Crevice catfish

Amblyceps mangois

Also known as Indian torrent catfish

FreshwaterFish

Crevice catfish (Amblyceps mangois) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–79°F (20–26°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 5.1 in (13 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Himalayan foothill streams, India and Nepal
Family: Amblycipitidae

Overview

The crevice catfish is a slim, nocturnal stream catfish that spends the day wedged into gaps between stones and comes out after dark to hunt. It is peaceful and gets on well in a small group of its own kind, so keep several in a tank of around 75 liters with a stack of rounded rocks and cobbles arranged to leave plenty of narrow hiding places. It ignores fish too large to swallow but may take very small tankmates or shrimp at night, so pair it with similarly sized, calm, cool-water species. Feed meaty sinking foods after lights-out, such as frozen bloodworm, small earthworms, and sinking pellets, so the food reaches the bottom where it forages.

In the wild

This catfish lives in fast, stony streams along the Himalayan foothills of India, Nepal, and neighboring countries, sheltering under and between rocks in cool, clear, running water. Recreate that with cool to moderate temperatures from about 20 to 26 C and a slightly acidic to neutral pH between roughly 6.0 and 7.5. It needs clean, well-oxygenated water with a decent current, a substrate of sand and smooth pebbles, and stacked stones or cobbles that create the crevices it hides in. Bright open tanks without cover leave it stressed and rarely seen.

Good to know

Amblyceps mangois is the wide-ranging type species of the torrent catfish family, Amblycipitidae, reaching about 13 centimeters. It has a flattened head, four pairs of barbels for feeling its way in the dark, small eyes, and short spines partly buried in the skin. It is built low and slim to slip into gaps in rock. Breeding is not recorded in aquaria, and the fish enters the trade as wild-caught imports from South Asian streams.

Did you know

Its whole body is shaped to disappear into stone: a flat head and slim, muscular frame let it back into a crack between rocks by day and slide out to forage only once the lights go down.