Taxonomy & naming
Schäfer described Oreichthys crenuchoides in 2009 from the River Jorai near the Assam border in Coochbehar District, West Bengal. Oreichthys is a small genus of Indian and Southeast Asian dwarf cyprinids. The name suggests a resemblance to the South American characin genus Crenuchus, though the original etymology has not been checked.
Morphology
A very small, slender barb that FishBase gives at a maximum of 1 in SL. Colour pattern details, including any dark stripe, have not been described in the sources the atlas uses.
Habitat
It lives in the lowland tributaries of the Brahmaputra in the Assam and West Bengal plain. FishBase lists it from India and Nepal as a freshwater, benthopelagic fish of tropical water, recorded in very shallow water at about 3 ft. Rivers of this area are warm, soft to moderately hard and often heavily vegetated, but measured values for this species have not been published.
Feeding
Oreichthys are micro-predators and grazers on small invertebrates and plankton; the diet of this species has not been described specifically.
Mating
Mating behaviour has not been described.
Breeding
Breeding in captivity has not been documented.
In the aquarium
Treat it as a nano fish: a planted tank with gentle flow, a group of six or more, tiny live or frozen foods and fine dry foods, and peaceful small tankmates only. Care notes come from related Oreichthys.
Conservation
The IUCN Red List category is Data Deficient, assessed in 2010. That means there is too little information to judge extinction risk, not that the species is safe. Population status and threats have not been described.