''Anabas cobojius'', the Gangetic koi, popularly known as Koi in

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, is a

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

climbing gourami The Anabantidae are a family of ray-finned fish within the order Anabantiformes commonly called the climbing gouramies or climbing perches. The family includes about 34 species. As labyrinth fishes, they possess a labyrinth organ, a structure i ...

native to

Bangladesh Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, eighth-most populous country in the world and among the List of countries and dependencies by ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, where it occurs in many types of standing water bodies. This species reaches a

total length Fish measurement is the measuring of individual fish and various parts of their anatomies, for data used in many areas of ichthyology, including taxonomy and fishery biology. Overall length Standard length (SL) is the length of a fish measured f ...

of and is carnivorous, feeding on water invertebrates and their larvae. It is of commercial importance as a food fish in its native range. In addition to being fished, it may be threatened by siltation from deforestation and agricultural activities, pollution and habitat change by hydropower and dam development. The exact population is unknown. It spawns once during the rainy season from May–July.

Popular culture

A Bengali idiom says "''Koi machher pran''" or "Life of Koi fish" as this fish can survive a long time outside of water. A more literal translation of the idiom would be "koi fish's life".

References

cobojius Freshwater fish of India Fish of Bangladesh Fish described in 1822 Taxa named by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton {{anabantiformes-stub