Tiger stripe bee catfish

Pseudomystus heokhuii

Also known as Heok Hui's bumblebee catfish

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 4.5–6.5
Adult size: 2.6 in (6.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Solitary
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Sumatran blackwaters
Family: Bagridae

Overview

This small peat-swamp catfish, about 6.5 centimeters, is one for keepers who can provide soft, acidic blackwater. Keep it singly or as a single pair, as it is not a group species and can be territorial in close quarters. It is secretive and mostly nocturnal, so give it wood, caves, and leaf litter to hide in and feed it after the lights go down. It is peaceful with fish too big to eat but will take very small tankmates, so choose companions with care in a quiet, dimly lit tank. Offer sinking foods, frozen bloodworm, and small live foods. A shaded, blackwater-style tank of around 110 liters suits it.

In the wild

It comes from floodplain peat swamps in central Sumatra, in the Batang Hari and Indragiri drainages, where the water is stained dark with tannins and extremely acidic, well below pH 5. In the aquarium, aim for soft, acidic water around pH 4.5 to 6.5, warm at 23 to 27 C, over a dim tank with driftwood and a good layer of leaf litter. Peat filtration and botanicals recreate the tea-stained, mineral-poor water it needs.

Good to know

Pseudomystus heokhuii is a bagrid catfish, family Bagridae, described by Lim and Ng in 2008 from central Sumatra and reaching about 6.5 centimeters. It is unusual for its genus in living only in very acidic peat-swamp water. It carries a pale side stripe and pale oblique bands, a pattern it shares with just one close relative. It is named after the ichthyologist Tan Heok Hui. Its breeding is not recorded in aquariums.

Did you know

It is named after Tan Heok Hui, a Singapore-based ichthyologist who has done much to document the blackwater fishes of Sundaland, the very habitats this little catfish depends on.