Gold Barb
(Puntius Semifasciolatus)
Alternate Names:
Green Barb
Chinese Barb
Shubert's Barb
Half-Striped Barb
Neon Barb
Half-Banded Barb

Geographic History

These little guys come from the Red River Basin of Southeast China.

Enviornment

This Barb should be kept in groups of five or more. They will need an aquarium with lots of middle level horizontal swimming room. Provide tall plants for cover.

Compatibility

Do not keep this Barb with long finned fish like Bettas, Guppies, or Angelfish. Other peaceful fish of similar size will work well with these pretty little fish.

Sexing

Males have more black patches along their sides and have a more pronounced vertical stripe than females. The females are larger with a more rounded belly.

Behavior

These little friends are school fish that do best in groups of five or more. Groups of smaller size tend to be more aggressive fin nippers. In any size group they like to nibble on aquatic plants.

These fish are enthusiastic eaters and will feed on just about anything they can get in their mouths. They spend a good amount of time rooting around the substrate looking for bits of food.

Although they are fairly peaceful fish, they will sort out a "pecking order" within their school. Don't be alarmed if some chasing and sparring happens just after you put them in your aquarium.

Breeding

A small breeding tank will be needed to spawn this Barb. They spawn in the early morning and the females scatter about 100 eggs around the substrate. The adults will eat the eggs and should be removed after they are laid. After the fry hatch, they should be fed Infosoria and baby brine shrimp.

For more information, go to Wikipedia's Gold Barb page.