Labeobarbus altianalis

The Ripon barbel inhabits Lake Victoria and its drainage basin and surrounding areas in the East African Rift, including Lake Edward, George, Kyoga and Kivu, and the Ruzizi River down to its delta (though not adjacent Lake Tanganyika) and the upper and middle Kagera River. Records from the Tana River are in error. The countries in which it is found are Burundi, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. It lives in diverse freshwater habitats, from inshore waters of lakes to rapidly flowing rivers. This species is an omnivore, eating water plants, molluscs and fishes. It is fished for sport and food; its Kagera River population being of some commercial significance. Widespread and apparently rather plentiful for such a large fish due to its ecological tolerance and omnivorous habits, the Ripon barbel is not considered a threatened species by the IUCN. Local stocks might be temporarily affected by erosion after deforestation increasing turbidity and upsetting the aquatic plant life, and unsustainable growth of the fisheries e.g. along the Kagera must be avoided considering that it is presumably – as per its large size and like many relatives – slow-growing and takes long to mature.