Taxonomic Composition and Distribution of Alien Suckermouth Armored Catfish (Siluriformes: Loricariidae) in Southern Vietnam

Epitheliocystis in armoured catfish (Pterygoplichthys spp.), anabas (Anabas testudineus) and tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) in central Vietnam

“…In this study, significantly lower level of co‐infection in armoured catfish in comparison with the other two fish species may be caused by the status of the fish in the ecosystem. As a newly established invasive species (Gusakov et al., 2018; Stolbunov et al., 2021; Stolbunova & Tran Duc Dien, 2019), armoured catfish may be less sensitive to pathogenic agents in their invaded territories (Kołodziej‐Sobocińska et al., 2018). Because the richness of pathogens in non‐native invasive species is expected to increase over time (Kołodziej‐Sobocińska et al., 2018), level of infection in this fish species needs to be followed up in future studies.…”

“…Additionally, all fish species included in this study are widely distributed in other parts of Vietnam. For example, armoured catfish and Nile tilapia are reported from all main water bodies in the central and south of Vietnam (Gusakov et al., 2018; Stolbunov et al., 2021; Stolbunova & Tran Duc Dien, 2019) and anabas is a native species in Vietnam (Kottelat, 2001). Although it is most likely that the condition was caused by different pathogens in each host species, the presence of epitheliocystis in these species from all disconnected water bodies suggested a wider distribution of this condition at least in these three fish species in other fresh water bodies of Vietnam.…”

“…This study included three freshwater fish species including armoured catfish ( Pterygoplichthys spp. ), a newly established invasive species, Nile tilapia ( Oreochromis niloticus ), a long‐time established invasive species, and anabas ( Anabas testudineus ), a native species in Vietnam (Gusakov et al., 2018; Kottelat, 2001; Stolbunov et al., 2021; Stolbunova & Tran Duc Dien, 2019). While armoured catfish has no economic value, anabas is a species target for artesian fishing and tilapia is one of two main fish species farmed in Vietnam.…”

Food Spectrum, Trophic and Length-Weight Characteristics of Nonindigenous Suckermouth Armored Catfishes Pterygoplichthys spp. (Loricariidae) in Vietnam

“…Numerous populations of Pterygoplichthys spp. inhabiting the basins of all relatively large rivers of Central and Southern Vietnam were recorded in 2017-2019(Stolbunov et al, 2017Gusakov et al, 2018;Stolbunov et al, 2017Stolbunov et al, , 2020Stolbunov et al, , 2021. According to the data of phenetic, morphological, and molecular genetic analyses, it was found that currently two species of suckermouth armored catfish reliably inhabit the water bodies and watercourses of Vietnam: P. pardalis (Castelnau, 1855) and P. disjunctivus (Weber, 1991), and each of them is represented by several phylogenetic lines whose representatives are able to hybridize with each other (Stol-bunov et al, 2021).…”

“…It has been currently established that suckermouth armored catfishes Pterygoplichthys spp. inhabit the basins of practically all large river systems of Vietnam at different altitudes above sea level, from lowlands to mountain regions: Mekong, Dong Nai, Serepok, Da Rang, Cai, and many others (Gusakov et al, 2018;Stolbunov and Tran Duc Dien, 2019;Stolbunov et al, 2017Stolbunov et al, , 2020Stolbunov et al, , 2021. Apparently there are close competitive interactions, including for food resources, between numerous populations of armored catfish and native fish species.…”