Shrimpy

As the subject says i am wondering what makes a cypripnid a cypripnid

jsalemi

Can't say I understand all the science behind it, but 'cypripnid' is one of the scientific families (class? order? I'd have to look it up). into which all living things are grouped. I believe it's certain physical characteristics and locations where they live that help scientists determine which animal is in which family/order/class. Though I imagine that much of this info may change or be refined as DNA testing becomes more prevalent.

Tom

I think a fish that would classify it as a cyprinid, is it is from Asia, isn't a gourami, and is very aggressive by nature.
Tom

jsalemi

Well, I don't know about agressive -- Danios aren't usually agressive. Though most of them do come from Eurasia, according to "The Complete Book of the Freshwater Aquarium". Carps, Minnows, Rasboras and Danios make up the bulk of the family.

TheEssigs

Wikkpedia... "The family Cyprinidae, named after the Greek word Kypris, another name for Aphrodite, consists of the carps and some of the fish known as minnows. The fish in this family originate from North America, Africa, and Eurasia. The largest fish in this family is the Giant Barb, which may grow up to 10 ft. The largest North American species is the Colorado pikeminnow. On the other hand, many species are smaller than 2in; the smallest freshwater fish is, in fact, a cypriniform, Danionella translucida, reaching 12 mm at the longest. All fish in this family are egg-layers and the breeding habits of most is one of non-guarding of the eggs, however, there are a few species that build nests and/or guard the eggs. Cyprinids are highly important food fish; they are fished and farmed across Eurasia. In land-locked countries in particular, cyprinids are often the major species of fish eaten, although the prevalance of inexpensive frozen fish products made this less important now than it was in earlier times. Nonetheless, in certain places they remain popular for food as well as recreational fishing, and have been deliberately stocked in ponds and lakes for centuries for this reason. Several cyprinids have been quite introduced to waters outside their natural range to provide food, sport, or biological control for some pest species. The carp and the grass carp are the most important of these, for example in Florida. In some cases, these have become invasive species that compete with native fishes or disrupt the environment, carp in particular can stir up the riverbed reducing the clarity of the water making it difficult for plants to grow. Numerous cyprinids have become important in the aquarium hobby, most famously the goldfish, which was first imported into Europe around 1728 but was cultivated by the Chinese well before then. Other popular cyprinids kept in aquarium include the barbs, danios and rasboras. The zebra danio or zebrafish (Danio rerio) is the standard research animal for studying developmental genetics. It is the largest family of fresh-water fish, with about 2,420 species of cyprinids in about 220 genera."