Danios & relatives

The genus Amblypharyngodon currently contains five valid species, and A. chulabhornae can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: 42-50 (vs. 50-79) scales in the lateral row; lateral line incomplete with 6-7 (vs. 7-23) perforated scales; 4-5 scales on a transverse row between the lateral line and pelvic-fin base. All members of the genus lack barbels.

Endemic to the Rakhine Yoma/Arakan mountains in Rakhine state, western Myanmar; this range forms a natural barrier which cuts the state off from the remainder of the country. It was originally collected from a handful of streams and rivers of the western, interior, slopes of which the type specimens originated from the Kananmae Chaung, a coastal rivulet draining into the Bay of Bengal (Kullander and Fa...

Doubts remain whether B. albolineata is representative of a single species or a group of similarly-patterned, closely-related fish, and the form from Chantaburi province in eastern Thailand was revalidated as B. pulchra (formerly Danio pulcher Smith, 1931) by Kottelat (2013). The status of the currently invalid Danio tweedei (Brittan, 1955) from Kedah state, northern Peninsular Malaysia may also be in question, since fish from that area are clearly...

To date known only from the Jaintia Hills district, Meghalaya state, northeastern India meaning its natural waters are part of the Brahmaputra River system. The type locality is given as 'Tre Rangriang, Jowai' in the description paper, but we've been unable to locate this on any map. The paratypes were collected at 'Thlu Muwi', which probably refers to the ancient stone bridge built over the Muwi stream, a place popular with tourists due to the nearby Muwi waterfalls.

Can be hard to find in aquarium shops, and there has been some confusion surrounding its identity in the past. Base body colour is either powdery-blue or yellow-green (see 'Distribution') and this continues into the caudal-fin, while pinkish-yellow lateral stripes extend from opercle to caudal peduncle.

The genus Danio contains only the type species, D. dangila, separated on the basis of its larger size and the shape of the caudal-fin, which in adults is only slightly emarginate or even truncate in shape, a feature it shares only with Tinca tinca (the common tench) among other cyprinids. The remaining species, of which B. rerio is thought to be the most ancient, are included in the revalidated genus Brachydanio Weber & de Beaufort, 1916.

This species is very peaceful indeed and can be combined with many of the most popular fish in the hobby including other small cyprinids as well as tetras, livebearers, rainbowfishes, anabantoids, catfishes and loaches. As always when selecting a compatible community of...

B. rosea is a relatively recent addition to the aquarium trade but has proved very popular since it's colourful, hardy and usually quite cheap making it ideal for beginners. It's sometimes sold as 'purple passion danio'. It's very similar to B. albolineata sensu stricto but differs in several characters, notably the relatively slimmer body, shorter rostral barbels and lack of...

This potentially-undescribed species first became available in 2002, and males and females were marketed as 'Danio sp. hikari yellow' and 'D. sp. hikari blue', respectively. Subsequent DNA testing in the United States revealed them to be the same species and genetically distinct from the very similar B. kerri. It can be told apart as the central body (P) stripe always extends into the caudal fin whereas in B. kerri it terminates at the caudal peduncle. Only a single population of B. kerri was sampled in the stu...

Apparently discovered close to the coastal town of Gwa in Rakhine State, western Myanmar. Rakhine is largely cut off from the rest of the country by the Rakhine Yoma/Arakan mountains which form a natural barrier along its eastern side. Rakhine is located within a tropical monsoon region and has a pronounced rainy season between May and October, while at other times it can be quite dry. The streams thus swell in depth by a metre or mo...

Adult size is comparable to B. nigrofasciata, and in the description paper the authors hypothesise that the two are closely-related given they share other features such as similar barbel length (plus some additional merisitic counts), absent lateral line and spotted pelvic fins. The two are easy to tell apart, however, since in B. tinwini the P+1 stripe is composed of a series of spots (vs. solid), it possesses an indistinct P+2 str...

C. choprae has only been available since 2003 but has quickly established itself as one of the most popular small danios in the hobby. There has been some confusion regarding the correct spelling of the specific name with many resources listing it incorrectly as "choprai". Briefly, when Hora described the species he named it after a man, Dr B. N. Chopra, meaning that "choprai" is technically correct as under ICZN rules the specific name ought to follow the gender of the indiv...

Known only from a handful of streams in the upper Mali Hka river drainage, Ayeyarwaddy River system, near Putao township in the far north of Kachin state, northern Myanmar. Type locality is 'Nan Hto Chaung in Putao, about 1 mile from 46th regiment, close to rice mill'.

