At one locality in the Kalindhi drainage the water was clear, 1 m at its deepest point and flowing either side of a small check dam, below which the flow was stronger though still not particularly fast. The substrate was composed of rocks and cobbles with a thick layer of fine silt and sand above the dam. There were no aquatic plants but marginal grasses and shrubs were growing to the margins with some submerged roots protruding into the water.

Within this assemblage P. manipurensis is most similar to ‘P.‘ meingangbii and P. padamya by virtue of the fact that males in all three possess orange-red pigmentation on the flanks and caudal-fin.

It can be told apart most easily by the fact it possesses a relatively small, spot-like humeral marking, vs. a vertically-elongated, relatively large humeral marking in both the other species.

This species is not often seen in the aquarium hobby but occasionally exported as bycatch among shipments of other fishes. It was described as a subspecies of the closely-related ‘P.‘ binotatus but is currently considered distinct on a tentative basis as per Ng and Tan (1999) who stated it is ‘likely’ that the two represent extreme colour forms of a single, variably-patterned species.

This species occasionally appears in the aquarium hobby, but the trade is largely reliant on commercially-produced ‘tiger barbs’ of questionable origin.

It is distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: lateral line complete; 14 circumpeduncular scales; 21-23+2 scales in the lateral row; dorsal-fin black with red outer band; pelvic fins red.

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.

B. aurotaeniatus is uncommon in the aquarium trade. Following Kottelat (1998) it has a single pair of maxillary barbels, a complete lateral line and colour pattern usually comprising four small, vertically-orientated black markings on the flanks (located above anterior lateral line origin, below dorsal-fin origin, below posterior end of dorsal-fin base and on caudal peduncle, respectively) and one on the dorsal surface, below dorsal-fin origin.

Probably a micropredator feeding on small insects, worms, crustaceans and other zooplankton in nature. In the aquarium it will accept dried foods of a suitable size but should not be fed these exclusively. Daily meals of small live and frozen fare such as Daphnia, Artemia, and suchlike will result in the best colouration and encourage the fish to come into breeding condition.

It’s a schooling species by natur…

Native to parts of southern Borneo, eastern Sumatra, Singapore, and the Malay Peninsula. In Singapore it’s considered highly-endangered and is now restricted to the Central Catchment nature reserve.

Type locality is ‘Tuluk and Gunung Sahilan, Sumatra, Indonesia’ which appears to correspond to localities within the Kampar River drainage of which the former is now known as Teluk Meranti and is o…

The type series was purchased from a market in Jambi province, eastern Sumatra, Indonesia and this species is also known from neighbouring Riau province plus the island province of Bangka. On Sumatra it may be restricted to the Indragiri and Batang Hari river systems.

Inhabits peat swamp forests and associated black water streams in which the water is typically stained brown with humic acids and other chemicals released by decaying organic material. The dissolved mineral content is generally negligible and the pH can be as…

Although sometimes referred to by the vernacular name ‘big spot barb’ this species is better known in the aquarium hobby as ‘clown barb’. It has been widely misidentified as the congener B. everetti, a distinct and uncommonly-traded species from Borneo and thus appears under that name in the majority of available literature.

The two are quite easy to tell apart, with B. everetti an overall les…