Teesta

The red-tailed squirrel loach, Aborichthys elongatus, is a nemacheilid loach from Darjeeling District, West Bengal, in north-east India. It lives among rocks and cobbles in shallow, swift streams running down from the Sivalik Hills into the Teesta and Brahmaputra drainage. The species is quite rare in the trade, and most fish sold under the name are collected at lower altitudes in Jalpaiguri District and probably represent different species.

The half-banded loach, Acoura savona, is a nemacheilid loach from Ganges tributaries draining the eastern Himalayas in India, Nepal and Bangladesh. The species is seen in the trade fairly often and is sometimes sold as 'bicolor loach' in the United States. Its colour pattern of 9-10 thin, yellowish bars on a dark upper body, with plain whitish lower parts, separates it from similar loaches, and it is among the less aggressive of them.

Barilius bendelisis is a large, fast-swimming cyprinid from India, Bangladesh, Nepal and probably Bhutan. Occasionally sold as 'Indian hill trout' or 'Hamilton's baril', it has 8 to 12 bluish vertical bars and, in adults, a blue-black spot on each scale. It grows to around 200 mm SL and inhabits well-oxygenated, fast-flowing rivers and streams, and its speed and vigorous feeding make it unsuitable for the general community.

The moose-faced loach, Canthophrys gongota, is a cobitid loach from the Ganges and Brahmaputra river systems in Nepal, northern India and Bangladesh. Often referred to as Somileptes gongota in aquarium literature, it is rarely seen in the trade, being notoriously delicate and difficult to ship. It mostly inhabits slow-moving, shallow tributaries and minor rivers over mud, sand or gravel.

Crossocheilus latius is a cyprinid widespread in India, described from the Tista River on the border with Bangladesh. It lives everywhere from boulder-strewn Himalayan hill streams to silt-laden tributaries and pools. Not often available in the trade, it sometimes turns up in shipments of Indian Garra, and its relatively plain pattern makes it unlikely to be confused with congeners. Juveniles are gregarious and active, but adults tend to become sedentary and solitary.

Devario aequipinnatus is a striped devario from hill streams in northeastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is recognised by three straight dark stripes along each side, of which the middle one is widest. The name was long applied to almost any striped Devario, including the commercially bred giant danio, which is covered here under D. malabaricus.

Lepidocephalichthys annandalei is a cobitid loach from the mid-to-lower Ganges and Brahmaputra systems in Nepal, Bangladesh and north-east India. Rarely traded, it has been sold as L. sp. 'peacock', presumably for its caudal-fin pattern of two dark v-shaped markings, unique within the genus. Fish in the trade differ slightly from the original description, in particular lacking a notched caudal fin.

The swamp barb, Puntius chola, is a cyprinid from much of Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and western Thailand. Sometimes called the 'chola' or 'green' barb, it has a single pair of barbels and dark blotches behind the operculum and near the caudal-fin base. It apparently prefers stiller waters over mud or silt, and makes an ideal addition to a peaceful community of riverine fishes.

The grizzled loach, Schistura sp. 4, is a nemacheilid loach from a hill stream in the Siwalik hills around Darjeeling, West Bengal, northern India. Its identity is unclear, and though collected close to the type locality of S. multifasciata it does not match the description of that species. The stream is small, shallow and clear, well over 1000 m AMSL, and the fish is likely to attain 90-100 mm.

The freshwater needlefish, Xenentodon cancila, is a belonid from Pakistan east through India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Myanmar and Thailand. Often called 'freshwater garfish', it only superficially resembles the true gars, and most of its relatives in the Belonidae are marine or estuarine. A near-exclusive inhabitant of the upper water column, it is surprisingly peaceful with anything too large to swallow and is best kept in numbers of four or more, in a tank of 180 ∗ 60 cm or more.