The type locality is an area of permanently-flooded grassland formed by the damming of a spring for agricultural purposes. The water is only around 30cm deep, transparent and supports dense growths of aquatic plants, mostly from the family Hydrocharitaceae which includes such genera as Elodea, Egeria and Blyxa. Sympatric species included Devario sondhii, a Microrasbora very similar to M. rubescens, an undescribed Yunnanilus known to aquarists as the 'rosy' loach and Channa harcourtbutleri.

It is currently the only valid member of the genus but it is possible that additional taxa exist, particularly in Myanmar, while a number of former species are contained within the Laubuka assemblage, to which C. cachius is closely related. Phylogenetic studies suggest the existence of a monophyletic clade consisting of the genera Devario, Chela, Laubuca, Microdevario and Microrasbora plus the genus Betadevario.

Described from Manipur state, northeastern India and also known from neighbouring Nagaland state. In the original description Hora refers to it as 'widely-distributed' in the region but during an assessment conducted by the IUCN in 2010 it was recorded only from a handful of localities and restricted to an area of less than 15,000 square kilometres. Most habitats lie within the Manipur river basin, including the tributary Iril and Khuga drainages, and the Di...

Type locality is given as 'Jiucheng, Yunnan Province, China' which could refer to one of several places with the same name in southwestern Yunnan. It's also been collected in Tengchong and Lianghe districts, Yingjiang county, and all known localities are within the Daying river (Dayingjiang) watershed, a major tributary of the larger Irrawaddy/Ayeyarwady river syst...

Ecological studies have revealed this species to be more of a generalist than its chiefly insectivorous congeners. Aquatic and terrestrial insects form a significant proportion of the diet, but substantial amounts of filamentous algae and diatoms are consumed with water mites, fish scales, isopods, nematodes and detritus also taken occasionally. In the aquarium it's largely unfu...

This species is frequently confused with the congener D. aequipinnatus auct. but their identitities are in a state of confusion, particularly that of the latter. There are however a handful of characters which separate these two nominal species from one another. D. malabaricus possesses a moderately deep body, 35-38 scales in the lateral se...

Appears endemic to tributaries of the Bhavani river system in the Nilgiri Hills of Tamil Nadu state, southern India including the Pykara, Avalanche and Kaity streams. Type locality is 'Ootacamund Lake, Pykara, Avelanche and Kaity streams, Neilgherry Hills, India', with the former now often shortened to Ooty Lake.

Probably restricted to western and southern Thailand and northern Peninsular Malaysia plus some small surrounding islands. In Thailand records exist from Surat Thani (Ko Samui island), Nakhon Si Thammarat, Ranong, Trang, Phuket, Ratchaburi, Kanchanaburi, and Mae Hong Son provinces while in Peninsular Malaysia it's been collected from Perak and Kedah states, including th...

The habitat near Hopong is an area of permanently-flooded grassland formed by the damming of a spring for agricultural purposes and is around 1,040 metres AMSL. The water is only around 30cm deep, transparent and supports dense growths of aquatic plants, mostly from the family Hydrocharitaceae which includes such genera as Elodea, Egeria and Blyxa.

This unidentified species was first collected in 2007 but very little is known about it. The vernacular name refers to the colour pattern on the body which resembles that of a giraffe, and it's known to be collected in Myanmar although its distribution and natural habitat remain a mystery.

Thrives in an aquarium set up to resemble a flowing stream or river with a substrate of variably-sized, water-worn rocks, sand, fine gravel and perhaps some small boulders. This can be further furnished with driftwood roots or branches, and while the majority of aquatic plants will fail to thrive in such surroundings hardy types such as Microsorum, Bolbitis or Anubias spp. can be grown attached to the décor.

Originally described as a member of Barilius (Annandale, 1918) but Howes (1980a) considered it more closely related to cheline cyprinids (Chela and Laubuca spp.) based on morphological characters and erected the genus Inlecypris for it (Howes, 1980b). Fang (2003) supported Howes' conclusions in her 2003 phylogenetic study of the genus Danio, hypothesising that Inlecypris and Chela together form a sister group to Devario.

This species is sometimes referred to as 'Hora danio' or Salween danio'. It is distinguished from similar-looking species by a combination of characters as follows: lateral line complete or incomplete with 22-33 pored scales; absence of infraorbital process; 7 branched dorsal-fin rays; usually 10 or 11 branched anal-fin rays; barbels absent or rudimentary; flank markings comprising a series of narrow vertical bars on the anterior portion of each flank, fol...

This species is also known as 'leaping barb' and was once quite common in the ornamental trade but is now seldom seen. It can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the following characters: bright blue spot on top of head; series of 4-5 short faint bars on anterior portion of body; 19-23½ branched anal-fin rays; body depth fits 2.1-2.9 times in SL.

