The flying fox is a popular freshwater community-aquarium fish that belongs to the Cyprinidae family. It is known to eat green algae

Green algae

The green algae are the large group of algae from which the embryophytes emerged. As such, they form a paraphyletic group, although the group including both green algae and embryophytes is monophyletic...

. It is also known as kuonobarbi in the aquarium trade and is sometimes mistakenly referred to as the Siamese Algae Eater

Siamese algae eater

The Siamese algae eater, Crossocheilus oblongus, is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae. This bottom-dwelling tropical fish is found in mainland Southeast Asia that includes the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins as well as the Malay Peninsula. Their natural habitats are streams...

.

Physical description

The flying fox fish has a characteristic long body with a flat abdominal area. Its dorsal area has a coloration ranging from olive to dark brown. The lower half of its body has a yellowish white hue. A brownish-black line is apparent from its mouth, eye and the caudal fins. On top of this brownish-black line is a gold-colored stripe. The eyes of a flying fox may have a reddish iris. Its dorsal, anal and ventral finnage comprise of a black band and a white edge.

Although known to grow up to 6 inches (15.24 cm), flying foxes have an average length of 4.7 inches (11.94 cm) in an aquarium setting.

Distribution and habitat

The flying fox is a bottom-dweller that thrives in fast-flowing foothill rivers and streams of Borneo, Java and Sumatra in Indonesia of Southeast Asia. They are also found in Thailand.

Tank requirements

A 20 to 40 gallon tank lined with fine gravel substrate is suitable for an average-sized flying fox fish. Being bottom-dwellers, the aquarium for flying foxes require broad-leaved plants, rocks, and driftwood to serve as hiding places. Because the flying fox is a known algae-eater, the tank is normally provided with adequate lighting. Flying foxes survive in aquarium water that has a 6 to 7.5 pH reading, a water hardness ranging from 2 to 12 dH, and temperatures maintained at 23 to 27 °C (73.4 to 80.6 F).

Behavior

Being a community-tank fish, flying foxes are compatible with acara

Cichlid

Cichlids are fishes from the family Cichlidae in the order Perciformes. Cichlids are members of a group known as the Labroidei along with the wrasses , damselfish , and surfperches . This family is both large and diverse. At least 1,300 species have been scientifically described, making it one of...

s, angelfish

Pterophyllum

Pterophyllum is a small genus of freshwater fish from the family Cichlidae known to most aquarists as "Angelfish". All Pterophyllum species originate from the Amazon River, Orinoco River and Essequibo River basins in tropical South America...

, barbs

Barbus

Barbus is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of Barbus is the Common Barbel, first described as Cyprinus barbus and now named Barbus barbus...

, danio

Danio

The Danio genus comprises many of the species of danionins familiar to aquarists. The common name "danio" is used for members of the genera Danio and Devario.-Taxonomy:...

s, eartheaters

Geophagus

Geophagus is a genus of cichlids from South America. The genus is currently polyphyletic and in need of further taxonomic revision. Some geophagine cichlids previously included in this genus have been reallocated to Gymnogeophagus or Satanoperca...

, gourami

Gourami

Gouramis are a family, Osphronemidae, of freshwater perciform fishes. The fish are native to Asia, from Pakistan and India to the Malay Archipelago and north-easterly towards Korea. The name "gourami" is also used for fish of the families Helostomatidae and Anabantidae. "Gouramis" is an example of...

s, knifefish

Knifefish

Knifefish may refer to several knife-shaped fishes:* The Neotropical or weakly electric knifefishes, order Gymnotiformes, containing five families:** Family Gymnotidae ** Family Rhamphichthyidae...

, loach

Loach (fish)

Cobitidae is the family of the true loaches, which are Old World freshwater fish. They occur throughout Eurasia and in Morocco, and inhabit riverine ecosystems. Today, most "loaches" are placed in other families...

es, tetra

Tetra

thumb|right|250px|Pristella tetra — [[Pristella maxillaris]].thumb|right|250px|Golden Pristella tetra, a [[morph |morph]] of [[Pristella maxillaris]].thumb|right|250px|[[Silvertip tetra]] — Hasemania nana....

s and rasbora

Rasbora

A rasbora is a member of a group of small minnow-type fish in the family Cyprinidae . Fish from genera such as Boraras, Microrasbora, Rasbora and Trigonostigma are commonly referred to as rasboras...

s. Aquarium fishkeepers may also keep flying fox fish as a lone tank fish or in schools. A small congregation of flying fox fish may, however, exhibit territorial behavior. Lone foxes often challenge other species for dominance, particularly paradise fish males, which they will chase and be chased by, as well as swim in a tight circle with, though usually neither is injured, and usually the paradise fish wins.

Diet

Although an algae eater, flying foxes are also known to consume food in the form of flakes, wafers and tablets. Being omnivorous

Omnivore

Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...

, vegetables such as spinach, zucchini and lettuce, as well as live planarias, tubifex

Tubifex

Tubifex is a cosmopolitan genus of tubificid Annelids that inhabit the sediments of lakes, rivers and occasionally sewer lines. There are over ten known species of Tubifex, but the number is not certain, as the species are not easily distinguishable from each other.-Food and feeding:Tubifex worms...

 worms, crustacean

Crustacean

Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...

s and other aquatic insects are normally offered to flying foxes. Oatmeal

Oatmeal

Oatmeal is ground oat groats , or a porridge made from oats . Oatmeal can also be ground oat, steel-cut oats, crushed oats, or rolled oats....

 is also served to flying foxes. It does not consume red algae.

Breeding

Gender

Sex

In biology, sex is a process of combining and mixing genetic traits, often resulting in the specialization of organisms into a male or female variety . Sexual reproduction involves combining specialized cells to form offspring that inherit traits from both parents...

 among flying foxes is difficult to determine. Flying foxes are not known to reproduce in the aquarium.

Similar species

The flying fox is similar to the Siamese algae eater

Siamese algae eater

The Siamese algae eater, Crossocheilus oblongus, is a species of freshwater fish in the carp family, Cyprinidae. This bottom-dwelling tropical fish is found in mainland Southeast Asia that includes the Chao Phraya and Mekong basins as well as the Malay Peninsula. Their natural habitats are streams...

 (Crossocheilus oblongus) and the False Flying Fox (Garra cambodgiensis) when young.

General

• Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus (Bleeker, 1851), Taxonomic Serial No.: 639590, ITIS.gov, 2007, retrieved on: August 21, 2007

• Epalzeorhynchos kalopterus on the Aquarium Wiki Encyclopaedia