Every species

An attractive and colourful fish when small, this species quickly grows into a large aggressive adult, requiring a large tank.

Crenicichla proteus is occasionally offered for sale. It is one of the smaller pike cichlids, although more than makes up for that in terms of aggression!

One of the more commonly available pike cichlids in the UK, c. strigata is often bought by fishkeepers unaware of the adult size of these fish. Are reported to be susceptible to hole in the head disease, more commonly seen in discus and oscars....

A strikingly marked species that is rarely seen in the hobby in the UK.

This species is currently the only described member of its genus although colour pattern and morphology vary considerably across its range. You may see reference to this species being the only fish species to possess infra-red vision, but other species also possess this ability and we suspect that infra-red plays an important role in the reproductive cycle of many fishes.

This species is among a handful of near-identical congeners that are traded as 'Siamese algae-eater' (often abbreviated to 'SAE'), 'Siamese flying fox' and 'Crossocheilus siamensis'. The latter name is not valid, however, and is a synonym of Epalzeorhynchos siamensis which is itself a synonym of Crossocheilus oblongus, a species described from Java. C. oblongus is currently accepted to...

We've been unable to obtain a diagnosis for this species to date but it can at least be distinguished from those congeners traded as 'Crossocheilus siamensis' (an invalid name synonymous with C. oblongus, which is itself of questionable identity), 'Siamese algae eater', or 'SAE' by the fact that the dark lateral stripe does not extend into the caudal-fin. Members of Crossocheilus are characterised by...

Given its wide natural range it seems logical that this species is or has been available in the aquarium trade, although its correct name may never have been applied. It is told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: two pairs of barbels; a continuous midlateral stripe from the tip of the snout to the base of the caudal-fin, with a conspicuous small blotch at the posterior extremity, faintly marked on the caudal-fin; a faint mark between the anus and the anal-fin origin in juveniles; a narrow mouth.

This species can be most easily distinguished from other members of the genus by its colour pattern which consists of a blackish midlateral stripe extending from the tip of the gill opening to the middle of the caudal-fin base, which is separated from the dark brown dorsum by a pale yellowish brown stripe. This differs from the pattern seen in other Crossocheilus species with a black midlateral stripe in which the the dorsum is olive brown and much paler than the midlateral stripe, there is no yellow stripe between the dorsum and the black stripe, and the black stripe extends to the tip of the snout.

C. oblongus is another name widely misused in the trade but that species has seemingly never been exported and was described as a blueish fish with yellow fins. It's native to streams of Gunung Salak mountain in Bogor Regency, West Java, Indonesia where collecting of ornamental fishes is almost non-existent. Other species of laterally-striped Crossocheilus also exist and may be available from time-to-time but are more easily told apart from the group described above.

C. latius isn't often available in the trade but makes an excellent alternative to more commonly-offered members of the genus should you be lucky enough to find some. Shipments of similar-looking Indian Garra species such as G. mullya or G. gotyla sometimes contain the odd specimen. It exhibits morphological differences when compared with other members of the genus and may be assigned to a separate taxon at some point in the future.

While separating some of the fish that may be found on sale as 'C. siamensis' is a tricky task, C. nigriloba is quite simple to identify. The dark lateral body stripe uniquely breaks up into a series of blotches when the fish are sparring, stressed or sleeping and the lower caudal fin lobe contains dark pigmentation suffused with red. The latter feature has given rise to the trade name of 'penguin flying fox'.

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...

In its natural waters, females have been observed caring for mixed broods containing both their own fry and those of another cichlid, Amphilophus bussingi. It is unknown if these are mixed by accident (as the two species have also been recorded tending broods in close proximity to one another) or if this represents an adaptive behaviour to increase numbers in a brood and therefore decrease the chance of predation.

Inhabits moderate to fast-flowing, well-oxygenated, lowland streams and rivers with pH measured to range between 5.4 and 8.0 and temperature 22-31°C/71.6-87.8°F, while conductivity at one habitat was 600 µS. Substrates may be composed of open mud or sand, or strewn with variably-sized boulders depending on locality, while aquatic plants have not been observed. It occurs sympatrically with the convict cichlid, Amatitlania nigrofasciata with oth...

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C. hujeta is traded under various names including 'slant-nosed gar', 'hujeta gar', 'rocket gar' and 'freshwater barracuda' but it and other members of the family Ctenoluciidae have traditionally been referred to as 'pike characids'. They're all predatory fishes native to South America, included in the order Characiformes and currently spread across two genera; Ctenolucius with two species and Boulengerella with five. The two genera are ...

Despite being a wholly unsuitable aquarium subject, C. idella is often traded as such, with an albino form having been developed specifically for the ornamental market. Individuals which have outgrown their aquarium or pond should never be released into natural waters, either, since this species has proven capable of causing serious environmental damage under a wide range of climatic conditions.

An ideal species for the newcomer to 'oddballs'. It is exceptionally hardy, long-lived (it can survive for over 15 years when cared for properly) and exhibits some interesting behaviour. It appears to have evolved convergently with leaf fish of the genera Polycentrus and Monocirrhus (they're not closely related). All these species mimic leaves and other aquatic debris to assist them in hunting their prey. If you add live food to its tank, you will see the typical stalking behaviou...

This species can be exceptionally long-lived and there are reports of specimens surviving in aquaria for over 30 years. It is named after the explorer Mary Kingsley, and often goes by the common name of Kingsley's climbing perch. While Ctenopoma are closely related to the Asian climbing perch (Anabas sp.), they are not known to have the ability to cross areas of land like this species. Like others in the suborder Anabantoidei, the species possesses an accessory breathing organ known as t...