High Fin Shark, Myxocyprinus asiaticus (Bleeker, 1864)

The High Fin Shark is commonly known as ‘Chinese High Fin Branded Shark’. This species was introduced in Bangladesh in the year of 2009 from Thailand by the aquarium fish importers (Galib and Mohsin, 2010).
Chinese high-fin banded sharks originate from the upper reaches of the Yangtze River in China where the locals consider them a tasty food fish. Due to recent dam-building in that area, Chinese High-fin banded sharks are now on the endangered species list; life span is 20 to 25 years (Aqualandpetplus, 2009). The fish was recorded from aquarium shops of Dhaka and Khulna city (Galib, 2010).

Systematic position
Class: Actinopterigii
Order: Cypriniformes
Family: Cyprinidae
Genus: Myxocyprinus
Species: M. asiaticus

Synonym: Carpiodes asiaticus Bleeker, 1864.

Morphology:The High Fin Shark is named for its dorsal fin. It has a long dorsal fin of which anterior part is extremely long and high than that of posterior part. The body is elongated and compressed. Body color is light yellowish or whitish with blackish or black bands placed vertically along the body. Bands are generally three in number and connect the pectotal, pelvic and anal fins. Mouth is inferior (Galib, 2010). Maximum length recorded 30 cm but reported to be reached 3 feet (Aqualandpetplus, 2009) whereas 25 cm was recorded in Bangladesh (Galib, 2010).

Food and feeding: High Fin Shark is an omnivore but prefers vegetations and bottom dweller. Very good eaters of most foods, Chinese high-fin banded sharks fare best when fed plenty of vegetable matter (Galib, 2010). They accept algae wafers and never turn up their noses at live or frozen foods. They also enjoy flakes, pellets, and food sticks (Aqualandpetplus, 2009).

Breeding and gender differentiation: No artificial breeding was found in Bangladesh (Galib, 2010). Males develop tubercles on their cheeks and side fins when they come into breeding condition. The females probably get lumpier when they fill with eggs, fecundity is about 10,000 (Aqualandpetplus, 2009).

Economic importance:This species is used as aquarium or ornamental fish in Bangladesh (Galib and Mohsin, 2010). Retail price was found BDT 3500 per pair (Galib, 2010).

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References
Galib SM. 2010. Cultured and Ornamental Exotic Fish Diversity of Bangladesh, MS dissertation, Department of Fisheries, University of Rajshahi, Rajshahi, Bangladesh, 169 pp.

Galib SM and Mohsin ABM. 2010. Exotic ornamental fishes of Bangladesh, Bangladesh J. Prog. Sci. & Tech. 8(2): 255-258.

Aqualandpetplus. 2009. How to keep your new Chinese High-Fin Branded Shark Aqualand info on Myxocyprinus asiaticus, retrieved on December 16, 2009. http://aqualandpetsplus.com/Sharks,%20Banded%20Chinese.htm.

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