise last night in the Erethistes tank. I saw this gelatinous object in the tank on the sand. I thought it could be an egg but it is MUCH too large to come out of the Erethistes. IDK what it is. It's about 3mm diameter.

Cheers, Eric