Zebra Loach

Native

The zebra loach, is a small freshwater fish native to Southern India.

Description

Zebra loaches (Botia striata) are peaceful fish suitable to community aquarium tanks. However, being bottom feeder, they may show some aggression against other smaller bottom feeder. They should be kept in group of at least two or three and require some caves to hide during most of daylight. They will accept a wide variety of fish foods, including live food such as black worms, snails and small shrimps, and most commercial brands of sinking fish foods. The maximum size is about 3 “(7.8 cm).

Native

The Silver shark occurs in the Mekong and Chao Phraya River basins, Malay Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo

Description

The Silver shark, (Balantiocheilos melanopterus) is also known as the tricolor shark, Bala shark, or shark minnow. This species is not a true shark, but is commonly called a "shark" because of its torpedo-shaped body and large fins. These fish are generally peaceful and good companions to many other types of tropical fish. These fish can reach 35 cms (15 “).

Bleeding Heart Tetra

Description

Bleeding Hearts (http://tetraz.blogspot.com)are generally a peaceful fish but fin nipping may become a problem. Keep them in a small school (6 or more) and try not to keep them with fish with larger fins such as angelfish (http://ciclidzzz.blogspot.com). They do well in a variety of community tanks, and like most tetras they do best in groups and with bushy plants. They have a splendid body shape and, after a month or two in captivity, their colors get very beautiful, especially when fed (two or three days a week) with frozen brine shrimp. They have the eye-catching, blood-red spot at the heart area and the black/white patch on the dorsal fin.

Blue Gularis

Description

This fish is called the Blue Gularis because of its bright color. People often find them in the hollow of a tree. How on earth do they get there? With the help of birds. The birds wade in shallow puddles looking for worms, the wet mud clings to their feet and in the mud is the roe of the Blue Gularis. When the bird has found its worm it flies off home to its hollow tree, where it cleans the clay off its feet. The roe comes off as well, and out hatch the young. People come out after the rain, find a puddle has formed in the hallow tree, and in the puddle Blue Gularis are swimming.

Tiger Barb

Native

This fish comes from Indonesia, from the island of Sumatra, and is also called Sumatra Barb. Tiger barbs are also found in many other parts of Asia.

Description

The tiger barb (Puntius tetrazona) or sumatra barb, is a species of tropical freshwater fish. The Tiger Barb is yellow, with black stripes across its body. This coloring helps it to hide away from its enemies. It goes down to the sand at the bottom and takes up a position among the stems of the weeds there, and you can’t make it out at all. The dark stem against the yellow sand look just like the stripes on the Tiger Barb’s body. The tiger barb is an active schooling fish that is usually kept in groups of five or more. They are often aggressive in numbers less than 5 and are known fin nippers. If you only keep two in a tank, one will eventually chase the other. They are not recommended for tanks with slower, more peaceful fishes such as gouramis, angelfish and others with long flowing fins. One of the best tankmates for the tiger barb is a clown loach, which will school with the tiger barbs and act as they do, and the tigers act as the loaches do. These barbs are omnivorous and will consume processed foods such as flakes and crisps as well as live foods.

Red-Tailed Shark

Native

Red-tailed black sharks are originally from Mae Klong River in Thailand, but may already be extinct in the wild, and are therefore listed on the Red list of endangered animals.

Description

Red tailed Shark, is a bit aggressive towards its own kind but is very peaceful towards other fish. These fish are territorial and hostile. They can be kept in community tanks with care. This beautiful fish has no problem eating varieties of foods but prefer its food to be alive. It has a black body ending in a red caudal base and tail.

Clown Loach

Native

The clown loach, Chromobotia macracanthus, or tiger botia is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the Cobitidae (loach) family. It is the sole member of the Chromobotia genus. It originates in inland waters in Indonesia on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

Description

Their body is elongated and mostly asymmetrical. Loaches have barbells(or feelers) around their mouth and are bottom dwelling fish with flattened undersides. Their bodies are often armed with erect spines-such as those situated in front of the eyes-which act as defense mechanism. Loaches may take air from surface and extract oxygen in the gut. This shows that they have evolved to live in stagnant waters. Clown Loaches are very active fishes with funny behavioral characteristics as rolling over and lying around as if dead!. The maximum size in aquarium is 30cm.