Cyprinidae
Horse Barbel
Barbus tyberinus
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.
Horse Barbel
Callichthyidae
Horsemans cory
Corydoras eques
Nemacheilidae
Hotoke Loach
Lefua echigonia
Cyprinidae
Hoven's carp
Leptobarbus hoevenii
Osphronemidae
Howong betta
Betta unimaculata
Cichlidae
Huallaga Cichlid
Bujurquina huallagae
Astroblepidae
Huamani climbing catfish
Astroblepus vaillanti
Callichthyidae
Huangana cory
Corydoras stenocephalus
Cyprinidae
Huanghe naked carp
Chuanchia labiosa
Adrianichthyidae
Hubbs’s Medaka
Oryzias hubbsi
Poeciliidae
Hubers knife livebearer
Alfaro huberi
Salmonidae
Huchen
Hucho hucho
Sisoridae
Huddah nangra
Gogangra viridescens
Cyprinidae
Hula Bream
Mirogrex hulensis
Poeciliidae
Hummingbird lampeye
Congopanchax myersi
Cyprinidae
Hump-backed mahseer
Tor remadeviae
Cichlidae
Hump-head
Cyrtocara moorii
Cyprinidae
Humpback
Chanodichthys dabryi
Cyprinidae
Humpback chub
Gila cypha
Cichlidae
Humpback largemouth
Serranochromis altus
Cyprinidae
Humpback Puffer
Pao palembangensis
Poeciliidae
Humpbacked limia
Limia nigrofasciata
Serrasalmidae
Humpbacked piranha
Serrasalmus gibbus
Channidae
Humpbacked snakehead
Channa shingon
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.