Pearl Gourami (Trichogaster leeri) are also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Leeri Gourami or Lace Gourami, and are native to Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia on the islands of Sumatra, and Borneo. The fish are generally collected in the acidic waters of lowland swamps where they prefer the middle and top levels of the […]

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The Yo-Yo Loach (Botia almorhae)  is also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Pakistani Loach, Reticulated Loach, Y-Loach and Almora Loach.   Although it is named for the district (Almora), Uttarakhand State, India where it is found, it is also called the Pakistani Loach, which is actually a misnomer, since it is restricted to […]

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Three spot gourami (Trichopodus trichopterus) are commonly found throughout Southeast Asia and are also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as Blue Gourami. Their range extends from Yunnan China through Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Java, Borneo and Sumatra, and they have been introduced into Trinidad, Sulawesi, and the Philippines. Three Spot Gourami […]

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Giant Red Tail Gourami (Osphronemus laticlavius) are also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as Giant Red Finned Gourami, Red Flag Giant Gourami, Giant Red Fin Goramy, and Red Tail Gourami and are found in Indonesia and Malaysia. The four recognized species in the Osphronemus genus that are commonly referred to as giant gouramis are listed […]

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Giant Gourami (Osphronemus goramy) are native to Southeast Asia and are found throughout Borneo, Java, Sumatra, Thailand, Indo-china and the Malay Peninsula.   A recently described species called the Giant Red Tail Gourami (Osphronemus laticlavius) is slightly smaller and can be distinguished from Osphronemus goramy by its red fins.  Although this species is considered rare […]

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Giant Chocolate Gourami (Sphaerichthys acrostoma) are known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Sharp Nosed Gourami, Moonlight Chocolate Gourami, Black Lined Chocolate Gourami, and Black Tailed Chocolate Gourami.   They are found only within the Indonesian parts of the island of Borneo and appear to be well distributed within the Mentaya River drainage system near […]

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Crossband Chocolate Gourami (Sphaerichthys selatanensis) also known as the Cherry Chocolate Gourami, are found close to the the city of Banjarmasin in South Kalimantan, Borneo, Indonesia. They appear to be well distributed in southern Borneo and have also been collected close to the settlement of Sampit, which is several hundred kilometers east in Central Kalimantan […]

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Chocolate Gourami (Sphaerichthys osphromenoides osphromenoides) are found in the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo throughout the Malaysian state of Sarawak and the Indonesian province of West Kalimantan (Kalimantan Barat). Like other Anabantoidei, they possess a labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe atmospheric air to survive in oxygen depleted conditions that would kill most other […]

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The Samurai Gourami (Sphaerichthys vaillanti) is a semi-rare species that is found in the Kalimantan River in Borneo; more specifically, in the area of the village of Nangah Sebroeang, which is south of the Danau Sentarum National Park in the upper Kapuas river basin, West Kalimantan province (the Indonesian part of Borneo). Samurai Gourami appear […]

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The Banded Gourami (Colisa fasciata) is found in Northern India, Pakistan, Assam, Burma, Bangladesh and Myammar. Also recognized as Trichogaster fasciata, the Banded Gourami, is a tropical labyrinth fish that prefers the shallower weedy environments of ponds, ditches, lakes, large rivers, and other slow moving waters covered with surface vegetation. In many parts of India […]

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The Gourami family (Osphronemidae) of freshwater labyrinth fishes are common throughout Asia, from Pakistan and India to the Malay Archipelago and northeast toward Korea however, the Gourami name is also used by tropical fish keeping enthusiasts to identify fish of the Anabantidae and Helostomatidae families which are also found in south Africa. In addition to […]

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The Dragon Goby (Gobioides broussonnetii) is a bizarre looking species that is also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Violet Goby, Prehistoric Dragon Goby, Eel Goby, Peruvian Goby, and Dragon Fish. The Dragon Goby is widely distributed throughout the Southern United States, Central America, The Caribbean Islands and Northeastern South America. They have […]

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The Freshwater Clam (Corbicual sp.) is a temperate species that inhabit rivers and lakes throughout the world.   The pictured specimens comes from Southeast Asia where they are also known as “basket clams” and only grow to about 2 1/2″ in width. Freshwater Clams are actually living filters.   They are an oddball item that some tropical […]

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The Red Tail Hemiodus Tetra (Hemiodus gracilis) is also referred to as the Slender Hemiodus, or Red Hemiodus Tetra by tropical fish keeping enthusiasts, and is found in the floodplains, rivers, and lakes of Venezuela, Guyana, and Brazil, South America. Red Tail Hemiodus Tetras are a peaceful, skittish, shoaling species that are found in large […]

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Elephantnose Fish (Gnathonemus petersii) are widely distributed throughout Africa in Mali, Benin, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Republic of Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zambia. They are a largely nocturnal, scaleless fish that inhabit the dark muddy beds and heavily vegetated areas of slow flowing rivers where they root around the substrate […]

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The Congo Bichir (Polypterus endlicheri congicus) is found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the Congo Republic, along Lake Tanganyika, Tanzania and Zambia, Africa.   They are also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Congicus Bichir. Congo Bichirs grow to a maximum length of about 39″ and are colored a yellowish brown to gray […]

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The Weeksii Bichir (Polypterus weeksii) is also known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Mottled or Fatheaded Bichir.    It is found in the Congo River basin in Central Africa and like others of the family Polypteridae, they have the ability to survive out of water for short periods of time provided they remain […]

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The Retropinnis Bichir (Polypterus retropinnis) is known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the West African Bichir or Speckled Bichir and is found in the Congo River basin in Western Africa and has been recorded in Benin, Gaboon, Nigeria, Cameroon, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Ghana, and the Congo Republic. Retropinnis Bichirs frequent the swamps, marshes, […]

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The Spotted African lungfish (Protopterus dolloi) is also referred to by tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Slender Lungfish and is found in middle Africa, the lower Congo River, the Kouilou-Niari, and the Ogowe River basins. Spotted African Lungfish live in the temporary floodplains, riverbeds, swamps, marshes, and backwaters of the above basins and during […]

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The West African lungfish (Protopterus annectens) is the most commonly seen species in the tropical fish keeping hobby.    It is found in the partially dry floodplains, marshes, slow moving backwaters and the swamps of Guinea, Togo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Niger, Ivory Coast, Nigeria, Burkina, Faso, Gambia, Ghana, Chad, Benin, Senegal, Kenya, Mali, Sudan and the […]

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