Results for “sp.”

This species is part of the Hypostomus cochliodon complex, all of which were previously included in the genus Cochliodon, which is now considered a synonym of Hypostomus. Members of this group can be distinguished from congeners by several differences in morphology, most notably the hump-backed profile of mature fish and spoon-shaped dentition. These features, along with the fishes tendency to eat wood, are shared with the Panaque genus of the Ancistrinae subfamily, but the two genera are known ...

Contrary to many reports, including a number of scientific papers, this species breeds in the same way as other cyprinodontids and does not dig pits or exhibit extended parental care. It's a fractional spawner with females depositing eggs on a more-or-less continuous basis when a warm temperature is maintained though ideally it should be permitted to breed on a seasonal basis in spring and late summer as it would in nature.

This species is available sporadically and makes an excellent choice for those new to keeping loaches. It's distinguishable from congeners by a combination of characters including: truncate/rounded caudal-fin; no scales on top of head; dark, squarish spots o...

Should be kept in a set-up designed to resemble a flowing stream with a substrate of variably-sized rocks, gravel and some water-worn boulders. This can be further furnished with driftwood roots and branches arranged to form some shaded spots while lengths of PVC piping or similar can be used to provide additional cover. Although most plant species will fail to thrive in such surroundings hardy genera such as Microsorum, Bolbitis or Anubias spp. can be grown attached to the décor and bright lighting will promote the growth of aufwuchs.

The genus Mchenga was erected in 2006 by Stauffer and Konings and currently numbers half a dozen species, all of which are previous members of Copadichromis. The reclassification was based on various morphological and behavioural traits, including habitat preference and breeding strategy. Together with Copadichromis, Mchenga spp. form an exclusive group of Malawian cichlids commonly referred to as "Utaka" (prounounced "ooh-taw-kuh"). They're specialised to a pelagic l...

This species was originally named Nemacheilus masyae but following ICZN rules the spelling was later corrected to N. masyai because it's named after a man. It can be distinguished from the majority of congeners by body patterning comprising 14-18 short, dark vertical bars on each flank, 12-17 saddle-like markings running along the dorsal surface, a dark spot on the caudal peduncle at the termination of the lateral line and a dark blotch in the lower half of the first few dorsal-fin rays.

It's included in the P. kuhlii group of closely-related species and can be distinguished from other members by the following combination of characters: 8-11 very broad, quadrangular, regular dark body bars; orange base body colour; caudal-fin either entirely black or with a large black blotch at the base and a submarginal dark bar or row of spots. The latter feature can be useful in identifying young or newly-imported, undernourished specimens which can...

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.

Within this assemblage P. manipurensis is most similar to 'P.' meingangbii and P. padamya by virtue of the fact that males in all three possess orange-red pigmentation on the flanks and caudal-fin. It can be told apart most easily by the fact it possesses a relatively small, spot-like humeral marking, vs. a vertically-elongated, relatively large humeral marking in both the other species.

This species is often confused with P. reticulata, P. humerosa and P. scobina. Such specimens are usually imported and sold as "teacup" stingrays and it is important to correctly identify what you are buying. There is also a ray sold as P. sp. "Nazca" that is often said to be P. yepezi; unlikely given that it is imported from Peru. This latter fish is one of the commonest rays seen in the trade and is usually quite reasonably priced, making it a good choice for newcomers to k...

Following Fink (1993), P. piraya can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: adipose fin with rays in larger specimens (vs. always without rays in other Pygocentrus species); branched dorsal-fin rays 15-18, usually 16 (vs. 14-18, usually 15); usually 7 neural spines anterior to first pterygiophore (vs. usually 6); vertebrae 36-39, usually 38 (vs. 35-38, usually 36). It can also be identified by colour pattern since it possesses distinctive bright yellow-orange pigmentation on the lower jaw, opercle and lateral body in life.

This species is not especially popular in the hobby and is only infrequently seen on sale. It is clearly distinguishable from similar-looking members of the genus by lacking a dark stripe along the lateral line. Instead it possesses two spot-like markings on each flank, one below theorigin and lateral line and another at the caudal peduncle. The intensity of these can vary depending on the collection locality of the fish and they can be quite faint in some forms. There is also a third, smaller m...

This fish is normally imported alongside the congener R. candidianus and is actually the commoner of the two in the aquarium trade. It looks very similar to R. candidianus but does not grow as large and possesses a more rounded snout. Most specimens also have spot-like markings on the sides of the head which has led to them being identified as R. nantaiensis, but the fish do no...

It's been suggested that these two may represent the same species but this appears not to be the case. When describing S. albisuera Freyhof (2003) used a series of specimens collected in 2000 plus some larger, spotted fish which had been collected in 1999 and preserved in New York. Although he noticed differences in dorsal patterning between the two series these weren't considered sufficient to s...

This species seems not to have appeared in the trade and is similar to several congeners in appearance, most notably S. weberi which is native to the Maluku archipelago and other islands around the coast of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). The two are said to be most easily-distinguished by examination of the belly which is fully-scaled in S. pelewensis but lacks scalation in S. weberi. The Gobiidae is the most speciose vertebrate family and notoriously problematic in terms of identifying fishes down to sp...

This species is superficially similar to S. petricola but the spots on its body are larger than in petricola and it has a longer head. It is rarely seen in the trade, though can occasionally be found mis-identified as S. angelicus, S. petricola or Synodontis sp.....

A rather elusive species in the hobby, this beautiful cichlid is sometimes referred to as the "Chisel-toothed" cichlid. Despite being described in 1902 it was not until the mid-1990s that it appeared in the aquarium trade, wild specimens being collected by American aquarists Ross Socolof, Harry Specht, and Rusty Wessel in 1994....

Very similar to its congener T. decaradiatus, it can be distinguished by looking at the position of the eye, which is set much further back in decaradiatus. Also, the humeral process (long spine extending from the back of the gill plate), is longer and thinner in this species than decaradiatus. Neither are seen very often in the hobby, but are sometimes available at specialist outlets....

This fish first appeared in the aquarium hobby in 2011 and has been traded under various names including P. sp. cf. paskai, P. sp. 'red orange neon', P. sp. 'neon orange', P. sp. 'Irian' and P. 'iriani'. The majority of fish available tend to be male, presumably due to their brighter colour pattern. It was initially suspected to be a hybrid or sele...

This fish first became available to hobbyists in 2005 and has also been referred to as Dario sp. 'pyjamas' or 'fire red tiger badis'. Despite the striking differences in colour pattern it's officially recognised as a colour form of D. hysginon as per Kullander and Britz (2002) although D. sp. 'Myanmar' is now known to have an appreciably larger adult size (S. van der Voort, pers. comm.).