Species Profiles
2402 articles- Ocellated Puffer (Leiodon cutcutia) Care GuideLeiodon cutcutia is a medium freshwater puffer from South Asia, aggressive towards tankmates and usually kept singly in a species tank.
- Fahaka Puffer (Tetraodon lineatus) Care GuideTetraodon lineatus is a large pure-freshwater puffer from the Nile and other African basins, a solitary molluscivore needing a big species t
- Doria's Bumblebee Goby (Brachygobius doriae) Care GuideBrachygobius doriae is a nano bumblebee goby from Bornean coastal streams, kept in small hard, slightly brackish tanks in groups.
- Bumblebee Goby (Brachygobius xanthozona) Care GuideBrachygobius xanthozona is a nano bumblebee goby with black-and-yellow bands, suited to small hard, slightly brackish tanks kept in groups.
- Shuttles Hoppfish (Periophthalmus modestus) Care GuidePeriophthalmus modestus is a small East Asian mudskipper of temperate estuaries, kept in cooler brackish paludariums with a land area.
- Canara Pearlspot (Etroplus canarensis) Care GuideEtroplus canarensis is a small, endangered freshwater cichlid endemic to southern Karnataka in India, finely banded over a pale body.
- Green Chromide (Etroplus suratensis) Care GuideEtroplus suratensis is a large euryhaline cichlid from peninsular India and Sri Lanka, kept in brackish or hard freshwater tanks in groups.
- African Mono (Monodactylus sebae) Care GuideMonodactylus sebae is a tall-bodied West African mono with black vertical bars and high fins, becoming fully marine as an adult.
- Silver Mono (Monodactylus argenteus) Care GuideMonodactylus argenteus is a diamond-shaped silvery schooling fish that needs increasing salinity with age, ultimately requiring marine condi
- Four-bar Tigerfish (Datnioides polota) Care GuideDatnioides polota is an estuarine tigerfish of South Asia with broad dark bars, tolerating a wide salinity range and reaching about 30 cm.
- Indo Tiger Datnoid (Datnioides microlepis) Care GuideDatnioides microlepis is the largest tigerfish in its genus, a freshwater predator with broad dark bars on a golden body, needing a large ta
- Largescale Archerfish (Toxotes chatareus) Care GuideToxotes chatareus is an archerfish that spits water to knock down prey, tolerating fresh and brackish water and reaching up to about 40 cm.
- Half-banded Spiny Eel (Mastacembelus circumcinctus) Care GuideA modest Indochinese spiny eel with bold dark bars on the upper body, reaching about 29 cm, suited to smaller eel setups.
- Tire Track Eel (Mastacembelus armatus) Care GuideMastacembelus armatus is a large Asian spiny eel reaching about 90 cm, marked with a winding tire-track pattern and needing a big tank.
- Zebra Spiny Eel (Macrognathus zebrinus) Care GuideMacrognathus zebrinus is a Burmese spiny eel patterned with thin dark vertical bars, reaching up to about 46 cm.
- Lesser Spiny Eel (Macrognathus aculeatus) Care GuideMacrognathus aculeatus is an Asian spiny eel reaching about 38 cm, with a narrow snout used to probe sand for invertebrates.
- Glass Knifefish (Eigenmannia virescens) Care GuideEigenmannia virescens is a gregarious South American electric knifefish with a translucent green body that tolerates conspecifics.
- Mexican Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus rostratus) Care GuideApteronotus rostratus is a Central American electric knifefish with an elongated rostrum, reaching about 27 cm and reported from Panama, Col
- Brown Ghost Knifefish (Apteronotus leptorhynchus) Care GuideApteronotus leptorhynchus is a nocturnal South American electric knifefish that generates weak electric fields for navigation and communicat
- Asian Knifefish (Notopterus notopterus) Care GuideNotopterus notopterus is a nocturnal South and Southeast Asian knifefish that reaches about 60 cm and is kept by experienced aquarists.
- Chitala chitala Care GuideChitala chitala is a large South Asian featherback knifefish with a humped silvery body and no eyespots, kept only in very large tanks.
- Polypterus weeksii Care GuidePolypterus weeksii is a mottled Congo Basin bichir, an air-breathing carnivorous primitive fish that grows to mid-large size.
- Polypterus palmas Care GuidePolypterus palmas is a medium West African bichir with marbled flanks, a hardy nocturnal predator that hunts by smell.
- Polypterus bichir Care GuidePolypterus bichir is the Nile bichir, the largest commonly kept bichir and an obligate air-breather requiring a very large tank.
- Polypterus endlicheri Care GuidePolypterus endlicheri is a heavyset African bichir with broad jaws and dark saddle bars, a nocturnal piscivore that grows large.
