Fish & Aquatic Life

Exclusive for The Weekend Aquarist Subscribers By Amar Salvi Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes India’s freshwater fish rarely get the spotlight they deserve - yet very few people have done more to document them than Beta Mahatvaraj, better known as Meenkaran. For over two decades, he has explored streams and rivers across the subcontinent, photographing and studying Indian natives both in the wild and in aquaria. His photographs are permanently displayed at the Chennai Public

Wild Betta Chronicles By Ganpat Parab Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes We are excited to launch a new series on Wild Bettas - the true ancestors of the modern betta. Each article will explore a unique species or form, their behaviour, habitats, and what makes them special in the aquarium world. To begin the series, we feature a remarkable wild-hybrid that has taken the hobby by storm: The Alien Betta, presented by Ganpat Parab of GBettas, who has over 20 years of experience w

Tidepools of Havelock: Cradles of the Andaman Reef By Beta Mahatvaraj Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes On Havelock Island in the Andaman archipelago, the ocean leaves behind more than just sand when the tide withdraws. In the volcanic rock lining the shoreline, it leaves tidepools - quiet, shimmering pockets that act as miniature worlds. For aquarium enthusiasts, these tidepools offer a chance to look closely at a natural nano-reef. They are compact, rich in life, heavily ada

By Natasha Khardina Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes The Biotope Aquarium Contest 2025 (BAC2025) has once again carried forward a quiet revolution in the aquarium world: transforming precise field research of natural habitats into public education. Instead of rewarding artistic layouts alone, BAC demands scientific documentation - photographs of the original location, species lists, substrate analysis and systematic notes - and celebrates those who faithfully translate wild h

Japanese koi, also known as Nishikigoi, and the ten varieties that define the hobby. By Siddharth D'Souza Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes Today we dive deep into the world of Japanese koi, also known as Nishikigoi, and explore some of the most significant varieties that make this living art form so magical. There are hundreds of koi varieties, differentiated by colour, pattern, scale type and even shape - but don't worry, we'll stick to the ten that are most foundational and

The Making of India Gills & Best4Pets By Amar Salvi, Editor - The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 5-6 minutes When you walk into the sprawling warehouse that houses India Gills, it is easy to think the story began there - rows upon rows of tanks, quarantine facilities and a tightly coordinated operation. But the real beginning of this journey lies far away, in the disciplined corridors of banking, the rugged mountains of Himachal, and the restless heart of a man who tra

The Indian Aquascaping Summit By Amar Salvi, Editor — The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 4–5 minutes TIAS 2025 — The Indian Aquascapers Summit — was born from a dream: a dream envisioned by Yuvaraj VM, the director and driving force behind Aqua Club, to unite India’s aquascaping community on one grand stage. For years, workshops and live creations were something Indian hobbyists could only watch from afar. Yuvaraj wanted to change that — to bring the experience to Indi

The Little Star of Aquascaping By Dr. Nataraj J Estimated read time: 4–5 minutes Pogostemon helferi is one of the most captivating and visually distinctive plants in the world of aquascaping. Known locally in Thailand as “Dao-noi,” meaning “little star,” the species is admired for its compact rosettes, deeply curled leaves, and vivid green coloration. While it may not be as well known as some other aquatic plants, it is valued by aquascapers for its natural look, easy growth,

Lost & Found After 85 Years By Amar Salvi, Editor - The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes For most of the last century, Channa amphibeus - locally known as the Chel Snakehead or Bura Cheng - was little more than a fish remembered through old records. Its last confirmed appearance dated back to specimens collected between 1918 and 1933, after which it seemed to exist mainly in stories, paintings and the unverified recollections of fishers from the Himalayan foo

New species are being discovered in the wild with increasing frequency. Across these stories, rediscovery, new descriptions and closer examination reveal how much remains to be understood about India's freshwater biodiversity. By V. Balaji Estimated read time: 4-5 minutes New fish species are being discovered in the wild, often in habitats under increasing threats. In this feature, The Weekend Aquarist follows several recent discoveries and rediscoveries, exploring the habita

