Mystus nigriceps

Two-spot catfish
Conservation status
Not evaluated (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Actinopterygii
Order: Siluriformes
Family: Bagridae
Genus: Mystus
Species: M. nigriceps
Binomial name
Mystus nigriceps
(Valenciennes, 1840)
Synonyms

Mystus micracanthus

Mystus nigriceps, the two-spot catfish, is a species of catfish of the family Bagridae. The species was available in aquarium circles without a scientific name until a connection was made to a description of Mystus micracanthus by the ichthyologist Bleeker, in 1846. The artist's impression at that time showed a catfish without any obvious markings, although another researcher in the early 1940s described it with two body spots. M. micracanthus is a junior synonym of M. nigriceps.[1]

In the wild it is found in Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.[1]

It grows to a length of 19.8 cm and feeds on zooplankton and insect larvae in the wild,[1] and most prepared foods in aquariums.[2] It is not safe to keep them with smaller fish in the aquarium as they will eat them.[2]

References

  1. 1.0 1.1 1.2 Froese, Rainer and Pauly, Daniel, eds. (2011). "Mystus nigriceps" in FishBase. December 2011 version.
  2. 2.0 2.1 http://www.planetcatfish.com/catelog/_species.php?species_id=4002