- Polypterus ornatipinnis Care GuidePolypterus ornatipinnis is the largest of the upper-jaw bichirs, an air-breathing Congo predator with bold black-and-yellow patterning.
- Polypterus delhezi Care GuidePolypterus delhezi is a barred Congo bichir, an air-breathing carnivorous primitive fish that hunts by smell and is hardy in captivity.
- Channa argus Care GuideChanna argus is a large temperate snakehead from East Asia, a hardy invasive species whose keeping is restricted in many regions.
- Channa striata Care GuideChanna striata is a large, hardy Asian food fish and snakehead that builds and guards nests; an aggressive species for big tanks only.
- Channa micropeltes Care GuideChanna micropeltes is among the largest snakeheads, a voracious Southeast Asian predator suited only to very large specialist setups.
- Channa orientalis Care GuideChanna orientalis is a small Sri Lankan snakehead lacking pelvic fins, living in shaded streams and brooding eggs in the mouth.
- Channa gachua Care GuideChanna gachua is a widespread Asian dwarf snakehead complex, the most accessible Channa in the hobby, and a mouthbrooding predator.
- Channa stewartii Care GuideChanna stewartii is a dwarf snakehead from north-east India and Nepal, inhabiting hill streams and kept as a cool-tolerant aquarium predator
- Channa pulchra Care GuideChanna pulchra is a small subtropical snakehead from western Myanmar, prized for orange flanks and kept singly in cool, oxygenated water.
- Rainbow Snakehead (Channa bleheri) Care GuideChanna bleheri is a colourful dwarf snakehead endemic to the Brahmaputra basin of northeastern India, a predator best suited to advanced kee
- Honey Blue-eye (Pseudomugil mellis) Care GuidePseudomugil mellis is a small honey-coloured blue-eye from acidic, tannin-stained wallum swamps of southeastern Queensland, assessed as Enda
- Red Neon Blue-eye (Pseudomugil luminatus) Care GuidePseudomugil luminatus is a tiny blue-eye described in 2016 from swamps near Timika in Papua, Indonesia, with red-orange males and neon-blue
- Sepik Rainbowfish (Glossolepis multisquamatus) Care GuideGlossolepis multisquamatus is a finely scaled rainbowfish from the Sepik region of New Guinea, inhabiting swampy lagoons and river side chan
- Lake Wanam Rainbowfish (Glossolepis wanamensis) Care GuideGlossolepis wanamensis is a Critically Endangered rainbowfish endemic to Lake Wanam in Papua New Guinea, largely sustained by captive popula
- Painted Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia picta) Care GuideMelanotaenia picta is a rainbowfish from the Aru Islands of Indonesia, native to clear limestone rainforest brooks and assessed as Least Con
- Lake Eacham Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia eachamensis) Care GuideMelanotaenia eachamensis is an Australian rainbowfish once feared extinct at Lake Eacham, now Endangered and maintained through aquarist pop
- Macculloch's Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia maccullochi) Care GuideMelanotaenia maccullochi is a small striped rainbowfish from northern Australia and New Guinea, an aquarium classic since its 1915 descripti
- Parkinson's Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia parkinsoni) Care GuideMelanotaenia parkinsoni is a robust New Guinean rainbowfish with a steel-blue front and orange rear, native to lowland rainforest streams.
- Lake Tebera Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia herbertaxelrodi) Care GuideMelanotaenia herbertaxelrodi is a golden-yellow rainbowfish endemic to the Lake Tebera basin in Papua New Guinea, assessed by the IUCN as Vu
- Lake Kurumoi Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia parva) Care GuideMelanotaenia parva is a small rainbowfish endemic to Lake Kurumoi in West Papua, listed by the IUCN as Critically Endangered.
- Checkered Rainbowfish (Melanotaenia splendida inornata) Care GuideMelanotaenia splendida inornata is the northern Australian subspecies of M. splendida, a peaceful schooling rainbowfish with checker-pattern
- Climbing Perch (Anabas testudineus) Care GuideAnabas testudineus is a hardy Asian labyrinth fish famous for moving overland between pools, an aggressive predator best kept in a spacious
- Three-stripe Croaking Gourami (Trichopsis schalleri) Care GuideTrichopsis schalleri is an Indochinese croaking gourami with three longitudinal stripes, producing audible sounds and breeding by bubble nes
- Spike-tailed Paradise Fish (Pseudosphromenus cupanus) Care GuidePseudosphromenus cupanus is a small Indian and Sri Lankan labyrinth fish with a bronze-brown body and spike-shaped tail, a peaceful bubble-n
- Day's Spike-tailed Paradise Fish (Pseudosphromenus dayi) Care GuidePseudosphromenus dayi is a small Indian paradise fish with a spike-shaped tail, a peaceful bubble-nester suited to quiet, well-planted aquar