Fins dark grey or black; 6 branched dorsal-fin rays; gill rakers normally developed; young with a black stripe along lateral line and a second long black stripe below lateral line, large adults uniformly grey (Ref. 12693). Dark stripe on the middle of anal fin; dark stripe in each caudal lobe; small gill rakers regularly interspersed with larger ones (Ref. 43281).
Inhabits large rivers (Ref. 12693). Omnivorous (Ref. 6459), feeding on fish and crustaceans as well as on vegetable debris (Ref. 12693). A migratory species, moving upstream of the Mekong from unknown rearing areas to spawn in unknown areas in May-July and returning to the mainstream when the river waters fall seeking rearing habitats in September -December (Ref. 37772). South of the Khone Falls, upstream migration occurs from October to February, with peak in November-December. This migration is triggered by receding water and appears to be a dispersal migration following the lateral migration from flooded areas back into the Mekong at the end of the flood season. Downstream migration takes place from May to August from Stung Treng to Kandal in Cambodia and further into the Mekong Delta in Viet Nam. The presence of eggs during March to August from Stung Treng to Kandal indicates that the downstream migration is both a spawning and a trophic migration eventually bringing the fish into floodplain areas in Cambodia and Viet Nam during the flood season (Ref. 37770). Common in the lower Mekong, where the young are collected for rearing in floating fish cages. In the middle Mekong it is represented by large individuals that lose the dark coloration of the juveniles and subadults and become grey without stripe (Ref. 12693). One of the most important aquaculture species in Thailand (Ref. 9497). A photo of a 44 kg individual was said to have been featured in a Thai magazine (J.F. Helias, pers. comm., Fishing Adventures Thailand, e-mail: fishasia@ksc.th.com). Such a maximum weight also seems reasonable based on length-weight relationship for this species. Aquarium keeping: in groups of 5 or more individuals; not recommended for home aquariums; minimum aquarium size >150 cm (Ref. 51539).
