Results for “sp.”

This is the most common of the few Distichodus species regularly seen in the hobby, and sadly, it is often sold as being suitable for the general community tank. This is clearly not the case in terms of both its temperament and potential size. Do not buy one unless you have the facilities to house it for life. It is usually seen for sale at a couple of inches long, and at this size is a very attractive orange and black striped fish with bright red finnage. Unfortunately, much of this colour and ...

Not often seen for sale, but if you can find it, it makes a peaceful addition to the brackish or hardwater community of medium-sized fish. It was previously considered a member of the now defunct genus Batanga. The fish in our picture is a young specimen. Adults develop a pleasing pattern of reds and blues and are most attractive....

The adult size and power of this impressive predator preclude it from consideration as an aquarium species, but young individuals are nevertheless available in the ornamental trade on an irregular basis therefore it is included here. It is an entirely unsuitable choice for the home aquarium and the majority of zoos and public aquaria would probably struggle to maintain it in adequate conditions.

Endemic to the Ubangi (also spelled Oubangui) River drainage in southwestern Central African Republic with type locality given as 'Small stream along Mbaiki-Mongoumba road, south of Bangui, 3°55'N, 18°10'E, Central African Republic'. The Ubangi is is the largest right-ba...

This species is now considered a member of the Hara genus by many experts, but as things stand it is still officially included in Erethistes. It is, in all likelihood, a Hara, as Erethistes is characterised by divergent denticles on the pectoral fins, whereas Hara possess outwardly pointing denticles. E. maesotensis has these outwardly pointing denticles. It's quite rare in the trade, but makes an interesting addition to an Asian stream community tank if you can get hold of some....

Also known as the Tanganyikan Clown, this is one of the so-called Tanganyikan goby cichlids. They occur only in the upper few feet of water around rocky shores, also known as the surge zone, where they scrape algae from the rocks with their specialised teeth. This habitat is typified by breaking waves and strong currents. They have a few adaptations allowing them to inhabit such an environment. The swim bladder is rendered useless to reduce their buoyancy. They also have a longand a laterally co...

Known from the Mekong river basin in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, and Vietnam, the Tonlé Sap river and lake system in Cambodia, and smaller, coastal drainages in southeast Thailand. Records from Peninsular Malaysia are likely to refer to other species. Type locality is given simply as 'Cambodia'.

Etroplus is the only cichlid genus native to the Indian subcontinent and Sri Lanka and currently comprises three species among which E. canarensis is uniquely limited to freshwater and restricted in range. Its congeners E. maculatus and E. suratensis are both euryhaline inhabiting estuaries, coastal lagoons and the lower reaches of rivers around coastlines of western and southern India plus northern Sri Lanka.

This species is euryhaline and mostly inhabits brackish estuaries, coastal lagoons and the lower reaches of rivers. It also occurs in freshwater habitats, however, including a number of inland lakes in Sri Lanka although it appears to have been introduced intentionally.

Although often sold as the closely related F. acus (a species that is highly endangered and imported very rarely, if at all), F. vittata is the most common representative of the genus in hobbyists' tanks. The easiest way to distinguish the two is by comparing the shape of the rostrum, which is longer and more slender in vittata, although there are also differences in the arrangement of the ventral scutes. They are adapted for life among peripheral vegetation and tree roots along the edges o...

This species is widely-distributed in the Mekong river system in Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam, Salween and Ayeyarwaddy rivers in southern China, Myanmar, and Thailand, plus various smaller basins in Vietnam and China. It has also been recorded from the islands of Hainan and Hong Kong. Type locality is given as 'China: sent from Hong Kong'.

F. rostratus was formerly classified as Haplochromis rostratus. When startled, it may bury itself in the substrate. It often displays its natural sand-sifting method of feeding in aquaria, and a substrate of sand is essential as gravel may injure the fish. In nature, it is only the largest dominant males that build nests, whilst the subdominant males and females shoal together. There also exists a feeding relationship between this species and Cyrtocara moorii in the wild, in which shoals of C. m...

This species is also known as 'Gardner's Killi' and 'blue lyretail' and the commonly-available aquarium forms are perhaps among the best choices for those new to keeping killifishes being relatively hardy, colourful and easy to breed. A number of ornamental strains have also been line-bred by aquarists including 'gold' and 'albino'.

Note the cooler temperatures required by this rare species. It is not an annual fish, occuring only in permanent bodies of water.

This is not an annual species, occuring only in permanent bodies of water.

There exist many different populations of this species in nature, some of which are now threatened or extinct, due to rapid human development in Ghana and the Ivory Coast in recent years. It is not a common fish in the hobby. Interestingly, it appears that F. walkeri occurs as both an annual and non-annual fish. This adaptation allows it to inhabit many different habitats, as it is able to breed in both permananent and temporary bodies of water. Note that this fish prefers cooler temperatures t...

This species can be told apart from Indian congeners by the following combination of characters: no transverse groove or proboscis on the snout; tip of dorsal fin falcate; long axillary scale present at the base of pelvic fin, reaching base of last pelvic fin ray; 27–29 lateral-line scales, 10–11 regularly arranged predorsal scales; W-shaped black band across middle of caudal fin; presence of scales on the abdomen.

Garra species are usually included in the subfamily Labeoninae/Cyprininae (name varies with author) which by current thinking is further divided into several tribes and subtribes (Stiassny and Getahun, 2007). The putatively monophyletic subtribe Garraina comprises Garra plus numerous other genera including the well-known Crossocheilus and Epalzeorhynchos. Within this division their closest relatives are members of Discogobio, Discocheilus and Placocheilus (the lat...

Following Rainboth (1996) distinguishing characters for G. fuliginosa include: presence of rostral and maxillary barbels; a well-developed, trilobed rostrum; possession of 10 gill rakers on the lower portion of the first gill arch; no mid-lateral body stripe; 32-34 lateral line scales; body dark with random lighter scales in places. Kottelat (2001) states that the species can be told apart from other Garra occurring in Laos by a combination of: snout with a secondary rostrum, proboscis about twice as wide...

G. hughi is occasionally available in the ornamental trade and may be labelled 'chocolate algae eater'. The original diagnosis of this species by Silas states that it can be identified by the following combination of characters: elongate body form; broad head...