Results for “species name”

Though this species appears on ornamental trade lists quite often the name appears to be routinely misapplied to other species, particularly B. doriae. It can be diagnosed as follows: <30 lateral scales; two black body bands reaching ventral midline posterior to anal-fin; band above anal-fin als...

This species' name has been widely misapplied in the aquarium trade and hobbyist literature, most often in reference to the Southeast Asian species C. ornata, but unlike its relative is in fact very rarely exported for ornamental purposes although its is fished and cultured for food in India. It can be told apart from C. ornata by possessing fe...

This species' name has appeared quite regularly on ornamental fish trade lists since the mid-00's but it's unclear whether the species itself has ever been exported since fish labelled as such do not appear to fully match the most recent key (see below). That said, its natural habitats lie in the same region as the loach Yaoshania pachychilus so it's reasonable to assume that some specimens may have been collected, and the fish in our images were ca...

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...

Described from 'Buala, Cameroon', which corresponds to modern-day Bouala in Central African Republic. It's known distribution includes parts of northern Cameroon, western Central African Republic, southeastern Chad and possibly eastern Nigeria in the upper Benue and Mayo Kébbi river systems. The specific name was mis-used to refer to various populations of the congener A. elberti prior to 1990, and we've been unable to confirm if the specimen pictured here is correctly identified or not. It is listed as 'endangered' by the IUCN.

Also known popularly as the rubbernose plecs, Chaetostoma species are seen for sale quite often these days. This is one of the more commonly seen, and provided its needs are adequately met, is a very hardy little fish. There's a bit of mystery surrounding its true identity, hence the species name, and it's sometimes misidentified in shops. The true L187 is currently known as Chaetostoma pearsei, and is a white-spotted fish. When buying Loricariids such as this always check the fish ...

Based on current knowledge, it thus remains impossible to deduce whether the group of putative species currently comprising S. jurupari, S. mapiritensis, and S. rhynchitis, plus populations from Amapá and the upper Negro/upper Orinoco region, represent distinct taxa or a single meta-population which can be referred to as S. jurupari sensu lato. Here on SF we include the named species separately, since they continue to be considered valid.

This species' name is commonly misapplied to a number of similar-looking fishes and it can be difficult to identify if collection locality is unknown. In addition, colour pattern is variable and it's not clear whether this occurs between, within, or both between and within populations. In the original description, Steindachner did note that the first three dorsal-fin rays are completely black while the remainder is whi...

The ornamental albino variant is widely-available and has become extremely popular in the hobby and there is a commercially-produced anerythristic (lacking red pigment) mutation that has pale yellowish fins and has sometimes been misidentified as E. munense. Also worthy of note is that the specific name is sometimes misspelled 'frenatus'. Most members of Epalzeorhynchos 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...

S. daemon is relatively common in the aquarium trade but is by no means easy to maintain, with particular attention to space, diet, water quality, and chemistry required in order for it to thrive. It can be distinguished from other members of the genus by possessing two dark blotches on the flank and a prominent ocellus at the caudal-fin base. Among the named species it is most similar to...

S. elongatus is known as "Caribe Pinche" in its native countries and is a rare find in the trade, tending to be quite expensive as a result. Individuals seem to vary in personality. While some are particularly fearless and will actively chase and attempt to bite hands or fingers placed in or up against the aquarium, others will always appear to be shy and nervous. The streamlined body form that gives rise to the species name is unique among serrasalmids, and has probably developed as a...

This species' common name is derived from the tradition of keeping the fish in order to fight against each other in organised 'bouts' upon which participants and onlookers place wagers. It has been extensively line-bred for vigour, strength, and the ornamental trade, and hybridised with the congeners B. imbellis, B. smaragdina, and B. mahachaiensis.

This species was originally named Nemacheilus masyae but following ICZN rules the spelling was later corrected to N. masyai because it's named after a man. It can be distinguished from the majority of congeners by body patterning comprising 14-18 short, dark vertical bars on each flank, 12-17 saddle-like markings running along the dorsal surface, a dark spot on the caudal peduncle at the termination of the lateral line and a dark blotch in the lower half of the first few dorsal-fin rays.

This species is rare in the hobby although other species are sometimes sold under the name. It's a member of the nominal G. surinamensis 'group' of closely-related species within the genus and can be identified by a combination of characters including: possession of dark preopercular marking; four parallel, ventrally-inclined bars on each flank (normally visible only when the fish are stressed, spawning or preserved); dark lateral spot positioned within the second vertical bar; caudal fin red with variable pattern of large, iridescent blue to white spo...

The common name of this species is derived from the Portugese dourado and refers to the beautiful golden colour of the fish. We've included this species on the site purely because there have been an alarming number of juvenile fish showing up in some aquatic stores and, as a result, in hobbyists tanks. This species is simply not suited to captive life in any respect. If you see one for sale, and they are undeniably an attractive fish, please don't be tempted to buy it. As responsib...

The native name for this species is Caribito Parguasero. It's sometimes sold as the "green tiger piranha" in the trade and is usually highly coveted and expensive when available. A notoriously sensitive traveller, mortality rates are sadly quite high among imported fish. The lack of fully-grown specimens known to the hobby is also a worry, and would suggest that the majority are not being maintained correctly. This really is a species for the specialist with the resources necessar...

The surrounding area is semi-arid and the Bolsón de Sandia was once a beautiful oasis with a number of springs, abundant vegetation and diverse wildlife but has dried up over the last twenty to thirty years due to indiscriminate water extraction for agriculture and other human uses. Three endemic species of Cyprinodon, namely C. veronicae, C. longidorsalis and C. ceciliae, have been described from separate springs within the system...

Previously known as Chanda ranga, the common name of this species arose because it's translucent skin means that the bone structure and internal organs are clearly visible. For many years it has been artificially injected with luminous dyes on fish farms in Asia and then sold as "Painted" glass fish or "Disco fish". This abhorrent act involves injecting the fish repeatedly with a large needle and most fish do not survive more than a few months afterwards. Whilst painted ...

This "shovelnose" is unique amongst bagrids, but superficially resembles several unrelated South American catfish species. It's common name is derived from it's flattened, extended head. We cannot stress strongly enough that this is a species totally unsuited to aquarium life. Alarmingly, it is can sometimes be spotted in dealer's tanks. When small, it makes an interesting and undeniably impressive addition to a large aquarium but bearing in mind its enormous adult size,...

Populations of Aphanius from Spain's southern, Atlantic coastline and Algeria previously considered representative of A. iberus have now been elevated to full species status with the names A. baeticus (Doadrio, Carmona & Fernández-Delgado, 2002) and A. saourensis (Blanco, Hrbek & Doadrio, 2006), respectively. All three species look broadly similar although A. saourensis can be easily identified as the patterning in males is mottled and does not form vertical bars, while femal...