Loricariidae is the largest family of catfish, with 92 genera and just over 680 species. Loricariids originate from freshwater habitats of Costa Rica, Panama, and tropical and subtropical South America. These fish are noted for the bony plates covering their bodies and their suckermouths. Several genera are sold as "plecos", notably the suckermouth catfish, Hypostomus plecostomus, and are popular as aquarium fish.
Corydoras is a genus of freshwater catfish in the family Callichthyidae and subfamily Corydoradinae. The species usually have more restricted areas of endemism than other callichthyids, but the area of distribution of the entire genus almost equals the area of distribution of the family, except for Panama where Corydoras is not present. Corydoras species are distributed in South America where they can be found from the east of the Andes to the Atlantic coast, from Trinidad to the Río de la Plata drainage in northern Argentina. Species assigned to Corydoras display a broad diversity of body shapes and coloration. Corydoras are small fish, ranging from 2.5 to 12 cm in SL., and are protected from predators by their body armor and by their sharp, typically venomous spines.
The walking catfish is a species of freshwater airbreathing catfish native to Southeast Asia. It is named for its ability to "walk" and wiggle across dry land, to find food or suitable environments. While it does not truly walk as most bipeds or quadrupeds do, it can use its pectoral fins to keep it upright as it makes a wiggling motion with snakelike movements to traverse land. This fish normally lives in slow-moving and often stagnant waters in ponds, swamps, streams, and rivers, as well as in flooded rice paddies, or temporary pools that may dry up. When this happens, its "walking" skill allows the fish to move to other aquatic environments. Considerable taxonomic confusion surrounds this species and it has frequently been confused with other close relatives. One main distinction between the walking catfish and the native North American ictalurid catfish with which it sometimes is confused, is that the walking catfish lacks an adipose fin.
Pipefishes or pipe-fishes (Syngnathinae) are a subfamily of small fishes, which, together with the seahorses and seadragons, form the family Syngnathidae.
The Aspredinidae are a small South American family of catfishes also known as the banjo catfishes, with about 43 species.
The Arabian carpetshark is a species of carpet shark in the family Hemiscylliidae, inhabiting coral reefs and other shallow coastal habitats from the Persian Gulf to India. Reaching 78 cm (31 in) long, this shark is characterized by a slender, plain brown body, and by two dorsal fins with straight trailing margins and the second smaller but longer-based than the first. The Arabian carpetshark feeds on bony fishes and invertebrates. Reproduction is oviparous with an annual cycle; females deposit egg capsules four at a time and the young hatch after 70–80 days. This small shark is often captured as bycatch but rarely used by humans. It has been assessed as Near Threatened by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), as there is increasing fishing pressure and habitat degradation within its range. It does well in aquariums and has been bred in captivity.
The eyespot rasbora is a small fish belonging to the Family Cyprinidae, subfamily Danioninae, which is known by the common names of ocellated rasbora, hi-spot rasbora, and eye-spot rasbora, an allusion to the marking situated upon the dorsal fin. This small fish is a popular aquarium fish, having been one of the species featured in the landmark textbook Exotic Aquarium Fishes by Dr William T. Innes. Its appearance in this work only occurs in later editions of the book, however, therefore the species is not subject to the same degree of aquarium domestication as the more familiar harlequin rasbora.
The Cooper Creek catfish, also known as the Cooper Creek tandan, is a species of catfish of the family Plotosidae, and is the only species of the genus Neosiluroides. The species’ scientific name Neosiluroides came from the genus Neosilurus to which the Cooper Creek Catfish bears some resemblance. The second part of its name, cooperensis, is a reference to the sole location of the species in the Cooper Creek Catchment. It is an eel-tailed freshwater fish that resides in the Cooper Creek system of the Lake Eyre drainage in southern Queensland, Australia. This species grows up to about 46.0 centimetres (18.1 in) SL.
The alligator pipefish or double-ended pipefish is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae and is the only species in the monotypic genus Syngnathoides. It is found in shallow water in the tropical and subtropical Indo-Pacific, its range extending from East Africa to northern Australia. This fish lives in habitats of seagrass and seaweed, and hides by positioning itself vertically with its head down amidst the similar-coloured fronds of vegetation. The elongated, well-camouflaged body can reach 29 cm (11 in) in length. It feeds by sucking up its prey.
Cavefish or cave fish is a generic term for fresh and brackish water fish adapted to life in caves and other underground habitats. Related terms are subterranean fish, troglomorphic fish, troglobitic fish, stygobitic fish, phreatic fish and hypogean fish.
The Asian stinging catfish or fossil cat is a species of airsac catfish found in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, and Bhutan. It has also been introduced to the Tigris River Basin in Iran.
The short-tailed pipefish is a species of fish in the family Syngnathidae. It is found in fresh and brackish waters from Sri Lanka and India east to southern Japan and the Society Islands. It inhabits places with little or no current in rivers, streams and estuaries.
Microphis insularis, also known as the Andaman pipefish, is a species of freshwater pipefish belonging to the family Sygnathidae. This species is found only in rivers and streams located in the Andaman Islands, India. They can reach 16 cm (6.3 in) in length and reproduce through ovoviviparity, in which males carry eggs and give live birth. The Andaman pipefish is considered threatened likely due to the effects of habitat degradation, invasive species, and the alteration of flow of its freshwater habitats.
Ichthyocampus carce, also known as the freshwater pipefish or Indian freshwater pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. It can be found mainly in freshwater streams, rivers, and estuaries located in the Indian Ocean and West Pacific, from Indonesia to the western coast of India. It can live in both inland and coastal waters. This species can grow to a length of 15cm and feeds primarily on small invertebrates and zooplankton. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity, in which the males carry eggs in a brood pouch before giving live birth. Males of this species can brood roughly 280 offspring at a time.
Urocampus nanus, commonly known as the barbed pipefish, is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. This family consists of 56 different genera and 320 species.
Pseudophallus mindii, also known as the freshwater pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found in freshwater coastal rivers and mangrove estuaries ranging from Belize to Brazil. Members of this species can grow to lengths of 16 cm and their diet likely consists of small crustaceans. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.
Nannocampus pictus, also known as the reef pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting reefs and seagrass beds of the western Indian Ocean and the eastern coast of Australia including the Great Barrier Reef. Members of this species can grow to lengths of 10 cm and their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.
Nannocampus subosseus, also known as the bony-headed pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting reefs and tide pools only in the region of Shark Bay to Esperance, Western Australia. Members of this species can grow to lengths of 12 cm and their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.
Nannocampus weberi, also known as the reef-flat pipefish is a species of marine fish belonging to the family Syngnathidae. They can be found inhabiting reefs in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia particularly the islands of Sumba and Bali. Their diet likely consists of small crustaceans such as copepods. Reproduction occurs through ovoviviparity in which the males brood eggs before giving live birth.
