The species is apparently extirpated in the Batang Hari basin (Sumatra) and it seems that all individuals of B. melanopterus exported from Indonesia and Thailand by the aquarium-fish trade are captive bred.
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The range of B. ambusticauda is listed as including the lower and middle Mekong and Chao Phraya River drainages in mainland Southeast Asia; the original distribution of this species included the Chao Phraya River drainage from Bangkok upriver to the lower Nan River and in the Mekong from Vietnam and the Great Lake (Tonle Sap) to the lower Nam Ngum River.