It can be distinguished from other members of the genus by the following characters: lateral line absent or perforating only 2-5 scales; pharyngeal teeth hooked; body size small, not exceeding 30 mm SL; body depth less than 25 % SL; colour pattern comprising a dark bluish lateral stripe extending from the eye to the caudal peduncle, typically, but not always, forming 2-5 circular spots along its length.

Probably endemic to northern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Records from Sri Lanka, southern India, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and Indonesia appear to represent other species. Given the distribution of L. siamensis, it seems likely that many of the fish entering the aquarium trade are this species and not L. laubuca. The two species can be distinguished b...

Considered synonymous with the congener L. laubuca for a number of years, thus reports of that species from anywhere in Indochina actually refer to the current concept of L. siamensis. Given the distribution of L. siamensis, it seems likely that many of the fish entering the aquarium trade are also this species and not L. laubuca. The two species can be distinguished by...

The genus Microdevario was raised by Fang et al. (2009) after phylogenetic analyses revealed that some species formerly included in Microrasbora to be more closely allied with Devario and in need of reclassification. Microdevario is largely separated from Devario and other closely related genera such as Chela and Laubuca by virtue of internal characters but also the following: small adult size; anal and dorsal fins with concave-shaped distal margin; absence of barbels; absence of perforated scales; 9-10 branched anal-fin rays; 7 branched dorsal-fin rays; less abdominal than caudal vertebrae.

Apparently inhabits calm to moderately-flowing stretches of well-oxygenated headwaters and minor tributaries. Such habitats tend to comprise transparent water, substrates of sand, gravel, rocks, boulders, and patches of leaf litter, with submerged driftwood, roots of riparian vegetation, and aquatic vegetation in places.

Towards the Andaman Sea the lower part of the delta gives way to brackish mangrove swamps. The climate is wet, with annual precipitati0n of 1500 - 2500 mm, up to 90% of which falls between mid May and mid November, and warm with average air temperatures of 22 - 37 °C over the course of the year. At one locality M. nanus was collected in less then 30cm of water from an oxbow lake among floating Pistia-like vegetation and gra...

This is possibly an undescribed species and has been marketed as 'Asian Cardinal Rasbora', 'flame red rasbora', M. sp. 'rose blue line' or M. 'thuzari' in the ornamental trade. It differs from M. rubescens by its larger adult size, possession of a greenish to bluish lateral stripe, and lesser extent of orange pigmentation on the body. It also appears to represent a distinct genetic lineage (Collins et al., 2012).

This species may be seen on sale under various trade names including 'red-line dwarf rasbora', 'emerald dwarf rasbora', or 'red dwarf rasbora'. A similar-looking, apparently undescribed congener has been collected near the town of Hopong, also in Shan State. It differs from M. rubescens by possessing a greenish to bluish lateral stripe plus a larger adult size, and is traded as Microrasbora cf. rubescens, M. 'thuzari', M. sp. 'rose blue line', 'Asian Cardinal Rasbora', or 'flame red rasbora'.

This unidentified species has only appeared in the aquarium trade on a handful of occasions and it has been widely misidentified as Devario jayarami (Barman, 1984). It differs from D. jayarami by possessing 9-10 lateral bars which progressively increase in size posteriorly (vs. 12-13 bars which decrease in size posteriorly), 12 anal-fin rays (vs. 15-16) and a blunter head profile with a lack of convexity behind the head (vs. head profile conical with noticeable convexity behind the head).

As far as we know this species is yet to arrive to the international aquarium trade though it has been maintained by a handful of Indian aquarists. It's restricted geographical range and difficulty of collection mean it's unlikely to become available in numbers unless adopted by commercial breeders.

Typically inhabits small forest streams. In the Yan Khaw Chaung (Yan Khaw stream) it occurs alongside Devario xyrops, Garra rakhinica, G. vittatula, Xenentodon cancila, Sicyopterus fasciatus and unidentified species of Lepidocephalichthys and Channa (Fang and Kullander, 2009). When sampled during the dry season the habitat consisted of nothing more than a series of small, interconnected po...

At least two similar-looking fishes have been available in the aquarium trade; one, usually referred to as 'Danio sp redfin', resembles the striped form of B. kyathit but is a smaller fish and the red pigmentation in the fins is comparatively more intense. The other is also striped with red fins but grows larger; it's usually labelled as 'Danio sp. KP01' or 'Burmese zebra danio'. It remains unclear whether these are regional variants of B. kyathit or undescribed species.

This species was formerly included in the genus Microrasbora although it's long-been considered a danionin by certain authors, e.g., Kottelat and Witte (1999) and was placed within the genus Danio for a period. In the aquarium trade it's marketed under various names including 'emerald dwarf danio', 'thick band purple zebra danio' and 'cross-banded dwarf rasbora'.

