I’ve been on a bit of a fish-related posting tirade recently, so it’s time for more fish!
So not a lot of people appreciate freshwater fish for their true magnificence- so I though I should try and change that with a super long post with five of my freshwater friends!
let’s start with a little goth fellow, Betta persephone:
Like the colorful fish you see housed in cups at pet stores, these are bettas! However unlike the domestic Betta splendens common in aquariums around the world, Betta persephone is critically endangered, and is kept alive mostly by dedicated aquarists breeding them in their aquariums. B.persephone is native to the acidic, dark waters of Malaysia…and yes, is named after Persephone, the greek goddess of the underworld.
the intimidating ripsaw catfish (or cuiu cuiu)
This South American fish is both a popular aquarium fish for those with a large enough aquarium (which is very large) and a suitable melee weapon. Despite their looks, these catfish would rather feed than fight, spending most of their time swimming peacefully along the bottoms of rivers sifting for tasty bugs.
The resilient banded killifish:
This North American species (found from Newfoundland to South Carolina) is often considered little-remarkable by most visitors to it’s preferred shallow river home. However, other than it’s lovely stripes, the banded killifish has another fascinating trait, it has a habit of leaping onto shore when confronted by a predator!
Banded killifish breed and feed in shallow waters, which would make it rather easy for another, larger hungry fish to corner them…if only the killifish wasn’t amphibious. Of course, like other gilled fish, killies can’t spend much time out of water, but it’s usually enough to confuse aquatic predators, while allowing the killi to flop down the shore and re-enter the water at a safer spot.
the adorably derpy Peters’s elephantnose fish:
Other than it’s elongated trunk-like mouthpart, the elephantnose fish’s most interesting feature is it’s ability to find food and navigate by producing a weak electrical field…or maybe it’s intelligence and friendliness demonstrated when kept in captivity, there’s just a lot of cool things about this fish, and they are good bois, look them up, plz.
The red rainbowfish (I just think they’re neat):
it’s a real-life Swedish fish!
…although the red rainbow is found Malaysia rather than Sweden (at least in the wild, these guys are really popular as pets, for obvious reasons!)
While endangered in the wild, there is a a very stable captive population of red rainbows. As a Rainbowfish keeper myself, I love these guys!
I might make another installment soon.
