Every species

Garra mirofrontis is a cyprinid native to the upper Mekong (Lancangjiang) basin in Yunnan province, China. It is characterised by a transverse groove on the snout directly in front of the eyes, and a bifurcate proboscis with a conical keratinised tubercle at each tip. A typical habitat is a strongly-flowing river about 25 m across with a predominantly rocky substrate.

Garra mullya is a cyprinid endemic to and widespread within peninsular India, in rivers including the Tapti, Narmada, Godavari, Krishna and Cauvery. It has been recorded from flowing headwater streams to low altitude main river channels, including polluted stretches, and at least some populations migrate upstream to breed. Wild fish feed on algae, diatoms and organic detritus.

Garra nambulica is a small cyprinid known only from tributary streams of the Nambul River, in the Chindwin basin of Manipur state, northeastern India. It has a squarish head, no proboscis or transverse groove on the snout, and a W-shaped blue-black band on the caudal fin. It grows to around 65 mm SL.

Garra notata is a cyprinid known with certainty from the Salween basin in Myanmar, China and Thailand, and the Tenasserim drainage. Records from the Western Ghats of southern India are unlikely to be accurate, and a report from the upper Irrawaddy needs confirmation. It lacks both a transverse groove and a proboscis on the snout, and has dark spots at the base of the dorsal-fin rays.

Garra orientalis is a cyprinid widely distributed in southern China, with records from the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) and Min Jiang watersheds. Earlier records from the Salween and upper Irrawaddy are now known to represent other species. It shares a forward-projecting, trilobed proboscis with G. salweenica and G. fuliginosa but lacks their dark blotch on the caudal peduncle. It tends to inhabit rocky, swiftly-flowing headwaters.

Garra poecilura is a small cyprinid known only from a minor Irrawaddy tributary draining the eastern Rakhine Yoma, western Myanmar. The largest specimen in the type series measured 44.5 mm. The type locality is a clear stream 1-2 metres wide in bamboo forest, flowing over rocks and gravel. It has a weakly-defined dark band or series of blotches on the flank and two vertical rows of black spots on the caudal fin.

Garra qiaojiensis is a cyprinid known only from a handful of localities in the upper Irrawaddy (Yiluowadi Jiang) basin in Yunnan province, China. It may also occur in northern Myanmar, and was collected from clear, flowing mountain streams over rock and gravel. It is similar to G. rotundinasus but has a quadrate, heavily tuberculated proboscis, a longer head and a deeper body. It grows to around 175 mm SL.

Garra rakhinica is a small cyprinid known only from its type locality, a minor stream on the western slope of the Rakhine Yoma, western Myanmar. In March 1998 that stream was reduced to a series of interconnected pools of clear water over gravel and rocks, with no aquatic vegetation. The body is almost uniform greyish, with a dark spot behind the upper edge of the opercle and white tips to the caudal-fin lobes.

Garra rotundinasus is a cyprinid native to the Yiluowadi Jiang, the upper Irrawaddy river system, in Yunnan province, southern China. Before its description it was confused with a congener now accepted to occur only in the Salween and Manipur basins. Both have a weakly-developed proboscis, but G. rotundinasus has a broadly rounded snout and more lateral line scales. It grows to around 185 mm SL.

The doctor fish (Garra rufa) is a cyprinid from the eastern Mediterranean and Middle East, from Turkey and Israel to the Tigris-Euphrates in Iran. Fish sold as G. rufa are marketed worldwide for their questionable ability to remove dead skin, but the species likely represents a complex of closely-related taxa and it is unclear which the traded fish are. Strictly not a tropical species, it is kept at 14-20 °C.

Garra salweenica is a cyprinid found throughout the Salween River system in Yunnan province, China, Myanmar and western Thailand. It has a brownish body with longitudinal stripes on the rear half, a trilobed proboscis on the blunt snout, and a dark marking at the tip of the upper caudal-fin lobe. It tends to inhabit swiftly-flowing headwaters and tributaries, and grows to around 175 mm SL.

