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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The Gilled African lungfish (Protopterus amphibius) also known by tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the East African Lungfish, is found in Kenya, Somalia, and Mozambique, East Africa and the delta of the Zambezi River. Gilled African Lungfish are the smallest of the extant lungfish that seldom grow longer than 17 inches in length.    Their bodies […]

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The Marbled Lungfish (Protopterus aethiopicus) is found in the African countries of Tanzania, Ethiopia, the Sudan, Kenya, Uganda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and referred to by tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Leopard Lungfish, or African Lungfish . Marbled Lungfish live in the Nile River as well as lakes Albert, Edward, Tanganyika, Victoria, Nabugabo, […]

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The South American lungfish (Lepidosiren paradoxa) is the only species of lungfish found in South America. It frequents swamps and slow moving waters in the Amazon, Rio Paraguay, and lower Paraná River basins, and is known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the American Mud Fish, Amazonian Lungfish, or Scaly Salamanderfish.    It is found […]

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The Queensland Lungfish (Neoceratodus forsteri) is the sole surviving member of the family Ceratodontidae and is known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Australian lungfish, Barramunda, or Burnett Salmon. The Queensland lungfish is truly a “living fossil” and one of only six species remaining in modern times. Of the six known surviving members of […]

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Lungfish is the generic name given to a group of fish belonging to the families Ceratodontidae, Lepidosirenidae and Protopteridae.    Each family represents a different continent where they can be found specifically, Australia, South America, and Africa. Lungfish get their name from the fact that they can breed atmospheric oxygen by using lungs similar to those […]

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Poecilocharax bovalii are found only in the Potaro River in Guyana up to Kaieteur Falls. They are exceptionally rare to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts and are difficult to maintain when available. Poecilocharax bovalii are a shy, fast moving, bottom dwelling species that inhabit slow moving blackwater forest ponds where they feed on a variety of […]

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Ram Cichlids (Mikrogeophagus ramirezi) are a peaceful, social species of Dwarf cichlid that are found in the Orinoco River basin in Venezuela and Columbia, South America. There are several color variations of Mikrogeophagus ramirezi that lend to their common names such as German Blue Ram, Electric Blue Ram, German Gold Ram, Butterfly Cichlid, Blue Ram, […]

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The Purple Emperor Tetra (Inpaichthys kerri) is found in sluggish tributaries off the main river channels of the Rio Aripuanã and upper Rio Madeira basins, in Brazil and are known to tropical fish keeping enthusiasts as the Blue Emperor Tetra, Inpaichthys Tetra, Regal Emperor Tetra, or Royal Emperor Tetra. They are a peaceful shoaling species […]

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