Featherback also goes by the name knifefish because of their shape while the name featherback is from their protruding dorsal fin. Among 10 featherback fish species, there are 4 of them residing in Cambodia. They live in brackish or freshwater environments across Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. Let’s take a look at the 4 featherback fish species below and see if you know any of them.
Bronze Featherback (ត្រីស្លាត)
A bronze featherback is a long fish that can grow up to 60 centimeters, and it is a flat fish. Young ones are dark bronze in color but they will become lighter once they get older. This featherback fish species is one of the most common fish to use in meatballs and other food in Cambodia. Bronze featherback is found in South and Southeast Asia, living in freshwater but can also tolerate brackish water. They occur in various habitats such as canals, marshlands, reservoirs, rice paddies, rivers, and slow-flowing freshwater streams. This featherback fish species migrates in the wet season to floodplains and then back to mainstream waters in the dry season. Where they live, they feed on crustaceans, fish, and insects they find in the water.
Clown Featherback (ត្រីក្រាយ)
The clown featherback is a very long fish that can reach up to 1 meter or even longer. They also have long anal fins that they use to make forward and backward movements. Yes, they can swim either backward or forward as they please which is extremely unique. One interesting thing is that they have two nasal tentacles above their large toothed mouth. It has a silvery knife-like body, and the most distinctive part is the round spots that look like eyes. Juveniles lack these spots, and they actually get smaller as the fish grows bigger. Mature fish normally have 5 to 10 or even more round spots on both sides of their bodies.
This fish species is native to Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, Laos, Macau, Taiwan, Thailand, and Vietnam. The common habitats of these nocturnal fish are across the Chao Phraya and Mekong River Basins. When they are young, they swim in schools near plants and water logs for protection. As they mature, they become solitary and more territorial. They hunt live prey and they will feed on any fish that they can fit into their mouths. With their small yet sharp teeth, they are able to capture and consume their prey without a problem.
Indochina Featherback (ត្រីក្អី)
Very easy to recognize, the Indochina featherback has numerous small black spots in the anterior half of its body. Its unique appearance makes it one of the most expensive featherback fish species in pet trade. Their distribution is in Southeast Asia where they live in the mainstream of the Mekong River across Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand. This featherback fish species is active during the nighttime and twilight when they feed on crustaceans, fish, insects, and vertebrates. Unfortunately, its native range is now threatened due to overfishing for food and pet trade.
Indonesian Featherback (ត្រីក្រាយក្របី)
Indonesian featherback is a very large featherback fish species that can grow up to 1.5 meters long; hence the nickname Giant Featherback. Native to freshwater habitats in Southeast Asia, their distribution is spread across Cambodia, Indochina, the Malay Peninsula, Thailand, and Vietnam. They inhabit a variety of aquatic environments such as slow-moving rivers and streams with dense vegetation along the banks. Their favorite habitats are areas with overhanging or submerged plants where they can hide and shelter. This type of habitat also provides them with opportunities to ambush prey such as fish, insects, and other aquatic animals. As ambush predators, this featherback fish species is actually quite notorious for its hunting technique. It uses its elongated body and rapid movements to ambush and capture its prey.
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