Taxonomy & naming
Sperata acicularis Ferraris & Runge, 1999 is the valid name in the Catalog of Fishes. The type locality is the South Oak-ka-lar-pa market in eastern Yangon, so the exact collection locality in the wild is not given there. The epithet acicularis is Latin for 'needle-like'.
Morphology
Like other Sperata, it has a long, slender, rather depressed body, a long adipose fin and four pairs of barbels. FishBase gives a maximum length of 71 in without stating whether it is standard or total length. Colour details have not been described in the sources available to the atlas.
Habitat
FishBase gives its range as Myanmar and lists it as a freshwater, bottom-living tropical fish. Where it lives within the country and what habitat it prefers have not been described.
Feeding
Sperata are predators of fish, shrimp and other invertebrates, so any small tankmates would be at risk. The diet of this species in the wild has not been described.
Mating
FishBase says it is oviparous and that distinct pairing is possible, as in other members of the genus.
Breeding
Captive breeding of this species is not recorded in the sources available to the atlas.
In the aquarium
Treat it as a nocturnal predatory bagrid: a large tank with cover and no small tankmates. FishBase gives no temperature, pH or hardness range for this species.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List assessed it as Least Concern in 2009, meaning it is not considered at risk of extinction at present. Wild population data have not been described.