gallery of freshwater fishes

Welcome to the gallery of freshwater fishes at Randy's Aquaria. In this section I present photos and brief comments on species that I have kept myself, or in some cases, have experienced in other fishrooms.

To become a serious aquarist, one should understand the fishes that he/she keeps. This section explains some of the terms and fish groups that are of importance to the freshwater aquarist.

Science has arranged a classification scheme for grouping all living things. The classifications that are relevant to our aquarium fishes begin with orders, which is comprised of families, which is comprised of genera (plural of genus), which is comprised of species.

Each species is named by its generic and specific names (also known as genus and species names). So the common emperor tetra is Nematobrycon palmeri. Common names, like guppy or angelfish, may seem more convenient to use, but aside from the really common species, common names fail: The same species may be known under different common names, and the hobby has far too many species for each to have a common name. Serious aquarists come to understand the basic fish classifications and to refer to their fishes by their scientific name.

The term fish and fishes are not interchangable. The term fish refers to fish in general without reference to the species: "I caught some fish." "I keep fish in my tanks." In contrast, the term fishes is interchangeable with "species": "My favorite two fishes are the coral red pencilfish and the black emperor tetra."

Perhaps 99% of the most commonly kept tropic freshwater fishes belong to one of five orders. The first three orders are closely related: catfishes, characins, and cyprinids. Scientifically these are designated Siluriformes, Characiformes, and Cypriniformes. Each contains numerous families. Their close relationship can be recognized by the caudal (tail) fin having a distinct upper and caudal lobe. While the catfishes tend to be more developed in the area of reproduction, the base strategy of spawning is to scatter eggs.

The fourth order is Atheriniformes. The families in this order include the rainbowfishes, livebearers, and killifishes. The close relationship of each of these families can be seen in egg-to-fry development: The fry develops for several days within the egg, and it is free swimming once it hatches. Rainbowfishes and killifishes lay their adhessive eggs in thickets of plants, while the eggs of livebearers develop internally within the female.

The fishes of the fifth order (Perciformes) tend to show parental care -- at least of the eggs and often of the young. This includes the cichlids, the anabantids, the gobies/gudgeons, and other families that are occasionally represented in the aquaria (leaffish, Badis badis, North American darters, sunfishes).

The species pages found in this gallery have been grouped according to their classification. Click on the classification that interests you and surf by using the thumbnails. [As I first publish this redesigned section (Aug 31, 2001), only two sections are active. I will activate each as I get the time.] I will admit, that my interests of characins, cyprinids, and dwarf cichlids dominate the content that I have posted. And, as I keep and photograph new fishes, I'll be posting new pages. Enjoy!

-- Randy Carey