March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
This species occurs in several colour forms depending on collection locality with some exhibiting more intense pigmentation in the fins or an additional reddish lateral stripe, for example. It’s sometimes said to closely resemble and occur sympatrically with Rasbora agilis, but that name is currently considered a junior synonym of the congener Trigonopoma pauciperforatum.
R. agilis had previously been us…
Comment » | Category: Cypriniformes, Rasboras & relatives
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
This species is very scarce in the trade indeed and you're most likely to see it on sale as a contaminant among import of other Indian species.
There are currently 34 described species of Osteochilus although none can be considered popular in the aquarium hobby. According to Rainboth's 'Fishes of the Cambodian Mekong' members of the genus are characterised by lack of aspine, presence of 11-18rays, large rostral and maxillary barbels, papillae on both upper and lower lips,…
Comment » | Category: Cypriniformes, The Rest
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
An assortment of undescribed Oreichthys spp. from India, Myanmar and Thailand are currently traded as O. cosuatis. It can be distinguished from other described members of the genus by lacking a black blotch on the caudal peduncle, plus the following combination of characters: 2-3 perforated scales in lateral line; ½6½ between pelvic-fin origin and dorsal midline; presence of dark stripe in centre of anal-fin, forming a triangular blotch in adult individuals; dorsal-fin with whitish tip and broad, black, subdistal margin in the upper portion of the fin; 11-13 rows…
Comment » | Category: Cypriniformes, The Rest
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
This fish is one of several sometimes imported and sold as Oreichthys cosuatis or O. parvus which has led to considerable confusion. It appears to be an undescribed species and can be most easily identified by the absence of a dark marking in the dorsal-fin of adult males (vs. presence in O. cosuatis and O. parvus) and possession of a large, well-defined black blotch on the caudal peduncle ( vs. absent in O. cosuatis, smaller and less well-defined in O. parvus).
Comment » | Category: Cypriniformes, The Rest
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
All Mystacoleucus species possess a procumbent predorsal spine orientated towards the head, though it can be difficult to spot with the naked eye. This can become entangled in an aquarium net so care must be taken when handling the fish.
The trait is shared by members of Tor, Spinibarbus and Paraspinibarbus although there exists no strong evidence to suggest that these genera form a monophyletic lineage and it is…
Comment » | Category: Cypriniformes, The Rest
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
This species has a chaotic taxonomic history with certain issues still to be resolved. While the name P. mahecola was misapplied to members of the genus Dawkinsia for over a century the fish itself has been widely misidentified as the congener P. amphibius (Valenciennes 1842).
Its identity was partially resolved by Pethiyagoda and Kottelat (2005b) who demonstrated that though valid P. mahecola is not a Dawkinsia spp. but rather a smaller, relatively plain species with a single dark blotc…
Comment » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
Spotted Hampala Barb
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
The genus currently contains seven species of which H. macrolepidota and, to a lesser extent, H. dispar are the only ones seen with any regularity in the aquarium trade. As well as having the widest distribution H. macrolepidota is also the largest member of the group. All representatives can appear superficially similar at first glance, the exception being H. lopezi which is endemic to a single island in The Philippines and displays a unique lateral band-like marking on the flanks.
Comment » | Category: Cypriniformes, The Rest
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
‘B.‘ candens is not really suitable for most community aquaria as it has something of a shy, retiring nature and may be intimidated or outcompeted for food by larger/more boisterous tankmates. Choose similarly-sized, peaceful African species such as ‘B.‘ jae, Aplocheilichthys spp., Ladigesia roloffi or Lepidarchus adonis. We suspect it will also do ok with many small South American characins, Otocinclus or smaller Corydoras catfish and other cyprinids like Trigonostigma or Boraras species.
Comment » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
African Butterfly Barb
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
Two closely-related species are also found in the Congo basin and infrequently seen in the trade. ‘B.‘ candens has been collected northeast of the range of ‘B.‘ hulstaerti around the city of Kisangani (formerly Stanleyville) and nearby town of Yangambi. It can be distinguished from ‘B.‘ hulstaerti by its paler body colouration, smaller dark markings on the body and red ventral and anal fins in males. ‘B.‘ papillo is known only from its type locality close to the eastern town of Kindu between the Lualaba and Lomami rivers. It has an elongated central body marking and males possess black dorsal, ventral and anal fins.
Comment » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
March 13th, 2012 — 1:24pm
Although gregarious by nature it is a shoaling rather than schooling species which develops a distinct pecking order between males. It should ideally be maintained in a group of 8 or more but the tank must be of a sufficient size which will allow weaker individuals some respite from dominant conspecifics and decorated in such a way that many broken lines of sight are provided. Conversely if kept singly, in a very small group or in cramped conditions it can become withdrawn and subdominant fish may be bullied incessantly.
Comment » | Category: Barbs & relatives, Cypriniformes
Product reviewers wanted
Hello! Very much interested in writing for you, please include me in the info. Thank you for the opportunity!
6th Sep 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I would be interested in reviewing products. Before retiring I was a technical writer and managed a Quality Management Program.
30th Aug 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I'm interested and can write reviews from the perspective of someone new to the hobby. I'm only 3-4 months in, but hopefully I can help someone that's...
23rd Aug 2020
Product reviewers wanted
I’m interested in doing this if there is still availability, it sounds like fun! Thanks
19th Aug 2020
Barbodes semifasciolatus – Golden Barb* (Barbus sachsii, Puntius schuberti)
I simply had a question (please forgive if this is not allowed, I read the FAQ but I was not sure). I was wondering if there is any evidence of offsp...
12th Aug 2020