Fishes / Habitat
The gold barb, Barbodes semifasciolatus, is most commonly seen in the trade in its selectively bred golden-yellow form, though the wild colour form is a duller olive green with faint dark bars. It com
The gold barb, Barbodes semifasciolatus, is most commonly seen in the trade in its selectively bred golden-yellow form, though the wild colour form is a duller olive green with faint dark bars. It comes from China and Vietnam and grows to around six to seven centimetres.
It is a hardy, easy-going barb that has been popular in the aquarium hobby for decades, valued for its bright colour and undemanding care rather than for any particularly unusual behaviour.
A group of six or more does well in a tank of sixty litres upwards. Gold barbs are tolerant of a wide range of water conditions, including typical Indian tap water, and are also reasonably tolerant of cooler temperatures compared to more strictly tropical fish.
A tank with a mix of open swimming space and some planting suits them, and they are unfussy about decor beyond that.
An easy omnivorous diet of flakes, pellets and occasional live or frozen food suits them well. They are peaceful and rarely show the nipping tendencies seen in tiger or black ruby barbs, though a proper group size still helps keep behaviour calm.
They make a reliable, low-maintenance addition to a general community tank alongside other peaceful barbs, tetras and rasboras.
Article content © Ravi Teja. All rights reserved.
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