Methodology:
Different aquarium shops of Katabon market in Dhaka city were surveyed between March and September 2008. Available shops, aquarium products in shops were noted down during field visit. Local name of the aquarium fishes were listed down and other related information was collected through interviews of the aquarium shop keepers.
Aquarium shops in Dhaka:
Katabon market, the most common and popular market in Dhaka city for aquariums and other aquarium products like aquarium fishes, aquarium foods, chemicals, toys, plants etc. At least 25 aquarium shops are available in this market where all kinds of aquarium products can be found.
Aquarium fishes and other aquarium species:
Ornamental live animals are the heart of an aquarium. Though several non-fish species are used as aquarium species but popularity of ornamental fishes are still high than non-fish species. A large number of aquarium fish species were recorded including both native and exotic species. The several indigenous colorful fish species were available in the shops but according to the sellers, these fishes were imported from foreign countries.
However some highly expensive fishes were recorded in the study area. Silver Arowana was the most expensive species (1,20,000 Taka per pair) followed by large sized Assorted Koi Carp (12,000 Taka per pair) and Oscar (500 Taka per pair). Retail price of a pair of any other available aquarium fishes were below 500 Taka. List of recorded fishes are shown in the following table-
| Serial No. | Common / Local name | Scientific name |
| 01 | Angel | Pterophyllum scalare |
| 02 | Assorted Koi Carp | Cyprinus carpio |
| 03 | Black Molly | Poecilia sphenops |
| 04 | Black Moor | Carassius auratus |
| 05 | Blue Gourami | Trichogaster trichopterus |
| 06 | Branded Gourami | Colisa fasciata |
| 07 | Calico | Carassius auratus |
| 08 | Catfish | |
| 09 | Comet | Carassius auratus |
| 10 | Dwarf gourami | Colisa lalia |
| 11 | Gold Fish | Carassius auratus |
| 12 | Guppy | Poecilia reticulata |
| 13 | Kissing Gourami | Helostoma temmincki |
| 14 | Oscar | Astronotus ocellatus |
| 15 | Palate | |
| 16 | Pearl Gourami | Trichogaster leeri |
| 17 | Piranha | Pygocentrus nattereri |
| 18 | Rambo | Epalzeorhynchos frenatus |
| 19 | Siamese Fighter | Betta splendens |
| 20 | Convict Cichlid | Archocentrus nigrofasciatus |
| 21 | Silver Arowana | Osteoglossum bicirrhosum |
| 22 | Silver Dollar | Metynnis hypsauchen |
| 23 | Sucker Mouth Catfish | Hypostomus plecostomus |
| 24 | Sword Tail | Xiphophorus helleri |
| 25 | Tiger Barb | Barbus tetrazona |
| 26 | Tiger Shark | Hexanematichthys seemanni |
| 27 | Timber Barb | Puntius sp. |
| 28 | Zebra | Danio rerio |
Except fishes, two other animals namely turtle and Inca snail were found as an aquarium pet. Officials said that these animals were imported from adjacent foreign countries including India, Thailand etc.
Aquarium decoration:
For decorating aquarium, different plastic made plants, toys and other show pieces were available in the shops of the study area. Sometimes corals from Sent Martin Island or other sources are found to be sold in these shops. Price of these items varies with product type, its size etc.
Other aquarium products:
Other aquarium products like different medicines, chemicals, fish foods etc. were common in each shop. Formulated packet feeds for aquarium species are imported from foreign countries. Foods are available in small to large sized packets. However aquarium handbooks were also available in some shops of Katabon market.
Acknowledgment:
Author is highly grateful to his friends Roomi, Razib and Pavel for their remarkable cooperation during the survey.
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