Cyprinidae
Cherry barb
Puntius titteya
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.
Cherry barb
Percidae
Cherry darter
Etheostoma etnieri
Salmonidae
Cherry salmon
Oncorhynchus formosanus
Cyprinidae
Cherry Spot Rasbora
Rasbora rubrodorsalis
Cyprinidae
Cherryfin shiner
Lythrurus roseipinnis
Salmonidae
Cherskii's char
Salvelinus czerskii
Cottidae
Cherskii's sculpin
Cottus czerskii
Percidae
Chesapeake logperch
Percina bimaculata
Distichodontidae
Chessa
Distichodus schenga
Callichthyidae
Chessboard catfish
Aspidoras lakoi
Cichlidae
Chessboard cichlid
Dicrossus filamentosus
Cichlidae
chessboard cichlid
Dicrossus maculatus
Petromyzontidae
Chestnut lamprey
Ichthyomyzon castaneus
Cichlidae
Chestnut Pike Cichlid
Crenicichla yjhui
Nothobranchiidae
Chevalier's epiplatys
Epiplatys chevalieri
Gobiidae
Chiangmai stream goby
Rhinogobius chiengmaiensis
Cichlidae
Chiapa de Corzo Cichlid
Chiapaheros grammodes
Lacantuniidae
Chiapas catfish
Lacantunia enigmatica
Cichlidae
Chiapas cichlid
Thorichthys socolofi
Profundulidae
Chiapas killifish
Tlaloc hildebrandi
Poeciliidae
Chiapas Swordtail
Xiphophorus alvarezi
Percidae
Chickasaw darter
Etheostoma cervus
Atherinopsidae
Chignahuapan Silverside
Poblana ferdebueni
Cyprinidae
Chihuahua Chub
Gila nigrescens
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.