Results for “family”

The genus Hasemania is one of the few in the family Characidae in which members do not possess an adipose fin. This species is ubiquitous in most dealers' tanks and is one of the best choices for the newcomer to fishkeeping. All the fish sold in the trade have been captive bred and as such are unfussy with regard to both water chemistry and diet. It is sometimes seen for sale with the common name 'copper tetra'....

A rarely seen, although attractive member of the severum family. This species is occasionally offered for sale through specialist cichild or South American dealers.

For many years this species has (and still is) imported as Pelteobagrus ornatus. It was assigned to the new genus Hyalobagrus, and discovered to be a distinct species, during a taxonomic revision of the Bagridae family in 1998. The other 2 species which were also thought to be P. ornatus are H. leiacanthus and H. ornatus. Apparently these two are imported rarely, if ever. Unlike the vast majority of catfish, H. flavus is a diurnal species, and spends much of its time swimming in shoals in m...

This species is sometimes referred to as 'Sierra Leone dwarf characin' and is the only member of its genus which can be distinguished from other alestids by lacking dorsal scales anterior to the adipose-fin insertion. The family Alestidae is the most spe...

Sand-dwelling loaches from the families Botiidae, Cobitidae and Nemacheilidae are also suitable but proper research is essential as some can be excessively territorial or otherwise aggressive. A community based around fishes from its natural waters could include species such as Badis badis,...

The family Cobitidae, often referred to as 'true' loaches, is widely-distributed across most of Eurasia with the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and China representing particular centres of species diversity. Phylogenetic analyses by Tang et al. (2006), Šlechtová et al. (2007) and Šlechtová et a...

M. ellipsifer is a stunning eel that makes a nice 'alternative' species for the Tanganyikan community tank. The species in the family Mastacembelidae are known as "spiny" eels because the dorsal rays are very hard. Care must therefore be exercised when handling them to avoid injuries. The swim bladder in these eels has also disappeared completely, an adaptation to their bottom-dwelling lifestyle. The African species such as this one can be distinguished from their Asian relat...

This species is traded under various names including 'Chinese banded shark', 'Chinese sucker', 'freshwater batfish', 'high-fin banded loach', etc. It's currently illegal to import or own privately in several countries, including the UK, but continues to be available with only the attractive juvenile form traded, and almost always without information regarding adult size of almost a metre or potential lifepan of 25 years+. Myxocyprinus is a monotypic genus and the only Asian representative of the family Cato...

This is the smallest member of the genus and rarely traded in numbers, though it's a relatively common contaminant among shipments of wild fishes from Manaus. Unlike other Nannostomus spp. it does not exhibit a specific colour pattern of spots or bars at night-time, rather displaying an overall paleness. The family Lebiasinidae is included in the order Characiformes and sometimes split into the nominal subfamilies Lebiasininae a...

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...

In size and weight terms Pangasius sanitwongsei is second only to the giant Mekong catfish, Pangasianodon gigas in the family Pangasiidae, easily qualifying it as one of the largest freshwater fish species in the world. Alarmingly it's been exported for the trade in quite large numbers in recent years. It's usually seen for sale as a cute silvery 2-3" youngster, most often without adequate information regarding its long term care requirements and potential size. Unfortunately ...

Like other members of the family Notopteridae this species differs from Gymnotiform knifefish in that its anal and caudal fins are fused together into one long, undulating fin running along the underside of the fish. There is only one other species in the genus. P. congoensis is a smaller, plain brown coloured fish found only in the Democratic Republic of Congo and is very rare in the hobby. P. afer is also infrequently imported and is one of the rarer knifefish species in the hobby. It can dev...

P. falkneri is arguably among the most beautiful Potamotrygonids seen in the hobby. It's not imported with any great degree of regularity, and is usually expensive when available. There are currently three genera in the family Potamotrygonidae, all of which hail from South America. Paratrygon and Plesiotrygon are both monotypic genera (contain only a single described species) and are rarely seen in the hobby. The vast majority of imported rays belong to the biggest genus, Potamotrygon. T...

P. schroederi is one of the most attractive and sought after members of the family. Due to current export restrictions in Brazil it has become very scarce in the hobby and commands a high price when it is available, usually from captive breeders. There is another fish sold under the name "flower ray", presumably to boost sales. This is a potentially undescribed species imported from Peru and is usually referred to as "Peru flower" or P40 by ray enthusiasts. Some believe this ...

There are currently three genera in the family Potamotrygonidae, all of which hail from South America. Paratrygon and Plesiotrygon are both monotypic genera (contain only a single described species) and are rarely seen in the hobby. The vast majority of captive rays belong to the biggest genus, Potamotrygon. This contains 17 species at present, and its members are sometimes referred to as "big-eyed" stingrays for fairly obvious reasons. There are also a number of undescribed species th...

R. vulpinus is the most widely-distributed member of the family Cynodontidae. Type locality is given simply as 'Brazilian rivers', but this species is currently understood to be distributed in the Amazon basin from the Río Ucayali system in Peru, eastward as far as the rio Xingu in Brazil, plus the rio Tocantins and Rio Capim basins. It's also known from the Río Orinoco ba...

This fish is one of a number of apparently unidentified Scleromystax species known in the aquarium hobby. The genus Scleromystax is included in the family Callichthyidae, of which members are often referred to collectively as 'armoured' or 'mailed' catfishes group due to the presence of bony plates in place of scales on the body.

Juvenile specimens are occasionally available in the aquarium trade but this species is clearly not a viable subject for the vast majority of private aquarists. While it's considered a sport fish in some countries (France, Italy, Spain, UK) it's flesh and eggs are considered a delicacy in others (Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Lithuania) and its skin is also used in the manufacture of leather and glue. The family Siluridae comprises those catfsh species commonly referred to as freshwate...

This species seems not to have appeared in the trade and is similar to several congeners in appearance, most notably S. weberi which is native to the Maluku archipelago and other islands around the coast of Papua (formerly Irian Jaya). The two are said to be most easily-distinguished by examination of the belly which is fully-scaled in S. pelewensis but lacks scalation in S. weberi. The Gobiidae is the most speciose vertebrate family and notoriously problematic in terms of identifying fishes down to sp...

This species was initially described as Rasbora axelrodi and is referred to as such in older literature, but in 1999 was moved into the new genus Sundadanio where it remains the monotype. Its wider placement within the family Cyprinidae is still not fully resolved. Following Rüber et al. (2007) it is most closely-related to the miniature species of the genus Paedocypris, the two genera characteristically lacking bones in the roof of the skull as well as exhibiting genetic similarities. Howe...