Cyprinidae is a family of freshwater fish commonly called the carp or minnow family. It includes the carps, the true minnows, and relatives like the barbs and barbels. Cyprinidae is the largest and most diverse fish family and the largest vertebrate animal family in general with about 3,000 species, of which only 1,270 remain extant, divided into about 370 genera. Cyprinids range from about 12 mm in size to the 3-m giant barb. By genus and species count, the family makes up more than two-thirds of the ostariophysian order Cypriniformes. The family name is derived from the Greek word kyprînos.
Micropterus is a genus of North American freshwater fish in the sunfish family (Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes, collectively known as the black bass. They are sometimes erroneously called "black trout", but the name trout more correctly refers to certain members of the salmonid family.
Centrarchidae, better known as sunfishes, is a family of freshwater ray-finned fish belonging to the order Perciformes, native only to North America. There are eight universally included genera within the centrarchid family: Lepomis, Micropterus, Pomoxis (crappies), Enneacanthus, Centrarchus, Archoplites, Ambloplites, and Acantharchus. A genetic study in 2012 suggests that the highly distinct pygmy sunfishes of the genus Elassoma are also centarchids.
Arowanas are freshwater bony fish of the subfamily Osteoglossinae, also known as bony tongues. In this family of fish, the head is bony and the elongated body is covered by large, heavy scales, with a mosaic pattern of canals. The dorsal and anal fins have soft rays and are long based, while the pectoral and ventral fins are small. The name "bonytongues" is derived from a toothed bone on the floor of the mouth, the "tongue", equipped with teeth that bite against teeth on the roof of the mouth. The arowana is a facultative air breather and can obtain oxygen from air by sucking it into its swim bladder, which is lined with capillaries like lung tissue.
Gouramis, or gouramies, are a group of freshwater anabantiform fishes that comprise the family Osphronemidae. The fish are native to Asia—from Pakistan and India to Southeast Asia and northeasterly towards Korea. The name "gourami", of Indonesian origin, is also used for fish of the families Helostomatidae and Anabantidae.
Xiphophorus is a genus of euryhaline and freshwater fishes in the family Poeciliidae of order Cyprinodontiformes, native to Mexico and northern Central America. The many Xiphophorus species are all known as platyfish and swordtails. Platyfish formerly were classified in another genus, Platypoecilia, which is now obsolete. The type species is X. hellerii, the green swordtail. Like most other new world Poeciliids, platies and swordtails are live-bearers that use internal fertilization and give birth to live young instead of laying eggs like the bulk of the world's fishes. The name Xiphophorus derives from the Greek words ξίφος (dagger) and φόρος (bearer), referring to the gonopodium on the males. All are relatively small fishes, which reach a maximum length of 3.5–16 cm (1.4–6.3 in) depending on the exact species involved.
Hemichromis is a genus of fishes from the cichlid family, known in the aquarium trade as jewel cichlids. Jewel cichlids are native to Africa. Within West Africa, Hemichromis species are found in creeks, streams, rivers and lakes with a variety of water qualities including brackish water lagoons.
Citharichthys is a genus of flatfish in the large-tooth flounder family, Paralichthyidae. They have both eyes on the left sides of their heads. They are native to the oceans around the Americas, with a single species, C. stampflii off the West African coast. Most are found in relatively shallow depths, but the genus also includes species found in deep water and species that enter fresh water.
Trichogaster is a genus of gouramis native to South Asia from Pakistan to Myanmar. It is the only genus in the monotypic subfamily Trichogastrinae as set out in the 5th Edition of Fishes of the World, although that book states that there are two genera, the other being Colisa which is treated as a synonym of Trichogaster by Fishbase and the Catalog of Fishes. Fishbase also places the genus in the Luciocephalinae. Species of this genus are very popular in the aquarium trade.
Trichopodus is a genus of tropical freshwater labyrinth fish of the gourami family found in Southeast Asia. Gouramis of the genus Trichopodus are closely related to those of Trichogaster ; species of both genera have long, thread-like pelvic fins used to sense the environment. However, Trichopodus species have shorter dorsal fin base and, when sexually mature, are much larger, with the largest, the snakeskin gourami, capable of reaching a length of over 8 in (20 cm).
