International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences Proceedings of the International Academy of Ecology and Environmental Sciences 2220-8860 8 4 2018 12 1 Freshwater fish fauna of Tamil Nadu, India 213-230 EN H.S. Mogalekar J. Canciyal http://www.iaees.org/publications/journals/piaees/articles/2018-8(4)/freshwater-fish-fauna-of-Tamil-Nadu.pdf> A systematic, updated checklist of freshwater fish species of Tamil Nadu consist of 226 species representing 13 orders, 34 families and 93 genera. The top order with diverse species composition was cypriniformes with 125 species, 39 genera and four families. Cyprinidae contributed 48.89 % to total freshwater fishes of Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu constitutes about 43.11 % to the endemic freshwater fishes of India and 40.09 % to the total endemic fish diversity of Western Ghats of India. The trophic level of freshwater fishes of Tamil Nadu ranged from 2.0 to 4.5 containing 45.37 % of mid-level to high level carnivores. Assessment of the fishery status of freshwater fishes of Tamil Nadu revealed existence of 132 species worth for capture fishery, 132 species worth for ornamental fishery, 50 species worth for culture fishery and 28 species worth for gamefish fishery. Selective breeding and ranching of native fish species may help to overcome the difficulties of species endangerment. Collection of fishes from wild to develop the brood stock for captive breeding, seed production, experimental aquaculture of fast growing fishes and colourful fishes for aquarium purposes could be potential source of income in the rural areas of Tamil Nadu.