Results for “aquarist”

A. macropterus appears in the ornamental trade on an irregular basis and should only be considered by more experienced aquarists with sufficiently large facilities. Given its wide geographical distribution there is a possibility that it represents a group of closely-related species, with genetic studies indicating the existence of several distinct clades.

This species, which may also be referred to by the alternative vernacular names 'spotted raphael', 'white-spotted' or 'white-barred' catfish, is very common in the trade and despite its adult size is recommended to beginners and experienced aquarists alike since it is hardy, attractive and relatively-long-lived. The light body markings are highly variable in terms of exact placement and may be either white or pale to darkish yellow in colour. It is very similar i...

Rare in the hobby, the bowfin is a stunning specimen fish for the aquarist with the means to house it properly. It is the sole remaining species in the family Amiidae, an ancient and primitive group that is related to the garfish. It possesses the ability to breathe atmospheric air, via an enormous, highly vascularised accessory breathing organ that extends throughout the entire body cavity. The gills are stiffened in order to prevent them collapsing outside the water and, provided it's kep...

This species is essentially unknown in the hobby at time of writing. It was discovered by German aquarist Horst Linke in early 2010 and before official description was known as B. sp. ‘East Myanmar’ (‘Ost Myanmar’ in Germany). It can be differentiated from other members of the genu...

This species is clearly unsuitable for the home aquarium given its eventual size and natural behaviour, and we know of only a handful of private aquarists with the facilities required to house it long-term. The grouping currently contains four species but is in urgent need of review with a number of additional taxa thought to exist and B. yarrelli possibly representing a synonym of B. bagarius.

As far as we know this species is yet to arrive to the international aquarium trade though it has been maintained by a handful of Indian aquarists. It's restricted geographical range and difficulty of collection mean it's unlikely to become available in numbers unless adopted by commercial breeders.

This species is largely unsuitable for the home aquarium given its eventual size and natural behaviour, and we know of only a handful of private aquarists with the facilities required to house it long-term. Nonetheless juveniles and subadults are sometimes available in the trade although often misidentified as the congener B. maculata.

The type locality is an area of permanently-flooded grassland formed by the damming of a spring for agricultural purposes. The water is only around 30cm deep, transparent and supports dense growths of aquatic plants, mostly from the family Hydrocharitaceae which includes such genera as Elodea, Egeria and Blyxa. Sympatric species included Devario sondhii, a Microrasbora very similar to M. rubescens, an undescribed Yunnanilus known to aquarists as the 'rosy' loach and Channa harcourtbutleri.

Chaca are unsuitable subjects for the general aquarist, but are relatively popular among lovers of oddball species. This species is very similar in appearance to the closely related C. chaca. However, it is somewhat darker and redder in colour than its relative, and lacks the hooklets that occur on the lips and body of chaca. It is a true master of disguise, and is also known as the angler catfish, due to it's ability to use its barbels as a kind of lure, using them to simulate the movement...

Chaca are unsuitable subjects for the general aquarist, but are quite popular among lovers of oddball species. This species is very similar in appearance to the closely related C. bankanensis. However, it's usually a bit lighter in colour than its relative and possesses small hooklets on the lower lip and body that are not present in bankanensis. It's a true master of disguise and is also known as the angler catfish, due to its ability to use its barbels as a kind of lure. These can be...

This species is largely unsuitable for the home aquarium given its eventual size and natural behaviour, and we know of only a handful of private aquarists with the facilities required to house it long-term. It's currently illegal to import or own the species in the United States, United Kingdom and several other countries unless in possession of an official license.

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'.

Lake Wanam has been the subject of a management project co-ordinated by famous aquarist Heiko Bleher, who became concerned by an apparent drop in numbers of both this species and the barred rainbowfish (Chilatherina fasciata), which is also found in the lake. The drop in numbers is thought to be a result of the introduction of non-native Tilapia, Gambusia and carp species into the lake, along with a significant increase in the number of humans living in the area. G. wanamensis is now considered ...

G. filamentosa has appeared in the ornamental trade but is evidently delicate and therefore recommended only to experienced aquarists. It can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: possession of filamentous dorsal and anal-fin rays in males; body transparent to translucent yellowish-brown colour in life; absence of a highly-extended second anal-fin spine; absence of carmine-red pigmentation in the dorsal, anal an...

A real bruiser of a cichlid, H. elongatus is not seen for sale very often, and with good reason. Pound for pound it must rank as one of the most aggressive cichlids available in the hobby. It is such an efficient predator that, in some of its native countries, it is used to control populations of Tilapia. As a result it's definitely not recommended for the inexperienced aquarist. The common name is derived from the row of 5 dark markings that run laterally along the flanks of the fish. I...

The genus Hypancistrus is diagnosed from all other loricariids by a wide separation between the metapterygoid and lateral ethmoid, presence of a sharply angled adductor palatini crest of the hyomandibula, and no lateral wall in the metapterygoid channel. More useful for aquarists is the fact that in Hypancistrus the dentary teeth are about twice a...

This species is relatively common in the aquarium hobby but is not easy to maintain and recommended only for experienced aquarists. It can be told apart from all congeners by specimens larger than 60 mm SL possessing an extended pectoral-fin spine forming an extremely long filament that may be more than four times the length of the first branched pectoral-fin ray (vs. not possessing such a filament in other species of Lamontichthys).

Given its eventual size and natural behaviour this species is largely unsuitable for the home aquarium, and we know of only a handful of private aquarists with the facilities required to house it long-term. Unfortunately juveniles are readily available in the trade, although the scarcity of privately-maintained adults would suggest that most fail to reach their potential.

The fish in our images above were imported together don't correspond to any of the described species of Pangio though they can be assigned to the P. kuhlii species group with a degree of certainty. Unfortunately the live appearance of P. kuhlii itself is a mystery to aquarists since it's currently considered endemic to Java and may have never been seen in the hobby.

For aquarists perhaps more useful are the subtle differences in colour pattern with P. simulans differing from both P. innesi and P. axelrodi in possessing a greener (vs. bluer) lateral stripe which covers more (vs. less) of the eye/head and extends to the caudal-fin base (vs. terminating anterior to caudal-fin base), a lesser (vs. greater) amount of relatively duller (vs. brighter) red pigmentation on the flanks. The taxonomic history of all three species is complicated with earlier authors such as Géry (1960, 1977) ten...