This species has been exported for the ornamental trade but often labelled as the congener R. mekongianus.

Although the two do appear relatively similar R. chiengmaiensis can be identified by a combination of external characters including: presence of 5 irregular dark markings on the body (vs. 7-8 i…

This species is a near-exclusive inhabitant of the upper water column and appreciates surface cover in the form of floating or overhanging vegetation.

Other décor is relatively unimportant but can consist of a sandy substrate with leaf litter plus some large driftwood branches and twisted roots.

Plants which can grow rooted in sand can al…

This species was considered a colour form of the closely-related B. imbellis and commonly-referred to as ‘black imbellis’ prior to description due to its blackish opercle and body.

It’s also previously been confused with B. splendens due to the colour of the vertical opercular bars which tend to be reddish (but may also be pale red, greenish-silvery, plain silvery or without colour in some populations), but DNA analysis has demonstrated it…

O. dogarsinghi and O. bernatziki are the only two Southeast Asian congeners to possess a large blotch at the caudal-fin base but in the former the blotch is vertically-orientated and hardly extends onto the fin itself (vs. laterally-elongate and extending onto the basal fin rays) and long (vs. short) barbels, while th…

This species has previously been considered synonymous with both O. ornatus and O. pulchellus but is currently considered to be distinct following (Tejavej, 2012).

It can be distinguished from congeners by a combination of characters including: small caudal spot presen…

Type locality is ‘Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia’, but this species is widely-distributed throughout much of Southeast Asia including major river systems in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia plus the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

It’s been extensively recorded from the Mekong, Cha…

This species is likely to be traded for aquaria but probably misidentified as the very similar-looking K. cyrptopterus with which wild populations were formerly considered conspecific.

These two are closely-related and can be distinguished from congeners by the dorsal profile lacking a nuchal concavity (vs. possessing a nuchal concavity) and possessing short maxillary barbels (extending to the pectoral-fin base vs. ext…

Generally peaceful though it may predate on smaller fishes and is somewhat timid so does not compete well with much larger, robust or otherwise boisterous species.

Peaceful, comparably-sized cyprinids, loaches and other catfishes perhaps constitute the best options but be sure to research your choices thoroughly prior to purchase.

This species cannot be considered a suitable home aquarium‚ subject given its eventual size plus the fact it can live for‚ several decades.

It can be told apart from most oth…

This species appears to be unknown in the aquarium trade but is a valued food fish within its native range.

Hemibagrus has been divided into a number of putative species groups which may or may not represent monophyletic assemblages, and following a major review by Ng and Kottelat (2013) H. filamentus is included in the H. nemurus group.