Asian Stone Catfish
Hara jerdoni
The Asian Stone Catfish (Hara jerdoni) is a peaceful fish that's a good step up once you have a little experience. Give it a tank of at least 30 litres (8 US gallons), water held at 64-75°F, and a pH of 6-7.6. Always keep a group of at least 3 - they feel safest in numbers.
Captive lifespan reflects typical experience in a home aquarium, not maximum recorded age; genetics, sourcing, and care vary.
Natural distribution
India / Bangladesh (Ganges basin)
- East & Southeast Asia
Regional colours match the stocking calculator's origin map.
Asian Stone Catfish Tank Setup
Plan for at least 30 litres (8 US gallons) with soft sand or smooth, rounded gravel - sharp substrate wears down their delicate barbels. Keep the water at 64-75°F with a pH around 6-7.6. Always keep a group of at least 3 of their own kind - kept alone or in pairs they tend to turn shy, nippy, or wash out in colour.
What Do Asian Stone Catfish Eat?
They have small mouths, so stick to small foods: crushed flake, fine granules, and now and then a treat of frozen or live foods such as daphnia or baby brine shrimp. Anything too large simply gets ignored.
Asian Stone Catfish Tank Mates
Tiny (3-4 cm), very sedentary nocturnal catfish from cool, slow hill streams in India and Bangladesh; it prefers 18-24 °C, so it is not suited to warm tropical tanks. Keep a small group on sand with leaf litter and hiding places, and feed small live or frozen foods after lights-out. Easily outcompeted - avoid active bottom-dwellers and fast, greedy feeders. The Asian Stone Catfish is peaceful, which is the first thing to weigh up when you choose tank mates. It's a shoaling fish, so settle a group of 3 or more of its own kind before adding anything else - a stressed, lonely fish is far more likely to nip or hide. Before you buy, run your full stocking list through our stocking calculator. It weighs temperament, adult size, and water needs together, which a single species page can't do on its own.
Are Asian Stone Catfish Good for Beginners?
Doable once you test water regularly and catch problems before fish look sick. If this is your first tank, pick something more forgiving and come back later.
Asian Stone Catfish - frequently asked questions
What size tank do Asian Stone Catfish need?
Asian Stone Catfish need a tank of at least 30 litres (8 US gallons). A bigger tank is always easier to keep stable, and gives them more room to settle in and behave naturally.
How many Asian Stone Catfish should I keep together?
Keep a group of at least 3. Asian Stone Catfish are a shoaling species and become stressed, lose their colour, or hide when kept singly or in pairs.
What water parameters do Asian Stone Catfish need?
Keep them at 64-75°F with a pH of 6-7.6, steady rather than chased to an exact figure. In a cycled tank, ammonia and nitrite should both read 0 ppm, with nitrate kept low through regular water changes.
What do Asian Stone Catfish eat?
Asian Stone Catfish have small mouths, so they need small foods. Crushed flake and fine granules form the staple, with the occasional treat of frozen or live foods such as daphnia or baby brine shrimp. Feed small amounts once or twice a day, and remove anything they don't eat.
Are Asian Stone Catfish good for beginners?
Asian Stone Catfish are best for keepers with a little experience. They are manageable once you test water regularly and catch problems early; a complete beginner may prefer something more forgiving first.
Common mistakes with Asian Stone Catfish
- Adding to an uncycled tank - always wait for the nitrogen cycle to complete; small schooling fish are especially vulnerable to ammonia.
Building a community? Run the full list through the stocking calculator before you add anything else.
Great tank mates
Chosen from temperament, overlapping temperature/pH bands, plausible minimum tank footprints, and size versus yours in App-aquatic data. Hobby nuance always wins - verify stocking and temperament before purchasing.
Check Asian Stone Catfish against any other fish → Compares water parameters, predation risk, fin nipping and tank size, and draws both at life size.
Fish to avoid mixing with Asian Stone Catfish
These well-known species are commonly sold alongside this fish but are not recommended tank mates - verify before purchasing.
- OscarPredator - Oscar will eat or injure smaller tank mates
- AxolotlPredator - Axolotl will eat or injure smaller tank mates
- Colombian Shark CatfishPredator - Colombian Shark Catfish will eat or injure smaller tank mates
