Taxonomy & naming
Tyson Roberts described the species in 1989, and the parentheses around the authority show it began in a different genus. The Catalog of Fishes lists Pseudobagarius pseudobagarius as valid, with the type locality at a bar in the mouth of the Sungai Melawi at Sintang, Indonesia. It belongs to Akysidae, the Asian stream catfishes. The genus and species names are identical.
Morphology
FishBase gives a maximum length of 2.5 in SL. Akysids are scaleless, with a flattened body, and bear short barbels and spines on the dorsal and pectoral fins.
Habitat
FishBase lists eastern Sumatra and western Borneo, and describes it as a freshwater fish of the water column near the bottom. No temperature or pH range is given. The type locality is on the Melawi, a tributary of the Kapuas in West Kalimantan.
Feeding
FishBase has no diet entry. Akysids in general take small invertebrates at night.
Mating
Courtship is not recorded for this species.
Breeding
Breeding is not recorded in FishBase for the species.
In the aquarium
A fine sand floor, subdued light and cover suit akysids, and as scaleless fish they react badly to copper medications. No husbandry record exists for this species specifically. Tankmates should be small and peaceful.
Conservation
IUCN lists the species as Data Deficient, assessed in 2018. Lowland peat and stream habitats in Sumatra and Borneo have been heavily converted, but no trend is recorded for this fish.