Kryptopterus bicirrhis

Kryptopterus bicirrhis

''Kryptopterus bicirrhis'', often called the glass catfish, is an Asian glass catfish species of the genus ''Kryptopterus''. Until 1989, the concept of ''K. bicirrhis'' included its smaller relative ''Kryptopterus vitreolus'' . Its scientific name ''K. bicirrhis'' and common name glass catfish are often still used in the aquarium fish trade to refer to the actual ''K. vitreolus''; as it seems, the larger and more aggressive true ''K. bicirrhis'' was only ever exported in insignificant numbers.

In western Borneo, where ''K. minor'' and ''K. bicirrhis'' are sympatric, both species are known as ''lais tipis'' in the Malay language, but when locals want to distinguish the two, they refer to ''K. minor'' as ''lais limpok''. In Cambodia, where it is known as ''trey kes prak'', the Khmer people use the ghost catfish as a key ingredient in the fine fish condiment ''prahoc''.
Asian glass catfish -Kryptopterus  bicirrhis this fish I saw the first time in the Vivarium in Darmstadt, Germany. Geotagged,Germany,Kryptopterus bicirrhis,Kryptopterus minor,Spring

Appearance

The true ''K. bicirrhis'' is easily separated from ''K. vitreolus''. ''K. bicirrhis'' reaches a significantly larger size, up to 15 cm standard length, and most of its body is not clearly transparent . The body of ''K. bicirrhis'' is mostly opaque and light greyish.

When struck by light, it has an iridescence, and it turns milky white when it dies. It has two long barbels for locating food, which are as long again as the body in front of the anal fin. The dorsal fin is reduced to a tiny triangle, and the pectoral fins are longer than the head.

Habitat

''Kryptopterus bicirrhis'' is found in Borneo, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula, and the Chao Phraya and Mekong drainage basins.

This freshwater catfish inhabits large rivers with turbid water, where they typically live near the shore in fast-flowing water. It seems to prefer peaty water with a rather low temperature for its tropical range, around 21 to 26 °C . It is a diurnal predators and mainly eats water bugs and occasionally smaller fishes.

References:

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Taxonomy
KingdomAnimalia
DivisionChordata
ClassActinopterygii
OrderSiluriformes
FamilySiluridae
GenusKryptopterus
SpeciesK. bicirrhis
Photographed in
Germany