Taxonomy & naming
Steindachner described Breitensteinia insignis in 1881 from Teweh (now Moara Teweh) on the Barito River in southeastern Borneo. It sits in Akysidae, the Asian stream catfishes, alongside Akysis, Acrochordonichthys and Parakysis. The Catalog of Fishes treats the name as valid, and the genus was erected for this species.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum length of 8.5 in SL, which makes Breitensteinia one of the larger akysids; most of the family stays under 4 in. Like other akysids it has a naked skin without scales and sharp pectoral and dorsal spines that can inflict a painful puncture. FishBase notes that the species is sexually dimorphic but does not say how the sexes differ.
Habitat
FishBase lists the species as a freshwater, bottom-dwelling fish of the tropics, recorded in Indonesia. The type locality is the Barito River in Borneo. The cached FishBase entry gives no temperature, pH or hardness range for it.
Feeding
No diet is recorded for Breitensteinia insignis in the sources the atlas draws on. Related akysids are nocturnal bottom feeders that take small invertebrates, and a fish of this size would be offered the same sinking live and frozen foods after the lights go off.
Mating
Mating behaviour has not been described. The only reproductive detail recorded is the sexual dimorphism noted by FishBase.
Breeding
No captive or wild breeding record is known to the atlas for this species.
In the aquarium
A catfish of up to 8.5 in SL needs a tank sized for an adult, with hiding places and a soft sand or fine gravel floor. Handle it with care and move it in a container rather than a net, since the spines catch in mesh and can puncture skin. No aquarium husbandry notes were available for this species, and a retailer's stock is wild-collected.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List carries Breitensteinia insignis as Data Deficient, assessed in September 2018. Too little is known about its range and population to score a threat category.