This species is currently understood to have a considerable natural range extending eastwards from Myanmar via Thailand, Laos, Cambodia as far as Vietnam and to the south through Peninsular Malaysia and into the Greater Sunda Islands of Borneo and Sumatra.

It thus occurs in the Mekong, Mae Klong and Chao Phraya drainages as well as a host of other river basins, lakes and reservoirs including the Tonlé Sap river…

This fish is sometimes traded as Oreichthys cosuatis, O. sp. ‘high fin’, O. ‘umangii’ (a nomen nudum that has only ever been applied to an image of a fish in the book ‘Ornamental Aquarium Fish of India’; K. L.Tekriwal and A. A. Rao 1999), Puntius ‘arunavii’ or ‘neon highfin barb’.

It can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: absence of a dark marking in the anal-fin (vs. presence in other species); ½7½ scales scales between pelvic-fin origin and dorsal midline (vs. ½6½ in O. cosuatis and…

This species is poorly known in general and is not present in the ornamental trade, although its name is widely misapplied to other Luciosoma species. Its congeners are mostly marketed as ‘apollo shark’, ‘shark minnow’, or similar, and often labelled with incorrect scientific names.

Identification of the fish pictured here is based on Bleeker (1855, 1860) and Roberts (1989), plus drawings by Bleeker, thus…

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…

Garra species are usually included in the subfamily Labeoninae/Cyprininae (name varies with author) which by current thinking is further divided into several tribes and subtribes (Stiassny and Getahun, 2007). The putatively monophyletic subtribe Garraina comprises Garra plus numerous other genera including the well-known Crossocheilus and Epalzeorhynchos.

Within this division their closest relatives are members of Discogobio, Discocheilus and Placocheilus (the lat…

E. octozona can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: bar 1 present; presence of a large and distinct black mark anterior to anus, visible in lateral and ventral views; simple dorsal-fin rays black, sometimes extending onto first branched ray; other rays hyaline or with diffused chromatophores on last dorsal-fin ray, adjacent to upper extremity of bar 6; 25-31 serrae on last simple dorsal-fin ray; uppermost ray of pectoral-fin with faint black margin; width of bar 5 equal to 1-1½ lat…

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.

There currently exist a dozen described Esomus spp. alhough few are seen in the aquarium trade and none are especially popular. Most are commonplace in their native countries and also quite plainly-patterned so generally overlooked by collectors. Their most common use in some areas is actually as a feeder fish in the aquaculture of larger species. They’re characterised by greatly-enlarged pectoral fins and two pairs of barbels, of which the maxillary pair are extremely long and usually reach the pectoral fins.

D. ashmeadi is the type species and exhibits differences in dental morphology compared with other members of the genus. It can also be told apart from D. halei by the red/pink (vs. orange) colouration in the dorsal and anal fins and serrated (vs. smooth) dorsal spine. D. schroederi is also similar-looking but as it matures the prominent dark dorsal blotch fades to a thin dark distal band whereas in D. ashmeadi it is retained throughout life.