There are various other names for Pangasius macronema including lancang fish, rioscaring, riu, and rius. This fish has barbels that are longer than the head. Its distribution is mostly in Kalimantan, Java, and Indochina (DKPP, 2018). This riu fish is a fish of high economic value because it has several advantages including having white meat and less fat compared to other Pangasius fish (Daelami, 2001).

A. Taxonomy and Morphology of Pangasius macronema

Kingdom : Animalia

Phylum    : Chordata

Class        : Osteichthyes

Ordo         : Siluriformes

Family      : Pangasiidae

Genus       : Pangasius

Species    : Pangasius macronema

Source: fishbase.se

In general, the morphology of Pangasius Fish is to have an elongated body shape and silver white. Pangasius fish do not have scales, Pangasius fish head size is relatively small, and the position of the mouth is located at the tip of the head slightly down. Body length can reach 120 cm. However, for the Pangasius macronema species, the maximum body length is around 30 cm (Taki, 1974). The corners of his mouth have two pairs of short barbels that act as touchers to find food or avoid enemies. The dorsal fin has a hard spine that turns into a patel (pectoral fin) and is serrated behind it, the dorsal fin is 6-7 pieces (Kordi, 2005).

The number of dorsal fins is 1, dorsal soft fins are 7, and anal fins are 30-38. The body of Pangasius macronema fish is relatively deep, has no midline and abdomen, does not have a black spot at the origin of the dorsal fin and teeth on the roof of the mouth in 4 separate patches, the maxillary barbel reaches the tip of the pectoral fin (Rainboth, 1996).

B. Habitat and habits

In general, the habitat of Pangasius macronema fish is on the banks of large rivers, river mouths, reservoirs, or lakes. Pangasius fish are known as nocturnal animals, which are active at night. This fish likes to hide in burrows by the river. This fish includes living in groups (schooling fish). The habit of movement of Pangasius fish into creeks and flooded forests along with many species of Cyprinidae and other species of visually oriented catfish such as Pangasius pleurotaenia when water transparency decreases. Types of natural food for fish Pangasius macronema are sourced from mollusks, Chironomid insects (Taki, 1978), small fish, and shrimp (Kottelat & E, 2005).

References:

DKPP, 2018. Jenis-jenis Ikan Patin, Ikan Berdaging Lezat dan Gurih. [Online] Available at: https://dkpp.bulelengkab.go.id/informasi/detail/artikel/jenis-jenis-ikan-patin-ikan-berdaging-lezat-dan-gurih-40 [Diakses 26 Mei 2022].

Daelami, D.A.S. 2001. Usaha Pembenihan Ikan Air Tawar. Penebar Swadaya (Anggota IKAPI). Jakarta. 166 hal.

KKP, 2018 . Tekan Impor, Industri Patin Indonesia Saingi Pasar Global. [Online] Available at: https://kkp.go.id/artikel/3170-tekan-impor-industri-patin-indonesia-saingi-pasar-global [Diakses 28 Desember 2021].

Kordi, M. G. H. 2005. Budidaya Ikan Patin : Biologi, Pembenihan dan Pembesaran. Yayasan Pustaka Nusatama, Yogyakarta.

Kottelat, M. & E, W., 2005. The fishes of Danau Sentarum National Park and the Kapuas Lakes area, Kalimantan Barat, Indonesia. Raffles Bull. Zool. Supplement, Volume XIII, pp. 139-173.

Rainboth, W. J., 1996. Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong. FAO species identification field guide for fishery purposes, p. 265.

Taki, Y., 1974. Fishes of the Lao Mekong Basin. United States Agency for International Development Mission to Laos Agriculture Division, p. 232.

Taki, Y., 1978. An analytical study of the fish fauna of the Mekong basin as a biological production system in nature. Research Institute of Evolutionary Biology Special Publications, Issue 1, p. 77.