Adult patterning of the different geographical forms can vary considerably though young specimens all possess 5 solid dark bars on each flank and are often confused with those species exhibiting a similar juvenile pattern, particularly B. kubotai. However the horizontal dark bars on the flanks in B. kubotai typically split at quite a young age and/or develop horizontally-orientated ‘peaks’ whereas those in B. histrionica remain solid for longer and the central bar usually has a pale spot at the top so forms a ‘y’ shape.

This fish is usually traded as A. elongatus but that species appears endemic to higher altitude waters of the Brahmaputra drainage in Darjeeling District which borders Jalpaiguri to the north east. These flow down from the Sivalik Hills whereas the Raidak I originates in Bhutan. Only three species of Aborichthys have been officially described to date meaning this is likely to represent an undescribed species. It was pictured in Tekriwal and Rao (1999) under the name 'A. bijulensis' but…

According to Kottelat (1990) the chief distinguishing characters for the genus are: possession of 9-18½ branched dorsal-fin rays; colour pattern without black basal caudal bar, but with an ocellus at upper base of caudal-fin; upper lip with or without several rows of papillae; lower lip with a broad median interruption and a widened, papillated pad on each side.

This species may be seen listed as a member of Nemacheilus or the nomen nudum Noemacheilus in older literature and is sometimes sold as 'red tailed, striped sand loach' or 'red tailed squirrel loach'.

Only two other Aborichthys have been described to…

This species isn’t common in the trade but occasional specimens may be found among shipments of wild caught fishes from northeast India, and it’s sometimes seen on sale as ‘pan…

The preciose function of the secondary rostrum remains unknown; some have suggested it may have some hydro-mechanical purpose but it’s perhaps more likely related to reproductiion and/or social interactions. Only males develop prominent rostra…

Endemic to the Ganges and Brahmaputra river basins and thus occurs in northern India, Nepal and Bangladesh. Type locality is ‘the Yamuna River, and northern rivers of Behar and Bengal’.

The distribution of the genus as a whole is interesting because these fish occupy the area that geographically separates Indian and Southeast Asia barbs and it has been theorised that they may represent an evolutionary ‘link’ species…

C. latius isn't often available in the trade but makes an excellent alternative to more commonly-offered members of the genus should you be lucky enough to find some. Shipments of similar-looking Indian Garra species such as G. mullya or G. gotyla sometimes contain the odd specimen. It exhibits morphological differences when compared with other members of the genus and may be assigned to a separate taxon at some point in the future.

This undescribed species has been available in the aquarium hobby since 2006. It may also be seen on sale with the name Badis sp. 'flame dot' in reference to the body scales which in males possess a bright red centre or B. sp. 'red' as it appeared in a 2007 German magazine article. It appears to belong to the B. corycaeus group of species (see below).

Since the species Badis singenensis was…

Like most badids this species is poorly documented and has yet to find significant popularity in the aquarium hobby. It is easily confused with B. assamensis at first glance as the body patterning of the two is almost identical but can be distinguished by its slightly smaller adult size, noticeably elongated, more well-developed jaw profile and some other, mostly internal, meristic characters.