Angra Labeo

About

The Angra Labeo (Labeo angra) is a mid-sized cyprinid native to the river systems, lakes, and ponds of India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Myanmar, with records also coming from Afghanistan. It belongs to the large and taxonomically complicated genus Labeo, a group of more than 100 species distributed across Africa and Asia that researchers are still actively working to sort out at the phylogenetic level. So the classification may shift as that work progresses. In terms of appearance, this fish is fairly easy to pick out: the back runs a brownish tone, the flanks and belly warm to yellow, and a dark stripe, ranging from black to bluish, runs the full length of the body from the eye right to the base of the tail fin. In its home waters it is valued both as a food fish and a sport fish, which tells you something about how it grows out and fights. For aquarium purposes it falls into beginner-friendly territory, and adults reach a decent size of roughly five to nearly nine inches, so it appreciates a roomy setup with space to move. Overall a solid, honest fish for keepers who want something from the South Asian cyprinid family without the complexity of more demanding relatives.