Known from the upper Brahmaputra River basin in Arunachal Pradesh state, northern India, with records from the lower Divang Valley and Lohit District.

The type series was collected from a stream-like tributary of the Chalakkudy River at an altitude of 483 m AMSL. In March 1996 the habitat measured around 15 m across and comprised shallow (~ 20 cm deep) water flowing slowly through moist deciduous forest over a substrate of pebbles and boulders.

This species is diagnosed by the following combination of characters: body moderate sized; head squarish; no proboscis or transverse groove on snout; mental disc length 96.9% its own width; pre…

This species is endemic to and widespread within peninsular India, where it has been recorded from the states of Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

It is thus found in numerous river systems of which some of the most important include the Tapti, Narmada, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, and Cauvery.

G. kalpangi is distinguished from other Garra species from the Himalayan foothills by the following combination of characters: two pairs of barbels; a weakly developed proboscis represented by a squarish area anterior to the nostrils; 16 circ…

G. hughi is occasionally available in the ornamental trade and may be labelled ‘chocolate algae eater’.

The original diagnosis of this species by Silas states that it can be identified by the following combination of characters: elongate body form; broad head…

This species can be told apart from Indian congeners by the following combination of characters: no transverse groove or proboscis on the snout; tip of dorsal fin falcate; long axillary scale present at the base of pelvic fin, reaching base of last pelvic fin ray; 27–29 lateral-line scales, 10–11 regularly arranged predorsal scales; W-shaped black band across middle of caudal fin; presence of scales on the abdomen.

Found in various types of habitat but shows a marked preference for shallow, slow-moving and standing waters such as rice paddies and other temporally-inundated environments with dense aquatic vegetation.

As far as we know this species has not been bred in aquaria although Pete Liptrot and Paul Dixon of the Bolton Museum Aquarium, UK, have achieved great success with an unidentified congener. They first noticed fry from their group of 24 adults after moving the school to a dedicated set-up planted with mature Java moss and have since rewarded with regular batches of fry.

Despite being a wholly unsuitable aquarium subject, C. idella is often traded as such, with an albino form having been developed specifically for the ornamental market.

Individuals which have outgrown their aquarium or pond should never be released into natural waters, either, since this species has proven capable of causing serious environmental damage under a wide range of climatic conditions.