This species may have appeared in the aquarium trade though probably not under the correct name.

It can be told apart from similar-looking congeners by the following combination of characters: presence of a black round spot at the caudal base; dorsal-fin rays black with connecting membranes transparent; posterior dorsal-fin origin located midway between upper angle of gill aperture and caudal-fin base, or slightly closer to the latter.

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.

The genus Barbonymus was erected by Kottelat in 1999 and contains former members of Barbodes from southeast Asia. The type species is B. schwanenfeldii and currently there exist only three other representatives; B. altus, B. collingwoodii and B. gonionotus.

The latter two are rare in the hobby although an SF member has kept B. gonionotus in the past so they are worth looking out for if you harbour an…

The vernacular name ‘lancer’ is derived from the extended dorsal spine possessed by several members of the genus, which currently contains 7 species. B. obscurus is diagnosable from congerners by the following combination of characters: mouth opening relatively small and narrow; oral dentition significantly reduced; dorsal-fin spi…

An exclusive inhabitant of fresh, normally standing, waters including shallow pools, ditches, rice paddies and clear water swamps. The type locality is a small ditch measuring just 3 – 6 metres in width and 0.5 – 2 metres deep. The water was clear and the substrate composed of sand, detritus and mud with growths of the macrophytes Nymphaea lotus, Jussiaea repens and Hydrilla verticillata.

It can be further distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: small adult size; bright orange-red marginal bands on caudal-fin lobes in males; caudal-fin rounded and elongate; 5-7 dorsal-fin rays; relatively few (13-18) anal-fin rays without bony contact organs, the last ray branched; 6-8 pectoral-fin rays.

Members of the family Adrianichthyidae are…

This species is among the smaller members of the family. It can be differentiated from all other Akysis species by the following combination of characters: caudal peduncle length 16.1-19.8% of standard length (SL); caudal peduncle depth 6.5-9.3% SL; length of adipose-fin base 25.6-29.5% SL; interorbital distance 42.0-46.0% of head length (HL), eye diameter 13.0-20.0% HL; length of nasal barbel 44.0-66.0% HL; lateral margins of the head appear straight when viewed from above; possession of 0-5 se…

This specie is relatively rare in the aquarium trade and much sought after by enthusiasts as a result. It looks relatively similar to Y. splendida but can be told apart from it, and indeed all other members of the genus, by the following combination of characters: possession of 8 branched dorsal-fin rays; 32-33 vertebrae; one or two small, brownish, vertically-orientated markings on the dorsal part of the body posterior to the dorsal fi…

This species was initially described as a member of Cobitis and remained as such for over 60 years until being redescribed in the new genus Microcobitis by Bohlen and Harant (2011). It can be separated from Cobitis species by a number of char…