Prefers a dimly-lit aquarium with plenty of cover in the form of live plants, driftwood branches, terracotta pipes, plant pots, etc., arranged to form a network of nooks, crannies, and shaded spots.

Surface vegetation such as Ceratopteris spp. is also appreciated and makes the fish less inclined to conceal themselves.

Type locality is ‘Palembang, Sumatra, Indonesia’, but this species is widely-distributed throughout much of Southeast Asia including major river systems in Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam and Peninsular Malaysia plus the Greater Sunda Islands of Sumatra, Borneo and Java.

It’s been extensively recorded from the Mekong, Cha…

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.

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).

This species is so ubiquitous across its natural range that it’s often referred to simply as ‘common barb’. Basic adult colour pattern consists of a small, dark spot at the base of the dorsal-fin origin and another on the caudal peduncle but overall appearance varies somewhat depending on origin, with the anterior dark spot enlarged ventrally forming a bar or posterior spot extending into the caudal-fin, for example. The spots may also appear darker or lighter in some individuals.

In the aquarium trade this species may also be seen on sale as ‘skinhead barb’. As with others in the genus little has been written regarding its captive care but it makes a peaceful and unusual addition to larger aquaria. The best way of obtaining it may be to keep an eye on shipments of wild fishes from Indochina and the Greater Sunda Islands as it’s rarely imported in large numbers and most often arrives as bycatch.

This species is occasionally marketed as ‘Burmese Rainbow Barb’ in the ornamental trade. others may have been exported in small numbers or as bycatch among shipments of other species.

It was referred to as Mystacoleucus marginatus for decades, but that name is a simultaneous subjective synonym of M. obtusirostris following Kottelat (2013).

This species is also known by the vernacular ‘jungle perch’ or ‘sidebar barb’ and should not be considered an aquarium subject in all but the most extreme circumstances since it can grow to over 2 feet in length, weigh in excess of 5 kg and is a powerful, pelagic predator. It’s also a popular sport fish with a reputation for striking hard.

P. apogon has formerly been placed within the genera Kryptopterus, Micronema (Rainboth, 1996) and more recently Phalacronotus (Ferraris, 2007) and is an important food fish across much of its native range.

It’s very similar to P. micronema but can be told apart by its longer head (HL fits 4.6± 5.3 times in…

Has been recorded in fast-flowing environments but most commonly associated with peat swamp forests and associated blackwater streams.

Many such habitats have suffered degradation of some kind but in unaltered cases the dense canopy of branches above means very little light penetrates the surface of such environments, and riparian vegetation also tends to grow thickly.