Rosy Barb
(Puntius Conchonius)
Alternate Names:
Red Barb

Geographic History

This Barb come from South Central Asia in the area of Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh, And Myanmar. They live in lakes and streams with fast moving water.

Enviornment

These aquatic friends 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. They work well with Danios, Platys, and peaceful Catfish.

Sexing

Male Rosy Barbs have a brighter, more pinkish color. Females are slightly fatter. The male will have black spots on its dorsal fin and its fins will grow considerably longer than the female.

Behavior

These little guys like to swim in schools of five or more. Fewer than five will be more aggressive and nip the fins of other fish. Keep more females than males to curb aggression. They love to forage in the substrate for bits of food.

Breeding

To breed this barb, prepare a spawning tank with neutral Ph. When the female is ready to spawn, she will appear swolen with eggs. Males will circle and chase the females, nudging the females' bellies with their heads.

Spawning occurs in plants during the early morning hours. Male and female pairs will wrap themselves around each other and shake. This will happen several times until all the eggs have been laid. Once the female deposits her eggs, remove the adults because they are egg eaters.

The eggs will hatch in 24-36 hours and the fry begin swimming in about 6 days. Feed the fry baby brine shrimp and crushed flake food. Keep excellent water quality by doing daily 10% water changes, being careful to not suck out the fry with the old water.

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