In the Barak River drainage, which flows through the north-east Indian states of Nagaland and Assam before bifurcating at the Bangladesh border, symaptric species include Barilius bakeri, B. barna, B. bendelisis, B. dogarsinghi, Laubuca laubuca, Esomus danricus, Devario aequipinnatus, D. annandalei, D. devario, Rasbora daniconius, R. rasbora,...

This species is available in the trade on occasion and has been sold as Danionella sp. 'neon green' or 'flourescent green'. The specific name was inspired by its jaw morphology which according to current knowledge is unique among cypriniform fishes. Both upper and lower jaws contain a series of toothlike odontoid processes; these are only rudimentary in females but in males appear to form rows of teeth of which the front pair is large and fang-like. The upper fangs project th...

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.

The anatomical structure of miniaturised cyprinids can vary greatly; there are two putative groups with some species possessing intermediate features to some degree. The first contains those fishes which though small are essentially proportionally dwarfed versions of their larger relatives. The other includes those in which anatomical development stops at a point where adult still resemble a larval form of their larger ancestor, as in...

The type series was collected during the dry season from localities with varying gradient both within the Nam Leuk mainstream and smaller tributaries. In the tributaries the fish were found congregating in pools some of which were isolated on steep slopes. All habitats above Tad Leuk falls were characterised by clear to very clear water under forest cover while below the falls they were dominated by exposed basalt slabs with some underground water channels.

Type locality is 'Streamlets near Tangla, Darrang District, Assam, India', but records also exist from the Mahananda River in West Bengal state and other tributaries of the lower Brahmaputra river system, some of which originate in Bhutan. Further upstream it's been recorded in the Kalmoni riv...

This species is poorly known and first appeared in the hobby during 2005 but has rarely been seen since, probably because its natural waters lie outside the range of most commercial collectors. It can be distinguished by a combination of characters including: lateral line complete; infraorbital process absent; two pairs of short barbels; 8-9 branched dorsal fin rays; 12-13 branched anal fin rays; P stripe originating above pelvic fin and extending to en...

This species has mostly been collected from small (1-2 metres wide, 20-40 cm deep), moderate-to-swiftly-flowing streams with clear water, substrates of sand, gravel and rocks and no aquatic vegetation. Marginal vegetation was present in some cases, offering a degree of shade, and sympatric species included an unidentified Schistura sp., S. vinciguerrae, Misgurnus anguillicaudatus, Garra qiaojiensis,...

It can be further distinguished from other species in the genus by colour pattern consisting of a dark, horizontal P stripe originating around mid-body, where it's relatively faint, this becoming thicker and darker in the posterior portion of the body and terminating at the base of the caudal-fin. Among congeners it's most similar to D. chrysotaeniatus but that species lacks the infraorbital process, has three rows of pharyngeal teeth and the P stripe extends to the end of the caudal-fin rays.

This species is diagnosable from other members of the genus primarily by its unique colour pattern which consists of 7-11 dark blue, irregularly-shaped, parallel vertical bars on the anterior portion of each flank plus a short horizontal stripe on the caudal peduncle which extends into the central caudal fin rays. Phylogenetic analyses suggest it's most closely-related to Indian Devario spp. plus D. xyrops from the western slope of the Rakhine Yoma mountains in Myanmar (Fang et al., 2009; Fang and Kullander, 2009).

Type locality is 'Tenasserim, Myanmar' which at time of description was used to refer to the portion of Myanmar lying to the south and east of the Ayeyarwaddy/Irrawaddy river delta, including present-day Kayah, Kayin, and Mon states, Bago Division, and possibly the southern Tanintharyi Region. Blyth's description paper covered fishes collected from the Sittaung River (plus a few Gangetic species) in what is currently Bago Division, but we've been unable to locate any modern records of D. affinis fro...

N. alestes is the only member of the genus in which the barbels are shorter than the head, with additional diagnostic characters as follows: 8-9 branched dorsal-fin rays; 12-14 branched anal-fin rays; 22-23 predorsal scales; body with a pronounced ventral keel.

It looks particularly similar to N. alestes with both species possessing a colour pattern comprising a dark lateral stripe on the body, but can be distinguished immediately by possessing barbels longer than the head (vs. shorter than the head in N. alestes).

Nematabramis species are found a variety of habitat-types, from swiftly-flowing affluent streams to pools, lakes, and degraded swamps. Based on the available collection records juveniles and subadults of N. everetti display a preference for fast-moving water whereas adults are found in deeper, slower stretches of minor tributaries.

Endemic to northern and central Borneo, with records from the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah, Brunei Darussalam, and the Indonesian provinces North Kalimantan (Kalimantan Utara) and East Kalimantan (Kalimantan Timur). Type locality is 'Kajan River, eastern slope of central Kalimantan, Indonesia [Borneo]'.