The Licorice Gouramies The genus Parosphromenus sits discreetly within the taxonomic subfamily of the Macropodusinae, often overshadowed by the popularity of the Betta, Macropodus, and even the Trichopsis. Still, these little bursts of colour and iridescence truly are the gold dust of the Gouramis, somewhat like Bettas, but better! Parosphromenus can only be found in peat swamp habitats in Malaysia and Indonesia, so not only is their geographic range limited, but they are also highly specialised to only thrive in very specific conditions in a habitat type that is itself under increasing threat from unsustainable palm oil, illegal deforestation, and …
Bengkayang, the biotope of the yellow-finned hill stream loach | Biotopes of Indonesia
Bengkayang, a region in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, hosts freshwater habitats that remain exceptionally well preserved, and in the fast-flowing upper stretches of these rivers, a wonderful family of highly adapted fish species can be found. Much like lichens can be a biological indicator of air quality, or earthworms an indicator of soil health, the Gastromyzontidae family of fishes found in Bengkayang comprise species that are often used as bioindicators of river health due to their sensitivity to subtle changes in their underwater biotopes. Species from the Gastromyzon and Hypergastromyzon genera known as the Borneo suckers or hill stream loaches are …
The biotope of a new Harlequin rasbora is also home to an endangered Betta
I’m Aiman Azmi, a student born and raised in Peninsular Malaysia. I have been observing and collecting fish around me since I was a kid, I’d eagerly follow my father, a biology professor, on any fish collecting trips he would go on and have been fascinated by freshwater ecosystems ever since. The habitat I chose to write about is a freshwater swamp in Tanah Merah. Situated close to the border with Thailand, Tanah Merah is a district within the state of Kelantan, Malaysia. The words “Tanah Merah” translate to mean “Red Earth”, and even as far back as the 7th …
BIOTOPES OF FLORIDA | NOTROPIS PETERSONI | THE COASTAL SHINER
Notropis petersoni, known as the coastal shiner, is endemic to the south-eastern United States where it ranges from North Carolina, through coastal South Carolina and Georgia, throughout Florida, and west through Alabama to Jordan River in Mississippi (Image 1). It can be found in in many different environments including lakes and spring heads, sandy pools, and backwaters of creeks and rivers¹ and feeds predominantly on aquatic invertebrates (crustaceans), with plant material in it’s diet being mostly incidental². N. petersoni has a black stripe along its side which wraps around the snout and often there is another lighter stripe above the …
Biotopes of Hong Kong | Hill Stream Habitats | Blue Neon Stiphodon
Hill stream habitats in Hong Kong are home to some of the most endearing and enigmatic fishes on Earth. These oxygen-rich, cool mountain streams or often, torrential rivers, provide crucial habitat, not only for exclusively freshwater dwelling species, but also form important migratory routes and nurseries for anadromous, amphidromous and catadromous fishes, those which migrate upriver, those with complex breeding strategies involving both fresh and saline systems and those which migrate downriver to the sea to spawn, respectively. One Hong Kong hill stream species which is particularly fascinating is the goby Stiphodon atropurpureus. From their striking iridescence, their adaptation of …
Biotopes of South Africa | Pseudocrenilabrus philander | The Southern Mouthbrooder
Pseudocrenilabrus philander is arguably one of the most underrated fish species found in the aquarium hobby, albeit rarely. In nature, it is known from a wide range of habitats, including streams, lakes, and ponds and some populations are even known to exist in slightly brackish waters¹. The species is found in biotopes across the Democratic Republic of Congo, Malawi, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Angola, Namibia, Zambia, Tanzania, Botswana, Mozambique and Swaziland and the population featured in this article were collected and photographed just this week along the Hex River near Rustenburg, South Africa by aquatic researcher Russell Brian Tate. Research has …
Biotopes of Brunei | Treasures of Temburong
Due to work and college commitments , I had almost no free time to do anything other than rest. With the COVID-19 situation happening globally, Brunei was also affected, borders were closed and we couldn’t travel internationally, thus I decided back to go to the jungle to release some stress. The border closures resulted in the Bruneian government opening up the Temburong bridge (now formally named as Sultan Haji Omar Ali Saifuddien Bridge). Temburong Bridge links the 3 mainland districts of Brunei with the Temburong exclave and is the longest bridge in Southeast Asia, 30-kilometre (19-mile) long. As there is …
The Rio Files: Rheophilic species and their biotopes | Teleocichla centisquama
Teleocichla centisquama was described as a new species from the region of Altamira along the Rio Xingu in 2002 by scientists, Ivan Sazima and Jansen Zuanon. The following article includes excerpts from the species description and outlines a little about the habitat, plights and behaviour of this endearing, but highly threatened rheophilic cichlid. T. centisquama dwells on rocky bottom rapids with moderate to strong water flow, It perches solitarily atop boulders, where it maintains its pectoral fins and hind body in contact with the rock and often adopts a sigmoid posture(possibly to maintain hold in the strong current). On boulders …
Biotopes of Zambia | Neolebias lozii, a critically endangered fish from the Barotse floodplains
Neolebias lozii, also known as the Banded Neolebias is a species of critically endangered Characin in the Distichodontidae family. The two sites where the species has been found are less than 2 km apart and the streams meet <5 km downstream, and the area of occurrence consists of only a few km of streams 1 to 2 m wide in the dry season. In terms of the alien invasive threat, the streams are classified as a single location, but would be classed as two separate locations in the event of an agricultural chemical pollution event or road tanker spill. The …
Biotopes of Japan | Stiphodon percnopterygionus
The first time I saw a photo of a Stiphodon sp. I felt a sensation of observing a masterpiece of art, I have always been amazed (and still feel the same today), those colours of the males combined with the characteristic iridescent lines near the mouth make them special and unique. This “drawing” made them practically perfect. Then researching and looking for information, over time, I understood a little more about their biology, I now knew their real size, how they always tried to be on top of the rocks to control everything visually from there. Of course, the characteristics …