A rare striped Raphael catfish, one of the world’s most endangered fish species, has been found for sale at a north Jakarta market.
The catfish was spotted by conservationist ichthyologists from the Conservation Society of Indonesia (Perhias) at a market in Kelapa Gading, North Jakarta on Sunday morning. The group took photos of the rare fish, which is just over 20 centimeters long, on their smartphones.
Ryutomo Sakamoto, one of the ichthyologists who spotted the catfish, told The Jakarta Post on Monday that he was suspicious about how it arrived at the market because it would have been extremely difficult to keep such an animal alive.
“It’s very rare to find one of these fish in the wild, let alone at a market. They were likely bred in captivity so it could be sold,” he said, adding that the discovery might help determine its natural habitat.
Perhias is asking anyone with information about where the fish came from to come forward.
The Raphael catfish was first discovered in 1981 by Ulrich Baensch, a German aquarium expert and the author of several aquarium guides. He named it after his father, who shares the name Raphael with one of the archangels in Christian and Islamic tradition.
It is classed as critically endangered because there are only three confirmed sightings of these fish after an extensive search to find them. It is thought that before the species was discovered, it had already become extinct in many areas because of pollution and the destruction of its habitat.
The Raphael catfish has distinctive striped markings on its body, with two black lines running along each side of its head. Its dorsal fin starts above or behind its pelvic fins and has three spines where the dorsal fin meets the tail fin.
The tails are large and round, resembling those of sharks. There are also winglike structures near the base of its pectoral fins that allow it to move through water with ease.
Raphael catfish has reportedly been known to grow up to 1 meter long though they usually measure between 30 centimeters and 50 centimeters in length. They typically weigh between 2 kilograms and 4 kilograms.
Raphael catfish live in fast-flowing water and can adapt to a wide range of different conditions. They are found in the Citarum river on Java, Indonesia’s most densely populated island where more than half of its 220 million people live.
Raphael catfish sickness may be caused by a viral, bacterial, or parasitic agent and can cause secondary infections in the fish.
Treatment involves ensuring the water is particularly clean, antibiotics may be necessary and salt — at 2 teaspoons per 5 liters of water — may help to alleviate stress in sick fish.
Raphael catfish live in fast-flowing water and can adapt to a wide range of different conditions. They are found in the Citarum river on Java, Indonesia’s most densely populated island where more than half of its 220 million people live.
Raphael catfish has reportedly been known to grow up to 1 meter long though they usually measure between 30 centimeters and 50 centimeters in length.
They typically weigh between 2 kilograms and 4 kilograms. Raphael catfish have distinctive striped markings on their body, with two black lines running along each side of their head.
Its dorsal fin starts above or behind its pelvic fins and has three spines where the dorsal fin meets the tail fin. The tails are large and round, resembling those of sharks. There are also winglike structures near the base of its pectoral fins that allow it to move through water with ease.
It is classed as critically endangered because there are only three confirmed sightings of these fish after an extensive search to find them. It is thought that before the species was discovered, it had already become extinct in many areas because of pollution and the destruction of its habitat.
The Raphael catfish has a tube-like mouth with a sucker-like structure at the end. It is pink inside and has a row of teeth on both jaws. It lacks scales and its skin is covered in mucus.
Raphael catfish has reportedly been known to grow up to 1 meter long though they usually measure between 30 centimeters and 50 centimeters in length. They typically weigh between 2 kilograms and 4 kilograms.