Results for “apple-snail”

The snail-crusher hap, Trematocranus placodon, is a large cichlid endemic to Lake Malawi, where it inhabits shallow water. A molluscivore, it feeds mainly on snails, crushing their shells with specially developed pharyngeal teeth. It suits the larger Malawian community but is not often seen for sale. Males are territorial and aggressive towards one another.

The two-striped dwarf cichlid, Apistogramma bitaeniata, ranges across the Peruvian, Colombian and Brazilian Amazon, from the Marañón to the Tapajós. Also known as the banded dwarf cichlid, it occurs in several colour forms depending on locality, loosely grouped as 'red', 'blue', 'orange' and 'yellow' in the hobby. Many locality names are in use for these forms, and several are regularly applied incorrectly.

Apistogramma paulmuelleri (A52) is a dwarf cichlid apparently endemic to Loreto, Peru, described from a forest stream near the Iquitos to Nauta road. It has been traded as A. sp. 'Apache', a name also applied to other, non-conspecific Apistogramma. Since 2009 parts of the type locality stream have been degraded by removal of riparian vegetation.

The two spot astyanax, Astyanax bimaculatus, is a characid ranging from Panama through most of the Amazon and Orinoco basins. It lives in a wide variety of biotopes, from swiftly-flowing rivers and streams to ponds, ditches and reservoirs. The name is currently applied to what is considered a species complex of at least four taxa, and aquarium fish most often arrive as contaminants among shipments of other species.

Bagarius bagarius is a sisorid catfish with a wide but disjointed recorded range, from the Indus in Pakistan east to the Mekong and Malay Peninsula. Its identity is confused: the name has been widely applied to a small fish said to reach only 200 mm SL, but it may be the only Bagarius in the Indian subcontinent, in which case it can reach 2 metres. It is mostly collected from fast, turbulent rapids in larger rivers, where it shelters among boulders, and is best kept alone.

Barilius canarensis is a cyprinid from southwestern India, known with certainty only from the Netravathi and Tungabhadra river systems in Karnataka. Its name has historically been applied in the trade to B. ardens and B. malabaricus, and it was redescribed in 2015. Two rows of bluish-green spots and broad white margins on the dorsal and anal fins distinguish it. It inhabits well-oxygenated, fast-flowing rivers and streams.

The big white spot pleco, Baryancistrus sp. L142, is an undescribed suckermouth catfish from the rio Tapajós in Pará state, Brazil. It appears restricted to a short stretch of the river between Itaituba and Pimenta, in shallow, fast-flowing, warm water. The species is also traded as 'snowball pleco', a name first applied to Hypancistrus inspector and now used for several similar white- or yellow-spotted fishes. Males become highly intolerant of conspecifics as they age.

The butterfly loach, Beaufortia kweichowensis, is a hillstream loach from the Xi Jiang (West River) system in southern China. In many countries it is the most common gastromyzontid in the shops, one of several loaches traded as 'butterfly loach', 'Hong Kong plec' or 'Chinese hillstream loach' regardless of species. The name B. leveretti is often applied to it. It needs clean, well-oxygenated, fast-flowing water, and 16 to 24 °C is recommended.

Channa burmanica is a snakehead that appears endemic to the headwaters of the Ayeyarwady in northern Myanmar, known only from the Mali Hka drainage. It is exceptionally rare in the aquarium trade, and its name has been applied to other snakeheads, including an unidentified fish known as C. sp. 'fire and ice'. It lacks pelvic fins, and aquarium specimens suggest orangey-brown patches between the eye and upper lip are typical.

The rainbow characodon, Characodon lateralis, is a goodeid putatively restricted to springs below the El Saltito waterfall in Durango, Mexico. Populations above the waterfall in the upper Río Mezquital appear to be the congener C. audax, and the names 'rainbow goodeid' and 'red prince' have been applied to both. Endangered in the wild, each population differs in colour and shape and should be kept separately in aquaria, never mixed with the aquarium strain of unclear origin.

Copella nattereri is a small lebiasinid widespread in the middle and upper Amazon drainage in Peru and Brazil. It is sometimes traded as C. sp. 'red line', 'spotted tetra' or C. nigrofasciata, and its name was long applied to C. callolepis and C. meinkeni. Of the three it alone has a dark lateral stripe, and it has no more than three rows of red spots on the flanks. It inhabits forest streams and flooded forest.

The silver tiger perch, Datnioides polota, is a tiger perch widely distributed in southeastern Asia, from India and Bangladesh east to Indonesia. Mostly found in brackish habitats such as estuaries, mangroves and coastal lagoons, it has a highly variable colour pattern with up to 7 dark bars. The name D. quadrifasciatus is sometimes applied to it, but that name is a junior homonym and polota takes precedence.

The Mekong tiger perch, Datnioides undecimradiatus, is known only from the middle and lower Mekong basin in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam. An efficient, largely piscivorous predator of large, deep lowland rivers, it is marked with 4 relatively thin dark bars. The names 'Siamese tiger fish' and 'gold datnoid' are sometimes applied to it, but more typically belong to D. pulcher.

Devario aequipinnatus is a striped devario from hill streams in northeastern India, Bangladesh and Nepal. It is recognised by three straight dark stripes along each side, of which the middle one is widest. The name was long applied to almost any striped Devario, including the commercially bred giant danio, which is covered here under D. malabaricus.

Lamprologus callipterus is a shell-brooding cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika, in which males grow many times larger than females. Males must be large enough to carry snail shells and females small enough to fit inside them, and in nature the nests of large males can measure several metres across. Males are territorial and aggressive, and the species is not very popular in the hobby because of its relatively drab colouration and aggressive nature.

Lamprologus kungweensis is a shell-dwelling cichlid endemic to Lake Tanganyika, where it is found only in Kungwe Bay. The gold colour on top of the eye separates it from similar species such as L. hecqui, and it has a black spot towards the back of the dorsal fin. A territorial shell brooder, it digs in the sand and needs more empty snail shells than there are fish. It is not often seen in the hobby.

Lamprologus speciosus is a shell-brooding cichlid endemic to the south-western end of Lake Tanganyika. Very similar to L. ocellatus, it often carries the trade name 'black ocellatus', and it lives alongside L. stappersi in nature. Males are much larger than females, and it breeds quite easily in snail shells that females bury until only the entrance is visible.

The golden vampire plec, Leporacanthicus heterodon, is a suckermouth catfish from the Rio Xingu basin in Brazil. It lives in rapids and other fast-flowing waters. The 'vampire' name refers to the two large teeth in the upper jaw shared by the genus, probably used to grip prey such as snails.

The imperial flower loach, Leptobotia elongata, is a large botiid loach native to the middle and upper Yangtze River in China. Growing to 400 to 500 mm SL, it has declined drastically in the wild through damming, pollution and habitat degradation, and it is rare in the aquarium trade and prohibitively expensive when available. Also known as the 'royal clown' loach, a name since applied to the smaller L. pellegrini, it is a species for the specialist able to house it long term.

Leptobotia pellegrini is a botiid loach from southern China, described from Sichuan province and also known from the Pearl River (Zhu Jiang) basin. Often traded as 'royal clown loach', a name also applied to L. elongata, it differs from that species chiefly in adult size, reaching around 200 mm SL against 500 mm. It is also more slender with a darker head, and its relatively wide distribution probably explains why it is commoner in the hobby.