Chinese high-fin banded shark

Myxocyprinus asiaticus

Also known as Hi-fin banded shark, Chinese sucker, Batfish

FreshwaterFish

Chinese high-fin banded shark (Myxocyprinus asiaticus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 57–75°F (14–24°C)
pH: 6.8–7.8
Adult size: 26.8 in (68 cm)
Minimum tank: 528 gal (2,000 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Common
Origin: Yangtze basin, China
Family: Catostomidae

Overview

The most misleading fish in the trade: sold as a striking banded juvenile with a towering dorsal fin, it grows to 68 centimeters, loses the pattern and the fin, and turns a plain brown. It is a coldwater fish that belongs in a large pond, not an aquarium, and it is a schooling species that needs company. Do not buy it for a heated tropical tank. Feed sinking foods and vegetable matter.

In the wild

Myxocyprinus asiaticus comes from the Yangtze basin in China, in cool, flowing river water. Keep it at 14 to 24 degrees Celsius and pH 6.8 to 7.8. It is genuinely a temperate fish, and tropical temperatures shorten its life considerably.

Good to know

Myxocyprinus asiaticus reaches about 68 centimeters and is the only Asian member of the Catostomidae, a family otherwise confined to North America. It is endangered in the wild, largely because of dam construction on the Yangtze blocking its spawning migrations. Aquarium stock is commercially bred.

Did you know

Its entire family lives in North America except this one fish, marooned in the Yangtze.

Tank mates

Chinese high-fin banded shark is a mostly peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the bottom. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.