Cyprinidae
Bank's Barb
Barbodes banksi
FISH SPECIES
Freshwater Fish
Freshwater fish spend all or part of their lives in rivers, lakes, streams and wetlands. The label describes an environment, not one branch of the fish family tree, so freshwater species include many unrelated shapes and lineages.
FISH ATLAS / FIELD GUIDEFreshwater FishIN THIS CHAPTER01 / Characteristics02 / Lifestyle03 / Species04 / Field notes
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01 / NATURAL HISTORY
Characteristics
Freshwater habitats contain far less salt than seawater and can change quickly with seasons, floods and drought. Fish living there use many different strategies, from streamlined bodies for current to barbels that help find food near the bottom.
- 01River fish
- 02Lake fish
- 03Stream fish
02 / LIFESTYLE
Lifestyle
Life in freshwater follows the movement of water and food. Some fish hold position in a current and intercept drifting prey; others search plants or sediment for a meal. Changes in flow and water level can open feeding grounds or trigger movements toward spawning areas. These behaviors reflect how fish balance hydrodynamic energy expenditure against food intake.
OBSERVATION INDEX
- Holding position in a current
- Feeding among plants or sediment
- Movement with changing water levels
03 / SPECIES
Representative species
Discover representative species illustrating the ecological diversity, morphologies and adaptations of this group.
Bank's Barb
Percidae
Bankhead darter
Percina sipsi
Trichomycteridae
Banneau's Pencil Catfish
Trichomycterus banneaui
Cyprinidae
Bannerfin shiner
Cyprinella leedsi
Callichthyidae
Bannertail catfish
Corydoras robineae
Centrarchidae
Bantam sunfish
Lepomis symmetricus
Cyprinidae
Baoshan Mahseer
Neolissochilus baoshanensis
Poeciliidae
Baracoa gambusia
Gambusia baracoana
Cyprinidae
Barada spring minnow
Pseudophoxinus syriacus
Channidae
Baram snakehead
Channa baramensis
Cyprinidae
Barb
Poropuntius speleops
Cyprinidae
barbel
Barbus barbus
Cyprinidae
Barbel
Enteromius anema
Gobionidae
Barbel steed
Hemibarbus labeo
Cyprinidae
barbell
Luciobarbus barbulus
Stevardiidae
Barber's Tetra
Mimagoniates barberi
Cyprinidae
Barbless carp
Cyprinus pellegrini
Crenuchidae
Barbosa's Darter
Characidium barbosai
Cyprinidae
Barbus barb
Enteromius barotseensis
Channidae
Barca snakehead
Channa barca
Acestrorhamphidae
Barcelos Tetra
Moenkhausia lata
Percidae
Barcheek darter
Etheostoma obeyense
Terapontidae
barcoo grunter
Scortum barcoo
Acestrorhamphidae
Bario
Bario steindachneri
04 / FIELD NOTES
A closer look
What makes a fish freshwater?
It is recorded from inland waters with low salinity for all or part of its life cycle.
Are all freshwater fish closely related?
No. Freshwater is a habitat category that includes many separate evolutionary groups.
Can freshwater fish survive in seawater?
Most cannot; without physiological adaptations to excrete excess salt, their cells rapidly lose water through osmosis and dehydrate in hypertonic seawater.