Hypophthalmichthys is a genus of large cyprinid fish consisting of three species. The name comes from Greek ὑπό, (hypó) "below"; ὀφθαλμός (ophthalmós), "eye"; ἰχθῦς (ichthŷs), "fish", thus "fish with eyes below", referring to the fact that the fish has its eyes below the mouth line. Members of this genus are native to fresh water in East Asia, ranging from Siberia to Vietnam, but have been widely introduced outside their native range, where often considered invasive.
Gymnocephalus is a genus of ray-finned fishes from the family Percidae, which includes the perches, pike-perches and darters. They are from the Western Palearctic area, although one species, Gymnocephalus cernua has been accidentally introduced to the Great Lakes region where it is regarded as an invasive species. They have the common name "ruffe" and resemble the true perches in the genus Perca, but are usually smaller and have a different pattern.
Luciocephalus puncher, the pikehead, giant pikehead or crocodile pikehead, is a species of gourami native to the Malaya Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. It inhabits flooded forests, streams, and peat swamps living in areas with plentiful vegetation. It is a predator and lurks for its prey among plants near the water's surface. As the prey is swallowed, the jaw extends to about one-third of the head length. the extended jaw is folded back into place. It is a mouthbrooder. It is a yellowish-brown color with dark brown longitudinal bands and stripes. This species can reach a length of 20 centimetres (7.9 in) SL. It can also be found in the aquarium trade, where it is notoriously difficult to keep; they require extremely soft, acidic water and seldom eat non living foods.
The Catostomidae are the suckers of the order Cypriniformes, with about 78 species in this family of freshwater fishes. The Catostomidae are almost exclusively native to North America. The only exceptions are Catostomus catostomus, found in both North America and Russia, and Myxocyprinus asiaticus found only in China. In the Ozarks they are a common food fish and a festival is held each year to celebrate them. Ictiobus cyprinellus can reach an age up to 112 years, making it the oldest known freshwater teleost.
Cryptacanthodes is a genus of perciform fishes commonly referred to as wrymouths. They are mostly found in the Pacific Ocean with one species native to the Atlantic Ocean where they are benthic fishes, tunneling through soft substrates. It is currently the only known genus in its family.
Hozukius is a genus of marine ray-finned fishes belonging to the subfamily Sebastinae within the family Scorpaenidae. They are native to the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
Macropodus is a genus of small to medium-sized labyrinth fish native to freshwater habitats in eastern Asia. Most species are restricted to southern China and Vietnam, but M. opercularis occurs as far north as the Yangtze basin, and M. ocellatus occurs north to the Amur River, as well as in Japan and Korea. In China, they are often used for fights, so they are named Chinese bettas because of their similarity to the genus Betta. A few species in the genus are regularly seen in the aquarium trade, and M. opercularis has been introduced to regions far outside its native range.
The Anabantiformes, collectively known as Labyrinth fish. are an order of air-breathing freshwater ray-finned fish with two suborders, five families and having at least 207 species. In addition, some authorities expand the order to include the suborder Nandoidei, which includes three families - the Nandidae, Badidae and Pristolepididae - that appear to be closely related to the Anabantiformes. The order, and these three related families, are part of a monophyletic clade which is a sister clade to the Ovalentaria, the other orders in the clade being Synbranchiformes, Carangiformes, Istiophoriformes and Pleuronectiformes. This clade is sometimes referred to as the Carangaria but is left unnamed and unranked in Fishes of the World. This group of fish are found in Asia and Africa, with some species introduced in United States of America.
Luciocephalinae is a subfamily of the gourami family Osphronemidae. The members of this subfamily differ from the other groups within the gourami family by having a reduced number of rays supporting the branchiostegal membrane, five rather than six, and in the possession of a median process of the basioccipital which reaches the first vertebra and which has an attachment to the Baudelot’s ligament.
Luciocephalus aura, sometimes called the green-spotted pikehead or peppermint pikehead, is a species of freshwater ray-finned fish from the subfamily Luciocephalinae of the gourami family Osphronemidae. It is endemic to Sumatra where it has been recorded from the middle Batang Hari River and from the middle Musi River drainage. An undescribed similar taxon has been seen in central Kalimantan and this is possibly a third species in the genus Luciocephalus. On Sumatra Luciocephalus aura and l. pulcher are both found in the same areas but they appear to be syntopic with L. aura preferring the faster flowing habitats. It is an ambush predator and paternal mouthbrooder. It has a line of bright green spots along its flanks which distinguish it from L. pulcher.