Meet Pradip Patade, a water-sports instructor turned citizen scientist, quietly changing how a city sees its own coastline. By Amar Salvi, Editor — The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 9–10 minutes For nearly a decade, Pradip Patade's life has been shaped by the rhythm of the tides at Girgaum Chowpatty. While most of Mumbai experiences the shoreline as a place of crowds, festivals, and fleeting escapes, Pradip sees something far more intimate — an ever-changing intertida

At a time when aquascaping is often driven by aesthetics alone, voices like Dhiraj Shetty's are helping the hobby pause, reflect, and mature. The Weekend Aquarist caught up with Dhiraj Shetty, founder of Mangalore Aquatics and co-founder of the Indian Biotope Championship (IBC), to discuss entrepreneurship, the importance of biotope aquariums, and how celebrating Indian ecosystems can redefine the future of fishkeeping in the country. By Amar Salvi, Editor — The Weekend Aquar

By Rahul G. Kumar Estimated read time: 8–9 minutes In addition to a number of vividly coloured dwarf caridean shrimp, India is also home to a number of large growing, long armed, and often beautifully coloured river prawns of the genus Macrobrachium. The name Macrobrachium means "big arm," and members of the genus invariably bear a prominent pair of pincers, which are often enlarged in males. Found in the wild in a variety of habitats from hill-streams to brackish water lagoo

New fish species are discovered frequently in the wild, often in habitats under increasing threats. In Into the Wild: New Fish Discoveries, Balaji Vijayakrishnan takes us into the field, sharing firsthand accounts of newly described species, their habitats, and why these discoveries matter for conservation, and the aquarium community alike. By V. Balaji Estimated read time: 8–9 minutes A Slippery Comeback: Rediscovery of Moringua hodgarti from Arunachal Pradesh Authors: Nilan

Andrew Huang's journey from childhood aquariums to following Amano's Legacy By Amar Salvi, Editor — The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 6–7 minutes Andrew Huang is a psychiatrist finishing his final year of residency in New Jersey. He is also, by his own account, someone people frequently mistake for Bruce Lee — a comparison he shrugs off, with a nod to the one lesson he thinks actually transfers from the dojo to the fish room: consistency. “In his practice he was disci

Abhisek Mishra has no proper camera, no boat, and no formal training in ichthyology. What he has is an Android phone, a two-foot hand net, and a habit of wading into Odisha's rivers until something new swims by — a habit that has already put two fish species on the scientific record, and one of them, already, on the list of the threatened. By Amar Salvi, Editor — The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 7–9 minutes Abhisek Mishra's introduction to the hobby didn't begin with

A 1951 shrimp record. Seven decades of doubt. And a photograph that reopened a case science had all but closed. This is the story of how Atyopsis spinipes was found again. By The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 3–4 minutes The Bamboo Shrimp is familiar to aquarists around the world. With its fan-like feeding appendages, peaceful temperament, and fascinating filter-feeding behaviour, it has long been a favourite among shrimp keepers. Yet for decades, few realised that In

Somewhere in the rocky hill streams of the Eastern Ghats, water drops over granite in a quiet cascade, pools beneath the shade of forest cover, and moves on toward the plains below. It looks, at first, like any other forest stream. Beneath the surface, it is holding onto something far older than the landscape around it. By Karthickeyen K.S. Estimated read time: 3–4 minutes The Eastern Ghats run for more than 1,750 kilometres along India's eastern flank, cutting through Odisha

The story behind India’s newest Nature Aquarium Gallery. By Amar Salvi, Editor — The Weekend Aquarist Estimated read time: 6–7 minutes When we first heard aquascaper and entrepreneur Amartya Ghosh describe his vision for TiCi Nature Lab, it sounded ambitious: a place where aquariums, terrariums, rainforests, vertical gardens, aquatic plants, and ecosystem education would come together under one roof. A recent visit by The Weekend Aquarist confirmed that this vision is rapidly

New Fish Discoveries By Balaji Vijayakrishnan Estimated read time: 6–7 minutes By his own admission, Balaji Vijayakrishnan has a completely unreasonable obsession with catfishes. While other people marvel at coral reefs, obsess over charismatic megafauna, or drool over colourful fish, he finds himself emotionally invested in barbels and spines — convinced, only half-jokingly, that catfish have more personality than anything else swimming. This month, true to that obsession, h