The Burmese red-tailed garra, Garra sp. 'redtail', is a cyprinid from headwaters of the Salween basin around the border between Myanmar and Thailand. A putatively undescribed species, it is often sold as G. sp. 'burmanicus' and first appeared in the trade in 2005. A flexible, proboscis-like rostral process between the eyes becomes erect during territorial conflicts or courtship. It inhabits shady, fast-flowing stretches and riffles.

Garra spilota is a small cyprinid probably endemic to the Rakhine Yoma, or Arakan, mountains in western Myanmar, and occasionally seen in the trade. It has reddish fins, a series of dark blotches on the flanks and an unusual upper lip lined with unculi, and differs from the similar G. flavatra in some meristic counts. It is less territorial with conspecifics than some Garra, and a group of 3-4 is the minimum.

Garra surendranathanii is a cyprinid known only from the Chalakkudy, Periyar and Pamba river basins in Kerala, southwestern India. It has appeared in the aquarium trade on a handful of occasions, marketed as 'green algae-eater'. The body is elongate and shallow, with black-edged scales and a black spot at the upper extremity of the opercle. It grows to around 150 mm SL.

The silver hatchetfish (Gasteropelecus levis) is a freshwater hatchetfish found only in the lower Amazon basin in the state of Pará, Brazil. It spends almost all of its time at or just below the surface, and can leap from the water and glide for several metres to catch flying insects or escape predators. It lives in open water of larger igarapés, streams and floodplain lakes.

The common hatchetfish (Gasteropelecus sternicla) is a freshwater hatchetfish from South America, described from Suriname. Its distribution is questionable, with records from the middle Amazon, Venezuela, Guyana, French Guiana and the Río Paraguay basin. It spends almost all of its time at or just below the surface. The most frequently seen of the silver hatchetfishes, it is peaceful but nervous and shy.

The elegant cory, Gastrodermus elegans, long known as Corydoras elegans, is an armoured catfish from the western Amazon basin in Peru, Ecuador and Brazil. Unlike most congeners it spends a fair amount of time away from the substrate, often forming groups in midwater. It gives its name to the unofficial 'C. elegans group' of similar species, which includes G. nanus and G. undulatus plus many C- and CW-numbered fishes of uncertain status.

Gastrodermus gracilis, long known as Corydoras gracilis, is a small armoured catfish from the central Amazon basin in Brazil, known from the rio Juriti in Pará to the rio Juma in Amazonas. Sometimes called 'shy cory' in the hobby, it has a lightish body with a dark arched stripe along the upper flank, a pattern shared with Brochis arcuata, C. narcissus and Hoplisoma urucu. Only in G. gracilis does the stripe end at the base of the upper caudal-fin rays. It apparently favours minor tributaries with dense riparian vegetation and acidic, tannin-stained water.

The Guaporé cory, Gastrodermus guapore, long known as Corydoras guapore, is an armoured catfish endemic to the rio Guaporé (Río Iténez) in northeastern Bolivia and western Brazil. Unlike most congeners it forms aggregations in midwater and spends much of its time away from the substrate, with a large eye, a more terminal mouth and a strongly forked caudal fin to match. It partly feeds on pelagic zooplankton, so live Daphnia and Artemia belong in its diet. Similar species such as Hoplisoma simile lack these adaptations.

The tail-spot pygmy cory, Gastrodermus hastatus, long known as Corydoras hastatus, is a tiny armoured catfish with a wide range across the Amazon and Río Paraguay basins. It is known from Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and northeastern Argentina. Unlike most congeners it swims in midwater, forming mixed schools with similarly patterned small characids such as Serrapinnus kriegi. It is frequently confused with G. pygmaeus, but has a dark, roughly diamond-shaped spot on the caudal peduncle where G. pygmaeus has a dark lateral stripe.