Recorded from numerous river basins in Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, and Peninsular Malaysia, including the Mekong, Chao Phraya, Mae Khlong, Chanthaburi, Tapi, Golok, Terengganu, Pahang, Endau, and Muar.

Type locality is ‘Kratt, southeastern Siam’, which corresponds to modern-day Trat Province, Thailand.

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 was referred to as its congener Leptobarbus hoevenii for a number of decades and continues to be misidentified as such in the aquarium hobby, with both species traded under the same name.

It is a popular sport fish in its native countries and is wholly unsuitable for private aquaria. Unfortunately it is…

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.

Known from the lower Mekong basin in Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, the Chao Phraya watershed in central Thailand, and may occur in smaller river systems between.

Type locality is ‘Thu-dâu-môt, Vietnam’.

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…

This species is distinguished from its Australian congeners S. jardinii and S. leichardti by possessing a lower number of lateral line scales (21-26 vs 32-36).

It occurs naturally in a number of colour forms of which three were elevated to distinct species status in 2003, but the current majority view is that all represent S. formosus pending a detailed review. Kottelat (2013) mentions that the red form may…

This species is also referred to as ‘Asian knifefish’ or ‘ghost knifefish’ in the aquarium trade in the aquarium trade but arguably has no place in the ornamental hobby given its adult size and specialised requirements.

It is sometimes confused with the African species Xenomystus nigri but is easily told apart by its larger adult size and presence (vs. absence) of a dorsal fin.

This species is among the most well-known fishes in the aquarium trade but juveniles are typically being offered for sale with little to no information regarding temperament, eventual size, and potential age in excess of 15 years.

Wild examples are not currently traded, with all of those seen on sale produced on a commercial basis.

Butis spp. are largely nocturnal ambush predators with cryptic patterning to help them blend in with their surroundings. They can also lighten and darken their body colouration to an extent, have a habit of aligning themselves with solid surfaces whether horizontal, vertical, or inverted, and often swim in an upside-down position.

The genus is usually included in the family Eleotridae of which members are often referred to…