Every species

Folifer brevifilis is a large cyprinid from the Mekong, Salween and Ayeyarwady systems of southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Vietnam. It has also been recorded from Hainan and Hong Kong. Growing to 300 mm SL, it is unsuitable for the majority of home aquaria and extremely rare in the ornamental trade. It inhabits flowing middle and lower sections of major rivers and may migrate seasonally to spawn.

The tasseled-mouth loach, Formosania lacustris, is a gastromyzontid from Taiwan and some coastal drainages of Fujian Province, mainland China. An obligate dweller of swiftly-flowing streams and headwaters, it clings to rocks in riffles and runs using its flattened head and body and horizontal paired fins. The genus was formerly Crossostoma, and colour and pattern vary with locality and age.

Fossorochromis rostratus is a large, sand-sifting cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, most common over shallow sandy substrates. When startled it may bury itself, and a sand substrate is essential since gravel may injure it. A very fast, active swimmer, it needs open water and should not be kept with boisterous species such as mbuna. Shoals of Cyrtocara moorii follow feeding groups in the wild to take the morsels they stir up.

The steel-blue killifish, Fundulopanchax gardneri, is native to the Cross River system in Nigeria and Cameroon and the Benue River drainage. Also known as Gardner's killi or blue lyretail, the common aquarium forms are among the best choices for those new to killifishes. Wild populations come in numerous colour forms, three of them described as subspecies. Its eggs can withstand a period of drying but will also hatch when kept submerged.

Fundulopanchax gresensi is a killifish known only from a small area in the upper Cross River basin, western Cameroon. It has been collected from shallow, swampy sections of forested streams, some of which may dry out in the dry season. The commonest hobby strain is known as 'Takwai'. It jumps well, so the aquarium needs a good cover.

The marbled lyretail, Fundulopanchax marmoratus, is a rare killifish endemic to Cameroon, found in a single area of coastal rainforest. It inhabits small streams and ponds and occurs only in permanent water, so it is not an annual species. It needs cooler temperatures than most killifishes and is best kept in a species tank.

Fundulopanchax scheeli is a killifish from Cameroon and Nigeria, living in small streams and ponds in a few areas of coastal rainforest. It occurs only in permanent water and is not an annual species. Very peaceful and shy, it is easily outcompeted by more vigorous fish and needs carefully chosen tankmates.

The golden pheasant, Fundulopanchax sjostedti, is a large killifish from Nigeria and Cameroon, reaching 12 cm, found in swampy coastal rainforest. Adult males are admired for their colouration. It was formerly classified as Aphyosemion sjostedti, and much of the literature still uses that name. Several colour forms exist, including a smaller variety known as 'Dwarf Red'. Males are aggressive towards one another.

Fundulopanchax walkeri is a predatory killifish from the Ivory Coast and Ghana. It lives in small streams, swamps and ponds in coastal rainforest and forested savanna, and occurs as both an annual and a non-annual fish, so it can breed in permanent and temporary water. It needs cooler water than many killifishes, and will eat any fish that fits in its mouth. Some wild populations are threatened or extinct through rapid human development.

The diamond killifish, Fundulus xenicus, is a killifish native to the coastal waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico, from southern Florida to Texas. It lives in shallow lagoons, salt marshes and pools, usually in brackish water, and fares poorly with prolonged exposure to fresh water, so marine salt at 3-10 g/L is considered essential in the aquarium. Uncommon in the hobby, it is best kept on its own in a group of two or three females to each male.

The western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, is a livebearer native to Mexico and the southern USA. It has been introduced to over 60 countries to control mosquitoes, often with detrimental effects, since it also preys on small crustaceans and the eggs and young of other fishes. It was long thought to be the same species as G. holbrooki. Hyper-competitive and a notorious fin nipper, it is best kept in a species tank.

Garra arupi is a cyprinid from the upper Brahmaputra River basin in Arunachal Pradesh, northern India. It is sympatric with the congeners G. kempi and G. lissorynchus, and is told apart from them by scale and fin-ray counts, a transverse band of tubercles on the snout tip, and other characters. It grows to around 75 mm SL.

The rhino garra, Garra bicornuta, is a cyprinid from the Tunga River in the upper Krishna drainage, Karnataka, southern India. No other Garra is known to have a pair of rostral processes, which males develop and hold erect when sparring. A blue opercular spot ringed with gold blotches also identifies it. It is traded as 'Tunga garra' or 'lionhead garra', and can be territorial, especially at feeding time.

Garra bispinosa is a cyprinid known only from its type locality, the Daying Jiang in the Irrawaddy basin, Yunnan Province, China. It is distinguished from other Garra in Southeast Asia and China by a quadrate proboscis on the snout, each lobe tipped with a single large tubercle. Nothing specific is recorded of its habitat.

Garra borneensis is a cyprinid endemic to northern and western Borneo, in Kalimantan, Brunei, Sabah and Sarawak. No other member of the genus is known from the island. An obligate dweller of swiftly-flowing streams and headwaters, it lives in clear, oxygen-saturated water over gravel, rocks and bedrock carpeted with biofilm.

Garra dampaensis is a cyprinid known only from the Seling River in the Dampa tiger reserve, Mizoram, northeastern India. The Seling belongs to the Karnaphuli drainage. It has been collected from clear, shallow, moderately fast-flowing streams with rocky substrates, and is recognised among Indian Garra partly by a W-shaped black band across the middle of the caudal fin.

The panda garra (Garra flavatra) is a stream-dwelling cyprinid endemic to the Rakhine Yoma, or Arakan, mountain range in western Myanmar. It reached the hobby in 2005 and is traded as the 'panda', 'clown', 'banded butterfly' or 'rainbow' garra, sometimes incorrectly as a loach. Colour pattern varies considerably between individuals. It has been bred commercially in Myanmar since 2008.

Garra fuliginosa is a cyprinid from the Mekong basin in Thailand, Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia, and the Chao Phraya and Mae Klong in Thailand. It tends to inhabit swiftly-flowing headwaters and tributaries with clear, oxygen-saturated water. Like other Garra it has a lower lip modified to form a mental adhesive disc for clinging to surfaces. The body is dark with random lighter scales.

The Cardamom garra (Garra hughi) is a cyprinid from the Anamalai, Cardamom, Palani and Ashambu Hills of the Western Ghats, southern India. It appears occasionally in the ornamental trade, where it may be labelled 'chocolate algae eater'. The flanks are grey and the belly yellowish-white, with a conspicuous dark lateral band running to the caudal-fin base. It inhabits swiftly-flowing headwaters and tributaries.

Garra kalpangi is a small cyprinid known only from the Kalpangi River, a Brahmaputra tributary in the Himalayan foothills of Arunachal Pradesh, India. It grows to around 75 mm SL and has two pairs of barbels and a weakly developed proboscis on the snout, a feature it shares with G. gravelyi, G. rotundinasus and G. elongata. Like other Garra it has a lower lip modified to form an adhesive disc.