Freshwater fishes
542 species, each with the water it needs, who it gets along with, and where it comes from. Find one, or browse by family, genus or river.
Panaqolus albivermis
Peruvian Amazon · river
White vermiculation with orange-red fin edges. A wood-eater, so add driftwood and vegetables.
Photo: Hantanplan, CC0
Panaqolus maccus
Orinoco basin, Venezuela and Colombia · river
A small wood-eater with orange bands. Needs driftwood to rasp and tops out around 28°C.
Photo: Jarne Colman, CC0
Near Alenquer, lower Amazon, Brazil · river
Orange-and-dark banded Panaqolus, also sold as the Alenquer tiger. Needs driftwood.
Photo: Fish Tank Society, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hypancistrus zebra
Volta Grande of the Rio Xingu, Brazil · rapids
Brazil banned wild export, so Canadian stock is tank-bred. Clean, even stripes where L236 are broken and patchy.
Photo: Birger A, CC BY-SA 3.0
Ancistrus dolichopterus
Rio Negro, Brazil · river
Black with white stars and white fin edges. The prettiest bristlenose, but it prefers cooler, soft water.
Photo: Alberto Mejia-Paniagua, CC BY NC SA
Hypancistrus cf. contradens
Middle Orinoco, Venezuela · rapids
Crisp white dots and white fin edges. A classic first Hypancistrus.
Photo: thepigeongirl, CC BY NC
Pterygoplichthys joselimaianus
Tocantins–Araguaia basin, Brazil · river
A sailfin that grows to about 30 cm and makes a lot of waste. Big tanks only.
Photo: 5snake5, CC BY-SA 4.0
Aquarium-bred strain. Its wild origin isn’t well documented. · river
Yellow bristlenose with blue eyes. Easy and cheap, but happier below 28°C. L144a is the longfin form.
Photo: Corydoras-adolfoi, CC BY-SA 4.0
Peckoltia compta
Rio Tapajós, Brazil · river
Yellow with black saddles. A different genus from L236, so no hybrid risk in the display.
Photo: Frank M Greco, CC BY 3.0
Aquarium-bred colour strain · river
Lays eggs in the open, and the male guards them where you can watch. Prefers cooler water.
Photo: Kaden Slone, CC BY 4.0
Plecos · HypancistrusRare
Hypancistrus seideli
Rio Xingu, Pará, Brazil · river
Grading is by how much white shows, and the whitest fish sell for the most. Best at 29–30°C with strong flow and protein-heavy food.
Plecos · HypancistrusLC
Hypancistrus debilittera
Rio Guaviare and upper Orinoco, Colombia · river
Small and busy, with thin black-and-white stripes. Easy to breed.
Plecos · HypancistrusUncommon
Rio Tapajós, Brazil · rapids
Fine white maze lines on black. One of the most refined patterns in the genus.
Plecos · HypancistrusUncommon
Rio Curuá, Iriri–Xingu basin, Brazil · rapids
Dark with a golden net pattern. It can cross with L236, so only mix them in a tank you won’t sell fry from.
Plecos · HypancistrusStaple
Hypancistrus seideli
Rio Xingu and Rio Iriri, Brazil · river
Yellow-cream maze that changes from fish to fish. High-grade fish cost more. Very productive, so fry are easy to rehome.
Plecos · HypancistrusStaple
Hypancistrus seideli
Rio Xingu, Brazil · river
Bold cream worm-lines on black. Every fish is different, and it breeds readily.
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