Asian stone catfish

Hara jerdoni

Also known as Dwarf anchor catfish, Moth catfish, Anchor catfish

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 64–75°F (18–24°C)
pH: 5.6–7.6
Adult size: 1.6 in (4 cm)
Minimum tank: 11 gal (40 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Common
Origin: Native to rivers of northeastern India and Bangladesh.
Family: Sisoridae

Overview

The Asian stone catfish is a peaceful nano oddball that should be kept in a group of six or more and only with equally tiny, gentle tankmates, since it is too small and slow to compete with anything boisterous. It is a picky feeder that wants small meaty frozen and live foods like baby brine shrimp, cyclops, and bloodworm, and often ignores dry food. Keep the water cool and clean with good oxygen. A small group is happy in a well-planted tank of around 40 liters.

In the wild

This tiny catfish lives in cool, clear, shaded streams and leaf-littered pools of northeastern India and Bangladesh, where it sits camouflaged among sunken leaves and roots. It needs comparatively cool, highly oxygenated water to stay healthy, so it is not a fish for a warm tropical community. Provide fine sand, leaf litter, driftwood, and gentle flow at 18 to 24 degrees C.

Good to know

Hara jerdoni belongs to the small South Asian hillstream catfish group, often placed in the family Erethistidae within the sisorid catfishes, and grows to only about 4 cm. Its mottled brown body and long pectoral spines mimic a dead leaf or twig on the streambed. It is a delicate, slow-moving bottom feeder built for cool, oxygen-rich water.

Did you know

At barely 4 cm and colored like a dead leaf, it can vanish completely on the substrate, and keepers often lose track of their whole group until feeding time.