Southeast Asia

Acantopsis octoactinotos

A slender, sand-diving loach with a distinctively elongated snout.

Betta enisae

A mouthbrooding wild betta from Borneo's leaf-littered forest streams.

Mystus gulio

A schooling brackish catfish that grows surprisingly large and breathes air.

Leptobarbus hoevenii

A river giant with a wild reputation for eating intoxicating seeds

Acrochordonichthys septentrionalis

A skin-shedding hill stream catfish that keeps its tankmates on their toes.

Betta mahachaiensis

A nipa palm specialist from coastal Thailand with iridescent blue-green armor.

Pristolepis fasciata

A bold, deep-bodied predator from Southeast Asian floodplains with real personality.

Pangio semicincta

The fish sold as kuhli loach is almost certainly this one instead.

Ompok eugeneiatus

A shy, schooling catfish from Southeast Asian peat swamps and flooded forests.

Betta mandor

A small, secretive Bornean mouthbrooder best kept in quiet, species-focused setups.

Oxyeleotris marmorata

A motionless giant that eats anything fitting in its enormous mouth.

Macrognathus meklongensis

A secretive Thai spiny eel that comes out of hiding when hunger calls.

Brachygobius mekongensis

A pint-sized brackish goby with bold banded markings and a big personality.

Trichopsis schalleri

The tiny gourami that actually produces sounds to resolve conflicts and court mates.

Dasyatis laosensis

A true river stingray from the Mekong, built for life on sandy bottoms.

Pangasianodon gigas

One of the largest freshwater fish on Earth, and critically endangered.

Aaptosyax grypus

A rare, river-running predator from the Mekong that grows to epic proportions.

Oryzias mekongensis

A tiny Mekong native with vivid fin markings and surprisingly easy breeding habits.

Datnioides undecimradiatus

A boldly barred Mekong predator with a long memory and a short temper.

Boraras merah

Thumbnail-sized Borneo native that rewards patience with vivid schooling displays.

Trichogaster microlepis

A silver-scaled Southeast Asian gourami with a gentle nature and labyrinth breathing.

Parosphromenus linkei

A pint-sized blackwater gourami with head-down courtship displays unlike any other.

Acanthocobitis botia

A peaceful, quirky bottom-dweller with a false eye that fools predators.

Mystus mysticetus

A gregarious Southeast Asian catfish with a uniquely lateral-eyed look.

Sundadanio axelrodi

Tiny blackwater gem that rewards patient keepers with dazzling group behavior.

Melanotaenia praecox

Tiny rainbowfish that turns up the color when kept in a proper shoal.

Stiphodon ornatus

A tiny, colorful stream goby from Sumatra that rewards patient observers.

Chitala ornata

A prehistoric river predator that grows far larger than most tanks can handle.

Channa pleurophthalma

Bold ocellus markings and predatory charisma from the peat swamps of Borneo.

Betta unimaculata

A mouthbrooding Betta from Borneo that bucks the aggressive stereotype entirely.

Macrognathus aculeatus

A serpentine burrower with a single bold stripe and a secretive personality.

Stiphodon maculidorsalis

A tiny Indonesian stream goby with bold dorsal markings worth seeking out.

Stiphodon pelewensis

A tiny riffle-dweller that vanishes into the sand when startled.

Macropodus opercularis

One of the first tropical fish ever kept in Europe, and still worth knowing.

Polynemus paradiseus

Feathery pectoral threads and calm grace from the rivers of South Asia.

Pangasius sanitwongsei

A fish that outgrows almost every tank on earth. And most keepers know it too late.