FreshwaterBrackish
Stinging catfish
Heteropneustes fossilis
Heteropneustidae
Facts
Characteristics
- Length
- Up to 41.2 cm
- Body shape
- Elongated
Care
- Group
- Missing
- Smallest aquarium
- 1,588 liters
- Diet
- Missing
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Behavior
- Temperament
- Missing
- Swims
- Missing
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Water values
Smallest tank
Range
NativeIntroduced
Lives wild in Bangladesh, India, Iran, Myanmar (Burma), Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Syria.
Introduced to Iraq and Türkiye.
More about the species
Description
Adults found mainly in ponds, ditches, swamps and marshes, but sometimes occur in muddy rivers. Recorded as having been or being farmed in rice fields. Can tolerate slightly brackish water. Omnivorous. Breed in confined waters during the monsoon months, but can breed in ponds, derelict ponds and ditches when sufficient rain-water accumulates. Oviparous, distinct pairing possibly like other members of the same family. In great demand due to its medicinal value. Venomous fish, from its pectoral spines.
Other names
Other scientific names
- Clarisilurus kemratensis
- Heteropneustes microps
- Saccobranchus fossilis
- Saccobranchus microcephalus
- Saccobranchus microps
- Saccobranchus singio
In other languages
- Lungmal
- Gællesæk-ålemalle
- Keuhkomonni
- Scorpion cat-fish
Articles
All articles
How to set up an Asian aquarium5 min read
Two aquariums from Southeast Asia: calm forest streams and peat swamps with soft, brown water, and fast mountain streams with cool, oxygen-rich water.
How to add new fish4 min read
From the store to the tank: how to get the fish used to your water, why you should add only a few at a time, and what to watch for in the first few days.
Quarantine for new fish3 min read
Why new fish should live in a tank of their own for a few weeks before they move in, what you need, and what to look for.
Ich (white spot)4 min read
The most common disease in aquarium fish. How to recognize it, why it shows up, and how to get rid of it.