Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Various True Bony Fishes

Various True Bony Fishes

Silver Needle Nose Gar Xenentodon cancila Photo © Animal-World, Courtesy David Brough

   This section, the 'true bony fish', contains some of the most intriguing tropical fish of all!

   Here you will see the largest tropical fish - the Arapaima, some of the most decorative tropical fish- the Butterfyfish, and some of the strangest tropical fish- the Tonguefish.

Click on the small images or names below
to access information on each type of True Bony Fish.

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   This is kind of a 'catch-all' for a lot of families that don't fit into any other group!

   There are about 25 families in the "Various True Bony Fishes" category. Included are some of the more interesting fish like the butterflyfish, arowanas, flounders, and needlefish. Others that have enough species to be placed in their own categories can be found here: eels, knifefish, and puffers

More about True Bony Fishes: Bony-Tongued Fish, Flatfish

   For other unique fish, see the "Pseudo-Bony fishes" category. These are very similar fish, but they are much older in an evolutionary sense than the fish found here. It includes such families as true gars, pikes, lungfish, and sturgeonfish to name a few.

True Bony Fishes
The Arowana gives us a view of our ancient prehistoric world, the world of the Jurassic age
African Butterflyfish	Arapaima
Pantodon buchholzi	Arapaima gigas
Freshwater Lionfish	Needle Nose Gar
Batrachomoeus trispinosus	Xenentodon cancila
Silver Arowana	Tonguefish
Osteoglossum bicirrhosum	Brachirus panoides

Don't see your favorite flounder, arowana, needlefish,
or other True Bony Fish here?
Send us a a picture and/or description and we'll try to include it!
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Bony-Tongued Fishes:

   The bony-tongued fishes comprise a number of large freshwater species. There are seven families, six genera and 34 species.

   The Arapaina is one of the largest of all freshwater fish. The Arowana, of which there are several kinds, is a fairly common aquarium fish that usually surprises the owner with its' size and beauty. The Butterfyfish, though very similar to these others, does have some significant differences. The anal fin of the male has been transformed into the genital organ. Also, the butterflyfish eggs are fertilized internally so the fry are born alive. They are found in many parts of tropical Africa.

Flatfishes: Tonguefish, Soles, Flounders

The Sole Family, Soleidae, consists of 22 genera containing 89 species.

   The name sole come from the latin word 'solea' which means sandal. As both the name 'sole' and the name 'flatfish' suggest, these are flat, bottom dwelling fish. They have elongated bodies with both eyes on one side (the right side) and a single gill shaped like a slit at the base of the throat. They can breathe atmostpheric air both through this gill cavity and from parts of the hind gut, enabling some species to live at the waters edge.
   These fish are found in tropical areas of America, Africa, Asia, and Australia; primarily in the ocean but with some that are found in both brackish and freshwaters.

For more Information on keeping freshwater fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

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