April 4th, 2013 — 4:10pm
Type locality is ‘Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia’, but this species is widely-distributed throughout much of Southeast Asia including major river systems in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia plus the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.
It’s been extensively recorded from the Mekong, Cha…
Comment » | Category: Siluriformes, The Rest
April 4th, 2013 — 10:49am
Generally peaceful though it may predate on smaller fishes and is somewhat timid so does not compete well with much larger, robust or otherwise boisterous species.
Peaceful, comparably-sized cyprinids, loaches and other catfishes perhaps constitute the best options but be sure to research your choices thoroughly prior to purchase.
Comment » | Category: Siluriformes, The Rest
March 22nd, 2013 — 9:52am
Type locality is ‘Central Sumatra, Indonesia’, with additional records existing from Cambodia (Mekong drainage), Peninsular Malaysia (Perak River), Sumatra (from the Siak River, Riau province to the Musi River, South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) province) and Borneo (south and westwards from the Belait river basin in Brunei Darussalam to the Sambas drainage in West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) province, Indonesia and probably in Sarawak, Malaysia).
Comment » | Category: Cypriniformes, Rasboras & relatives
March 3rd, 2013 — 5:59pm
This species has been known in the aquarium hobby since the mid-twentieth century but has almost always been identified as the congener P. deissneri and appears as such in the majority of aquarium literature.
It can be told apart from congeners by the colour pattern in adult males (see ‘Sexual Dimorphism’) plus possession of 11-12 spinous dorsal-fin rays, 13-14 spinous anal-fin rays and 6-8 segmented anal-fin rays.
Comment » | Category: Labyrinth Fishes, Perciformes
February 27th, 2013 — 9:21pm
In males the dorsal, anal and caudal have a black subdistal band bordered on either side by bluish iridescent bands, with the inner one significantly thicker.
The pelvic fins are iridescent emerald green with a dark blotch at the base and a subdistal dark spot, while the pectoral fins are hyaline.
Comment » | Category: Labyrinth Fishes, Perciformes
February 25th, 2013 — 10:47pm
Parosphromenus spp. have been grouped arbitrarily based on courtship behaviour in males which adopt a ‘head-down’, ‘head-up’, or ‘horizontal’ position depending on species.
P. harveyi belongs to the former, most abundant, assemblage in which the male assumes a near-vertical position with the head lowermost and fins splayed during nuptial displays.
Comment » | Category: Labyrinth Fishes, Perciformes
August 9th, 2012 — 2:36pm
This species is not often seen in the aquarium hobby but occasionally exported as bycatch among shipments of other fishes. It was described as a subspecies of the closely-related ‘P.‘ binotatus but is currently considered distinct on a tentative basis as per Ng and Tan (1999) who stated it is ‘likely’ that the two represent extreme colour forms of a single, variably-patterned species.
Comment » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
Spotted Barb
July 11th, 2012 — 12:58pm
This species is so ubiquitous across its natural range that it’s often referred to simply as ‘common barb’. Basic adult colour pattern consists of a small, dark spot at the base of the dorsal-fin origin and another on the caudal peduncle but overall appearance varies somewhat depending on origin, with the anterior dark spot enlarged ventrally forming a bar or posterior spot extending into the caudal-fin, for example. The spots may also appear darker or lighter in some individuals.
Comment » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
'Pentazona' Barb
June 28th, 2012 — 1:57pm
Native to parts of southern Borneo, eastern Sumatra, Singapore, and the Malay Peninsula. In Singapore it’s considered highly-endangered and is now restricted to the Central Catchment nature reserve.
Type locality is ‘Tuluk and Gunung Sahilan, Sumatra, Indonesia’ which appears to correspond to localities within the Kampar River drainage of which the former is now known as Teluk Meranti and is o…
Comment » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
Clown Barb
June 20th, 2012 — 1:16pm
Although sometimes referred to by the vernacular name ‘big spot barb’ this species is better known in the aquarium hobby as ‘clown barb’. It has been widely misidentified as the congener B. everetti, a distinct and uncommonly-traded species from Borneo and thus appears under that name in the majority of available literature.
The two are quite easy to tell apart, with B. everetti an overall les…
2 comments » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
Product reviewers wanted
Hello! Very much interested in writing for you, please include me in the info. Thank you for the opportunity!
6th Sep 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I would be interested in reviewing products. Before retiring I was a technical writer and managed a Quality Management Program.
30th Aug 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I'm interested and can write reviews from the perspective of someone new to the hobby. I'm only 3-4 months in, but hopefully I can help someone that's...
23rd Aug 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I’m interested in doing this if there is still availability, it sounds like fun! Thanks
19th Aug 2020
Barbodes semifasciolatus – Golden Barb* (Barbus sachsii, Puntius schuberti)
I simply had a question (please forgive if this is not allowed, I read the FAQ but I was not sure). I was wondering if there is any evidence of offsp...
12th Aug 2020