Species

Aphanius mento

A feisty Middle Eastern killifish best kept as a conservation project.

Liosomadoras oncinus

A boldly patterned nocturnal catfish that fiercely guards its chosen hideout.

Parachromis managuensis

A bold, personable predator that owns every tank it inhabits.

Parachromis motaguensis

A bold Central American predator that holds its own against anything in the tank.

Dario kajal

Tiny scarlet predator from India's hill streams, big on attitude.

Belontia hasselti

A large, territorial labyrinth fish that rewards patient, experienced keepers.

Aguarunichthys torosus

A powerfully built Peruvian catfish that treats smaller tankmates as a meal.

Hemichromis bimaculatus

Gorgeous West African cichlid that becomes a ferocious defender once paired up.

Lepidocephalichthys jonklaasi

A rare Sri Lankan loach hidden beneath leaf litter, seldom seen in the hobby.

Bagrus meridionalis

A giant Lake Malawi catfish with one of the most complex social lives in freshwater.

Pseudotropheus lombardoi

A notoriously aggressive mbuna with a dramatic reverse color scheme between sexes.

Helostoma temminkii

The infamous 'kissing fish' hides a complicated personality behind its pucker.

Caquetaia kraussii

A predatory Colombian cichlid that lurks in swamps and ambushes its prey.

Brachyplatystoma filamentosum

One of the largest freshwater fish on Earth, and reportedly a danger to humans.

Baryancistrus demantoides

A territorial Venezuelan pleco with vivid spots and a noticeably tall dorsal fin.

Baryancistrus beggini

A tiny, dark-bodied pleco with an iridescent blue sheen from Guyana Shield rapids.

Polypterus bichir lapradei

A prehistoric African giant that breathes air and hunts like a predator from another era.

Brycinus macrolepidotus

A football-sized African predator that roams rivers from the Nile to the Congo.

Potamotrygon falkneri

A venomous freshwater predator that can learn to recognize its keeper.

Brachyplatystoma vaillantii

A river giant that needs a seriously big tank and equally big tankmates.

Hemichromis lifalili

A jewel cichlid that transforms into something else entirely when spawning season hits.

Pterois volitans

A venomous reef predator that rules its corner of the tank with quiet authority.

Zebrasoma rostratum

A sleek, all-black Pacific tang with a distinctively elongated snout.

Sperata aor

A river giant with a shoveled snout that will outgrow almost any tank.

A whiptail catfish with one of the most striking breeding behaviors in the hobby.

Amphilophus lyonsi

A lesser-known Central American cichlid from Pacific-slope rivers worth seeking out.

Acanthicus hystrix

A giant, armor-plated catfish that outgrows almost every home aquarium.

Dimidiochromis compressiceps

The Lake Malawi ambush hunter famous for a truly unsettling feeding habit.

Aristochromis christyi

Lake Malawi's sneaky ambush predator that rolls sideways to fool its prey.

Ageneiosus inermis

A giant, predatory catfish with one of the most unusual reproductive strategies in freshwater.

Paratilapia polleni

Madagascar's endangered black cichlid, bold in personality and beautiful in the biotope

Protopterus aethiopicus aethiopicus

An ancient African lungfish that breathes air and can outlast a drought.

Calloplesiops altivelis

A cave-dwelling mimic that fools predators by impersonating a moray eel.

Julidochromis transcriptus

A bold little rock-dweller from Lake Tanganyika with sharp black-and-white contrast.

Arothron diadematus

A bold Red Sea puffer with a dramatic masked face and serious bite.

Cichlasoma urophthalmus

A brackish-tolerant bruiser that can handle conditions few other cichlids can.