This species is almost unheard of in the aquarium trade though may occasionally be exported among shipments of wild fishes from Sumatra.

It’s closely-related to K. bichirris but is told apart by presence (vs. absence) of a prominent, dark lateral stripe on each flank.

Kryptopterus species are found only in Southeast Asia and the genus has been consi…

Generally peaceful though it may predate on smaller fishes and is somewhat timid so does not compete well with much larger, robust or otherwise boisterous species.

Peaceful, comparably-sized cyprinids, loaches and other catfishes perhaps constitute the best options but be sure to research your choices thoroughly prior to purchase.

Type locality is ‘Central Sumatra, Indonesia’, with additional records existing from Cambodia (Mekong drainage), Peninsular Malaysia (Perak River), Sumatra (from the Siak River, Riau province to the Musi River, South Sumatra (Sumatera Selatan) province) and Borneo (south and westwards from the Belait river basin in Brunei Darussalam to the Sambas drainage in West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat) province, Indonesia and probably in Sarawak, Malaysia).

The type locality is a karst pool around 30-40 m in length, 10m in width and up to 4 m deep.

It contains still, transparent water, has a single inflow and outflow, is surrounded by rainforest and in September 2010 the water temperature was 21.5°C/70.7°F.

The habitat is used by locals as a bathing pool and sympatric species included a nat…

This fish has been widely available in the aquarium trade in recent years and is sometime referred to by the invented name P. ‘sintangensis’.

It displays a close resemblance to P. bintan and another unidentified fish known to aquarists as P. sp. ‘blue line’ although the inner bluish bands in the dorsal, anal and caudal fins are perhaps a little narrower in P. sp. ‘Sentang’ than the other two.

This species has occasionally been traded on a commercial basis and was known as P. sp. ‘Manis Mata’ prior to description, with the latter apparently referring to a location some 100 km away from the type locality where the fish do not occur.

It’s said to be slightly easier to maintain than the majority of congeners and is therefore a recommended choice for those ne…

This species has occasionally appears in the aquarium trade in substantial quantities but is not an easy species to maintain in captivity and often susceptible to disease post-import.

It’s sometimes sold as ‘ornate licorice gourami’.

It’s among the smallest members of the gen…

This species is now considered endemic to Java but has been confused with the congeners H. gracilis (from eastern Peninsular Malaysia), H. velox (Sumatra) and H. bongan (Borneo) in the past, while the population formerly considered to inhabit northwestern Peninsular Malaysia has been described as H. divaricatus (Ng and Kottelat, 2013).

Endemic to Central Kalimantan (Kalimantan Tengah) province, Borneo, Indonesia although the full extent of its range remains somewhat unclear.

Initial collections were from the southwestern tip of the province, in the Jelai Bila river basin near Sukamara and Lamand basin close to Pangkalan Bun, both of which are tributaries within the Arut drainage, while it’s subsequently been recorded in the Benipah river system further east.

This species is said to be slightly easier to maintain than the majority of congeners and is therefore a recommended choice for those new to maintaining Parosphromenus spp. in the aquarium.

It’s occasionally available on a commercial basis and we’ve seen it traded as ‘moonspot licorice gourami’ in the past.

There exist at least three colour forms on…