AquaticRepublic.com - Mystus cavasius (Bagridae) All Fishes

West Bengal
Adult specimen, Roorke, Uttarakhand, India
M.cavasius (above) and M.seengtee (below).
M.cavasius (above) and M.seengtee (below).
M.cavasius (right) and M.seengtee (left).
West Bengal,India

All Fishes Data Sheet
Scientific Name	**Mystus cavasius** (Hamilton, 1822)
Common Name	Gangetic Mystus
Type Locality	Gangetic provinces [Atrau River], India.
Synonym(s)	Aoria cavasius, Bagrus cavasius, Hypselobagrus nigriceps, Macrones cavasius, Macrones nigriceps, Mystus cavensius, Mystus mukherjii, Pimelodus cavasius
Pronunciation	miss tuss - cah vah see uss
Etymology	The generic name is probably derived from the Latin mystax, meaning moustache, in reference to the long barbels. It was first used by Scopoli in 1777 making it a very old genus that has included many catfishes from throughout the world at one time or another. The specific epithet comes from the local name of the fish (kavasi).
Species Information
Size	400mm or 15.7" SL. Find near, nearer or same sized spp.
Identification	Fishes of the genus Mystus Scopoli are small to medium-sized bagrid catfishes occurring in South Asia. Roberts (1994) recognized Mystus to have an elongate cranial fontanel reaching up to the base of the occipital process, long maxillary barbel, very long adipose fin, 11–30 gill rakers on the first gill arch and 37–46 total vertebrae, about equally divided between abdominal and caudal regions. He included only eight species under the genus. Mo (1991) characterized the genus to have a thin needle-like first infraorbital, twisted and thickened metapterygoid loosely attached to the quadrate by means of ligament or a small extent of cartilage. Jayaram & Sanyal (2003) and Ferraris (2007) respectively listed 44 and 33 species of Mystus as valid. Maxillary barbels, in adults, extend posteriorly beyond the caudal fin base, but in young specimen, do not extend beyond the anal fin. Color is grayish with a more or less well-defined midlateral longitudinal stripe. A dark spot emphasized by a white or pale area along its ventral margin located just anterior to the first dorsal spine.
Sexing	Males have an elongate genital papilla in front of the anal fin.
Habitat Information
Distribution	Lowland rivers in most major basins of the Indian subcontinent (Pakistan, Nepal, India, Sri Lanka and Myanmar), including but not limited to the Indus, Brahmaputra-Ganges, Krishna, Cauvery, Irrawaddy, Salween and Tenasserim. Reports of this species from the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins, Malaysia, and Indonesia are based on misidentifications of M. albolineatus or M. singaringan. Occurs in Thailand, but only in the Salween basin. Pakistan Waters, Indus (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, North Eastern India Waters, Padma, Jamuna, Brahmaputra (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, North Eastern India Waters, Padma, Ganges (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, Andhra Pradesh State Waters, Krishna (click on these areas to find other species found there) Indian waters, Kaveri (click on these areas to find other species found there) Salween (click on these areas to find other species found there) Myanmar Waters, Irrawaddy (click on these areas to find other species found there) Myanmar Waters, Tenasserim (click on these areas to find other species found there) Login to view the map.
IUCN Red List Category	Least Concern , range map and more is available on the IUCN species page. Last assessed 2009.
pH	6.0 - 7.0
Temperature	20.0-27.0°C or 68-80.6°F (Show species within this range)
Husbandry Information
Feeding	Easily adapts to a wide variety of frozen and prepared food in the aquarium. Will eat small fishes. € User data.
Furniture	Provide plenty of driftwood and vegetation as hiding spaces.
Compatibility	Somewhat territorial; should only be kept with other large, robust fishes. Ideal tankmates include larger cyprinids (such as Osteochilus and Labiobarbus), and larger spiny eels (Mastacembelus spp.).€
Breeding	Not reported.
Breeding Reports	There is no breeding report.
Further Information
Reference	An account of the fishes found in the river Ganges, pp 203, 379, Pl. 11 (fig. 67).
Registered Keepers	There is no registered keeper.
Wishlists	Love this species? Click the heart to add it to your wish list. There is no wish to keep this species.
Spotters	Spotted this species somewhere? Click the binoculars! There are 4 records of this fish being seen, view them all.
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	Look up M. cavasius on PlanetCatfish.com
	Look up M. cavasius on Fishbase
	Look up M. cavasius on Encyclopedia of Life
	Look up M. cavasius on Global Biodiversity Information Facility
	LFS label creator ARN ref:1.8.14.933
Last Update	2025 Jan 02 01:39 (species record created: 2003 Jun 12 00:00)