Asian Upside Down Catfish
Scientific Name: Mystus Leucophasis
Common name: Asian Upside Down Catfish
Size: 10 to 12” Standard Length, plus a couple more for the tail
pH: 6 to 8
Temperature: 74 to 80F (23 to 27C)
Habitat: The Sittang River in Myanmar
I fell in love with this fish on first sight. A true inverted catfish, a full-grown Asian Upside Down Catfish is an impressive sight. I met my first Asian UD Cat about a year ago, when I first met George. George was currently between owners at the pet shop, having been returned three times in the last year. It seemed he'd developed a few bad habits, mostly involving putting his owners through excessive amounts of unscheduled tank maintenance to repair the damage he'd done bouncing through their lovely, well-landscaped display tanks. Now that I know him better, I can see why he was such a problem for so many owners
General Characteristics:
Asian Upside Down Catfish spend their entire lives swimming upside down. They are well developed for this, with downwards pointing barbells and a wide, flat mouth perfectly suited for feeding at the surface. Solid black in colour, adults often show just a sprinkling of white flecks down their flanks, which can often be mistaken for an external parasite, and certainly gave me the shock of my life when mine first started to show this colouration. Some will have just a few, others look like they've been dusted with a light coating of sugar from pectoral to caudal fins.
One of the things that appealed to me most about this fish was that “true” catfish look….. streamlined, sleek with a deeply forked caudal fin and, most importantly, those lovely long maxillary barbells!! I have a weakness catfish with long barbells, which is probably why the Mystus genus is one of my favourites.
They are a big, strong fish and their reputation for being somewhat quarrelsome that is well deserved. I wouldn't term them “aggressive” like a Red Devil or some of the other large cichlids, more like an Oscar….big, strong and not afraid to let the rest of the tank know about it.
Aquarium Setup
Given the adult size of the Asian Upside Down Catfish, and the general recommendation for catfish that the tank length be four times the length of the fish and the width be twice the length of the fish minimum, I would recommend a tank of 90 gallons as a minimum for an adult kept by itself. Mine lives in a 180 gallon, 6 foot long tank, and he does a pretty good job of making even that seem small. Bigger is definitely better with these cats. They are active swimmers and need a good deal of space to exercise in.
One major requirement is some form of cave or shelter that will allow the fish to rest upside down. The common consensus if that PVC pipe makes the best form of shelter rather than the traditional flower pot. These cats definitely like to be able to access their hidey hole from both ends. The pipe should be long enough to contain the whole fish. Often, all I see of mine are these two enormous barbells poking out the front of his pipe.
Decoration is purely up to the owner. Just remember, big, boisterous fish that can knock things over pretty easy and would happily swim through any live plants leaving a trail of destruction in its wake. Plenty of open swimming space is required as these are active fish.
Good filtration is necessary, as these fish are messy feeders. Regular water changes are necessary. Their natural habitat is the large rivers of Myanmar, so they are used to very clean water. The chemical parameters of said water are not important. These are very adaptable fish and will thrive in a very wide range of pH levels and hardness.
Feeding
Asian Upside Down Catfish are not fussy feeders, usually taking very little time to adapt to homemade foods, pellets and a variety of meaty foods. To be honest, I've yet to find anything that mine will not eat. Good quality pellets and homemade foods such as those for SA and CA cichlids are a good base diet, with occasional treats of shrimp, fish fillets and some shellfish. They do prefer floating foods, but most are adept at picking up food items from the bottom of the tank, so this is not a necessity.
These fish are extremely greedy feeders, often eating themselves to bulging. Mine frequently looks like he's about to pop after a meal. Feeding should be small amounts on a daily basis when your fish is still a juvenile, moving out to every two days once it reaches around 5 to 6”. When fully grown, feeding can be as much as four or 5 days apart, as these cats follow the “binge and digest” method that a lot of the very large South American catfishes do, large meals filling that enormous stomach to bursting, then 4 to 5 days, even a week to digest.
Compatibility
Asian Upside Down Catfish are not suitable for community tanks. Whilst not overtly aggressive, they are active, quarrelsome and not to be trusted with small tank mates that may fit in their rather large mouths. They are inquisitive and will check out their tank mates on a regular basis with their long barbells, so fish that startle easily are not a good choice.
Given their tolerance of a wide range of water parameters, these cats can make a good addition to large Mbuna community tanks, being quite capable of tolerating the aggression some Mbuna can show. They do well with other boisterous SA and CA cichlids, although highly aggressive species such as Red Devils and others should be avoided. Mine lives happily with my 24” Clown Knife, 8” Indonesian Tiger and other assorted catfish including my large Common Plecostomus.
Breeding
Breeding has not yet been accomplished in the home aquarium, although these fish are bred on a commercial scale for the hobby, possible with the use of hormone treatments. Males are smaller and thinner in the body, whilst females are noticeably heavier bodied and longer.
Personal Experience
As I said earlier in this profile, I first encountered the Asian Upside Down Catfish about a year ago and have had George as a permanent residence for around 8 months now. Having been told his history of destructive and boisterous behavior, I thought he'd make a good addition to my 180 gallon, given the pushy nature of its current inhabitants. So far it's working well. He's shown no fear at all of my aggressive Indonesian Tiger and doesn't allow my Common Pleco, who thinks she rules the tank, to push him around at all. George is a remarkably friendly fish, who took no time at all to recognize “mum” as the bringer of food, and he will come out of his cave or to the front of the tank for me. He won't do this for others, as he knows there's no chance of food from them. I find him remarkably owner responsive, and although he won't let me touch him yet, he will reach out with his barbells and tap my hands when they come near his cave.
These are not easy fish to house, not from any tricky water requirements, but simply from their size, quarrelsome nature and their space for swimming requirements. However, they're such great fun I'd definitely recommend one if someone had the right tank.
