NEWS102
30
Myxocyprinusasiaticus
arevery sociable fishes.Thisgroupof adults lives in theArtisAquarium inAmsterdam.
Lexicon
Myxocyprinus asiaticus
Myxocyprinus:
means“slimycarp”
asiaticus:
means“Asian”
chinensis:
means“Chinese”
Carpiodes:
means“carp-like”
Catostomus:
means“withanunderslungmouth”
fukiensis,nankinensis:after the type
localities (FukienandNankin,
respectively).
this fishmaybe the constructionof hydro-
electric dams, pollution of the water, and
other uses of water by humans, as
M.
asiaticus
is amigratory fish. InFebruary the
adultsmigrate to their spawning grounds,
shallow places with fast-flowing water,
where they spawn fromMarch toApril.The
adults remain in the spawning areas until
autumn and only then migrate back to
deeperpartsof the rivers tooverwinter.The
species is protected inChina and there are
breeding programs designed to support
natural populations via the introductionof
young fishes.
In theaquariumandpond
Myxocyprinus asiaticus
is suitable for
aquariummaintenance only when young,
as the species usually grows to around 40
cm long.The record is some 125 cm and a
weight of 23 kg.The species is a coldwater
fish that is completely winter-hardy in
central Europe. The water temperature in
the aquarium should not exceed 24 °C in
the long term, and 16-22 °C is ideal.
Myxocyprinus asiaticus
are sociable fishes
that should always be kept ingroups of at
least three individuals. Larger groups are
better if space allows. These fishes are
completely peaceful towards both
conspecificsandother species.
Myxocyprinus
are very useful in the garden
pond, as they will enthusiastically graze
algae from thebottomandothersurfaces.If
youwant to keep
Myxocyprinus asiaticus
in
thegardenpondthentheyshouldn’tbeput
outsidebeforeJune,asthefishesavailable in
the trade are captive-bred in tropical Asia,
and initially need to adapt slowly to our
prevailingcoolerwater temperatures.
