Tropical Freshwater

Zone 12

Fish found in these waters:
Cichlids, Piranhas, Red-eared terrapin, Suckermouth catfish, Glass catfish, Lake Barombi Mbo Cichlids.

Red-eared terrapins can live 50-70 years but despite this, are still commonly sold as pets. All of the red-eared terrapins here at London Aquarium are rescues. Many are just illegally dumped into the wild in the UK and cause threats to native wildlife. Red-eared terrapins have an interesting mating ritual. The male drums his long claws on the female’s face and neck to try to enrapture her and hopefully stop her swimming away!
Max size – Approx 40cm
Distribution – Eastern USA to Mexico
Feeds on – fish, worms, small animals, snails and plants

Suckermouth catfish, also known as Plecos, are cultured in ponds in Singapore and Hong Kong for the aquarium trade, where they are very popular. In captivity, they help keep tanks free of algae as they use their strong sucker like mouth to eat the algae off the acrylic! You will often see Pleco written as Pl*co as it is believed that if you use the correct spelling you bring bad luck to your fish!
Max size – Approx 50cm
Distribution – South America. Introduced to Asia for the aquarium trade
Feeds on – algae and small crustaceans

 
Glass catfish – Kryptopterus bicirrhis

Glass catfish, just like their name suggests, are completely transparent so you can see all of their internal organs, which are located in the first quarter of their body. Unusually when glass catfish die, they lose their transparency and turn an opaque milky white colour. Glass catfish are also unusual amongst their other catfish relatives as they swim in the middle of the water column and are only active during the day.
Max size – Approx 15cm
Distribution – Asia
Feeds on – small fish, worms, crustaceans and insects

 
Lake Barombi Mbo Cichlids – Family Cichlidae

Lake Barombi Mbo is one of several crater lakes in Cameroon, Africa. It is home to many species of freshwater fish called cichlids including many found

nowhere else in the world. Like many lakes in the area, Lake Barombi Mbo is under great threat due to the fast growth of a local town. Conservationists have recommended creating a reserve to protect the lake from pollution, excessive water removal, foreign species, deforestation and over-fishing.
Max Size – Approx 6cm – 12cm depending on species
Distribution – Lake Barombi Mbo
Feeds on – Worms, insects, invertebrates