The Siamese tigerfish (''Datnioides pulcher''), also known as the Siamese tiger perch, is a
critically endangered Asian fish native to the
Chao Phraya
The Chao Phraya ( or ; th, แม่น้ำเจ้าพระยา, , or ) is the major river in Thailand, with its low alluvial plain forming the centre of the country. It flows through Bangkok and then into the Gulf of Thailand.
E ...
,
Mae Klong
The Mae Klong (, , ), sometimes spelled Mae Khlong or Meklong, is a river in western Thailand. The river begins at the confluence of the Khwae Noi (Khwae Sai Yok) and the Khwae Yai River (Khwae Si Sawat) in Kanchanaburi, it passes Ratchaburi ...
and
Mekong
The Mekong or Mekong River is a trans-boundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's twelfth longest river and the third longest in Asia. Its estimated length is , and it drains an area of , discharging of water annual ...
basins.
It has vertical yellow and black stripes running the length of its body. The
dorsal fin
A dorsal fin is a fin located on the back of most marine and freshwater vertebrates within various taxa of the animal kingdom. Many species of animals possessing dorsal fins are not particularly closely related to each other, though through c ...
has a spiny appearance.
Siamese tigerfish grow to in
standard length.
[
The many species within '' Datnioides'' are quite commonly confused. ''Datnioides pulcher'' is the Siamese tigerfish, or wide-bar datnoid. '' Datnioides microlepis'' is the Indonesian tiger datnoid. '' Datnioides polota'' is the silver datnoid.
]
In the aquarium
It prefers a pH of 7.6–8.0, and a temperature of 22–26 °C (72–79 °F). The Siamese tigerfish is predatory and will eat smaller fish, various live foods, and frozen foods. Many hobbyists pellet-train their datnoids to reduce the risk of disease and parasites from live food. Captive ones are generally smaller than their wild counterparts, though may still require a large aquarium.
Conservation status
''D. pulcher'' is protected in Thailand
Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
, and is on the IUCN Red List as critically endangered.[Binohlan, C. B., Torres, A. G., & van Uitert, K. (n.d.). Datnioides pulcher (Kottelat, 1998); Siamese tiger perch. In FishBase. Retrieved October 6, 2013, from http://www.fishbase.org/summary/50395]
See also
*List of brackish aquarium fish species
This is a list of commonly seen fish that can be kept in a brackish water aquarium.
Cyprinodontiformes
Catfish
Pufferfish
Gobies
Cichlids
Beloniformes
Other fish
See also
*List of brackish aquarium invertebrate species
*Lis ...
*Brackish-water aquarium
A brackish-water aquarium is an aquarium where the water is brackish (semi-salty). The range of "saltiness" varies greatly, from near freshwater to near marine and is often referred to as specific gravity (SG) or salinity. Brackish water aquaria ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siamese Tigerfish
Percoidei
Fish described in 1998
Fish of Thailand