Asian stone catfish care
Hara jerdoni · Rivers of northeastern India and Bangladesh
The Asian stone catfish is a tiny, flat, mottled brown catfish that looks like a pebble and sits still on the sand for hours.
- Tank size
- 10 US gal or larger
- Temperature
- 64 to 75 °F (18 to 24 °C)
- Group size
- 3 or more
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Adult size
- 1.6 in
- pH
- 6.5 to 7.5
- Hardness (GH)
- 8 to 15 dGH
- Lifespan
- 3 to 5 years
- Diet
- Carnivore
- Care level
- Moderate
In a 10 gallon
20¼ × 10½ × 12 9/16 in outsideHow to keep Asian stone catfish
The Asian stone catfish is a tiny, flat, mottled brown catfish that looks like a pebble and sits still on the sand for hours. A few suit a 10 gallon or larger tank of cool water, 64 to 75 °F, with soft sand, leaf litter and calm, small tankmates. Feed small frozen or live foods near where they rest after the lights go down: many never learn to take flakes.
Diet: Carnivore: small frozen and live foods such as bloodworm and daphnia; many refuse dry food. Fish food types compared · how often to feed.
Where they swim: Bottom of the tank.
Asian stone catfish tank mates
Share the temperature and water, and neither side eats, nips or bullies the other. Check the full group in the stocking checker.
Neon tetra
1.6 in · 10+ gal · 70–79 °F
Serpae tetra
1.6 in · 20+ gal · 72–79 °F
Glowlight tetra
1.5 in · 10+ gal · 72–80 °F
White cloud mountain minnow
1.5 in · 10+ gal · 64–72 °F
Medaka
1.5 in · 10+ gal · 65–82 °F
Glowlight danio
1.5 in · 15+ gal · 66–75 °F
Endler's livebearer
1.8 in · 10+ gal · 72–82 °F
Head and tail light tetra
1.8 in · 15+ gal · 72–82 °F
Keep apart
Betta: No shared temperature: Asian stone catfish need 64 to 75 °F, bettas 76 to 82 °F.
Dwarf gourami: No shared temperature: Asian stone catfish need 64 to 75 °F, dwarf gouramis 77 to 82 °F.
German blue ram: No shared temperature: Asian stone catfish need 64 to 75 °F, German blue rams 78 to 85 °F.
Pea puffer: Pea puffers belong in a tank of their own.
Fancy goldfish: Adult fancy goldfish eat fish under about 2 in; Asian stone catfish grow to 1.6 in.
Sparkling gourami: No shared temperature: Asian stone catfish need 64 to 75 °F, sparkling gouramis 76 to 82 °F.
What an Asian stone catfish tank needs
A tank of 10 US gallons or more (such as the 10 gallon) with a cover, and the equipment below. Asian stone catfish are comfortable at room temperature, so a heater is optional in a normal home.
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Aquarium Co-Op Easy Flow Sponge Filter, Small
A sponge filter gives gentle flow and cannot pull in small fish. It runs from an air pump, with airline tubing and a check valve, all sold separately.
hygger AquaFall Aquarium Filter, S
Rated by the maker for 7–10 US gal, which covers a 10 gallon Asian stone catfish tank without being built for a far bigger one.
Aqueon QuietFlow Internal Power Filter 5–15 gal
Rated by the maker for 5–15 US gal, which covers a 10 gallon Asian stone catfish tank without being built for a far bigger one.
API Freshwater Master Test Kit
Tests ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, the readings that matter most before and after adding Asian stone catfish.
Seachem Prime 100 mL
Removes chlorine and chloramine from tap water at every water change.
Fluval Edge Thermometer
Shows the water temperature at a glance, so you know it stays within 64 to 75 °F.
More choices, each with the reason it is in or out: Filters for a 10 gallon tank. We don’t list fish food: any good brand of the foods under Diet will do. Plan the whole tank's equipment →
Common Asian stone catfish problems
- It goes hungry in a busy tank where faster fish take the food first.
- It looks dead when it's resting; count them at feeding time instead.
- Too warm a tank shortens its life: it comes from cool rivers.
Test the water first whenever fish look unwell: see what your readings mean, then match the symptom. For disease, a vet who treats fish can diagnose it and advise treatment.
More to compare
Sources
Name, origin and adult size checked against Wikipedia: Hara jerdoni. Temperature, pH, hardness, group size, lifespan and minimum tank size are common hobby guidance, not figures from that article. Ranges are the range the species tolerates; aim for the middle. Minimum tank sizes are for an adult group. Drawings are our own; photo credits follow.
Photo credits
Real photographs from Wikimedia Commons, resized and cropped to fit; each is used under the license named.
- Neon tetra Holger Krisp, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Serpae tetra Faucon, CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Glowlight tetra gonzalovalenzuela; cropped by Kyknos, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- White cloud mountain minnow Petrtyl, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Medaka Seotaro, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Glowlight danio Melanochromis, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Endler's livebearer Dgrummon, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Head and tail light tetra Deadlyballistics (English Wikipedia), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Betta ivabalk (Pixabay), CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Dwarf gourami Quatermass (English Wikipedia), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- German blue ram Eric Mengel, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pea puffer Beta Mahatvaraj, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Fancy goldfish Benson Kua, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sparkling gourami BEDO (Thailand), CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Pygmy corydoras Birger A, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Salt-and-pepper corydoras D.W., CC0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Bronze corydoras Quatermass (English Wikipedia), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
- Panda corydoras Chronotopian, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
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