Description
Toothcarps are usually small fish. The channels and pores of the lateral line are mainly in the head, while in the body the lateral line is a series of pointed scales.
Many members of the family Cyprinodontidae (the pupfishes) eat plant material as well and some have adapted to a diet very high in algae to the point where one, the American Flag Fish, is a renowned algae eater in the aquarium, in spite of belonging to an order of fishes that do not generally consume any plant material.
In addition, killifish derive some of the carotenoids and other chemicals required to make their body pigments from pollen grains on the surface of and in the gut of insects they eat from the surface of the water; this can be simulated in culture by the use of special color enhancing foods that contain these compounds.
The largest species is the Pacific four-eyed fish (Anableps dowei), which measures 34 cm (13 in) in length, while the smallest one, the least killifish (Heterandria formosa), is just 8 mm (0.31 in) long as an adult.
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