This species is traded for aquaria under various names including ‘butterfly barb’, ‘mackerel barb’, ‘green-barred danio’, and ‘royal opsarius’.

It can be told apart from other memb…

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.

At one locality close to Ban Na Hwai, Chiang Mai Province, Thailand L. hasselti was collected from a shallow (<0.5 m) pool in a swampy zone between forest and rice fields. The substrate was of mud, there was no aquatic vegetation and it was being used as drinking water by local animals, with the only effluent connected to a 'small creek'. Other species found there were Physoschistura pseudobrunneana, Rasbora hobelmani and Systomus cf. orphoides.

Also known by the vernacular names ”black band garra’, ‘stone-lapping minnow’ or ‘false flying fox’ and continues to be traded as Garra taeniata, an invalid name synonymous with G. cambodgiensis.

It is often confused with those laterally-striped members of the genus Crossocheilus sold as ‘Siamese algae eater’ or ‘Siamese flying fox’, but in those species the dark lateral body stripe continues into the caudal-fin whereas in G. cambodgiensis it terminates…

In the aquarium trade this species may also be seen on sale as ‘skinhead barb’. As with others in the genus little has been written regarding its captive care but it makes a peaceful and unusual addition to larger aquaria. The best way of obtaining it may be to keep an eye on shipments of wild fishes from Indochina and the Greater Sunda Islands as it’s rarely imported in large numbers and most often arrives as bycatch.

While some laterally-striped members of the genus look very similar to one another the combination of silvery body, dark-edged scales and dark caudal peduncle blotch set C. reticulatus uniquely apart.

The names Crossocheilus tchangi, Epalzeorhynchos coatesi and E. stigmaeus are all now considered synonyms of the species but were erected because the fish vary, most often in minor aspects of patt…

This species does not appear to be in the aquarium hobby at time of writing though it may have been in the past, when exports of wild Epalzeorhynchos spp. still took place.

Most members of the genus were formerly regarded as Labeo spp. and are thus referred to as such in older literature. According to Rainboth (1996) they’re characterised by absence of a dorsal spine, possession of 10-13 branched dorsal fin rays, a thin membrane…

The genus Puntius is currently viewed as something of a catch-all for well over 100 species of small to mid-sized cyprinid. Most experts agree that a full revision is required with the likely outcome that many species will be placed into new or different genera since it is clearly polyphyletic.

When describing the grouping in 1822 Hamilton identified the defining characteristics as: presence or absence o…

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…

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.