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.

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…

This species is one of three similar-looking members of the genus alongside D. johorensis and D. trifasciatus, while it may also be confused with Striuntius lineatus.

Juveniles of all except S. lineatus exhibit a vertically-barred rather than laterally-striped colour pattern, the metamorphosis to adult patterning beginning at around 20 mm SL and normally being complete by 30-40 mm.

N. selangoricus is most similar to N. spiniferus since it possesses acuminate scales above and below the lateral line on the caudal peduncle, a feature not shared with any other congener. It can however be distinguished by the following characters: presence of 8-12 very regular dark bars on flanks (vs. 10-13 irregularly-shaped bars in N. spiniferus), 3-5 times…

B. pinguis is included in the Betta akarensis group/complex of closely-related species within the genus, of which members share the following set of characters: possession of pre-orbital and post-orbital stripes (the post-orbital stripe is faint or interrupted in some species); chin bar present; caudal-fin lanceolate with highly extended median rays in mature males; caudal fin usually with transverse bars; greenish or bluish iridescent scales on body of males in some species; opercle without iridescent scales except in juveniles.

This species is the only member of the B. edithae group within the genus, and separated from all other Betta spp. by the fact that the branchiostegal membrane and posterior portion of the opercle are opaque or translucent.

The original diagnosis by Vierke also states that it has relatively small eyes and short fins with a typical pattern of partial barring.

This species is traded under several names of which others include ‘Samurai gourami’ and ‘Samurai Zebra Chocolate Gourami’. Though the former of these is arguably the most common, these names are potentially misleading since the fish is neither especially combative nor from Japan.

Its unique colour pattern makes it difficult to confuse with any of the three other members of the genus even in the abse…

This species is traded under various names including 'chocolate scissor-tailed loach', chocolate long-finned loach', 'red line cobra loach', 'spiny eel loach' and 'dragon loach'. It's apparently difficult to find in its natural habitats and thus time-consuming to collect, meaning it's rarely traded in numbers, sought after by enthusiasts and tends to carry a relatively high price tag when available.

The genus currently contains just three…

It’s a member of the N. selangoricus group of species within the genus, an assemblage first recognised by Hadiaty and Kottelat (2009) and characterised by possession of two rows of horizontally-arran…