Tinfoil Barbs Fish
Barbonymus schwanenfeldii is a very large fish from cyprinidae family.
Tinfoil barbs fish. The tinfoil barb is a fish that is often available in pet shops and sold to the beginning aquarist but it is not the best choice for those just starting in the freshwater hobby. The tinfoil barb is a benthopelagic and potamodromous species native to brunei darsm indonesia laos malaysia singapore thailand and vietnam. Tinfoil barb habitat and range.
Large individuals silvery or golden yellow in life. The tinfoil barb requires a very large tank at least 75 gallons 284 liters for one and a much larger aquarium when keeping these barbs in multiples because of their potential adult size of 13 inches 32 cm. The tinfoil barb scientific name lat.
Tinfoil barbs should come with a warning sign in pet shops alerting buyers that they ll grow quite large 14 inches and easily outgrow typical home aquariums. The tinfoil barb barbonymus schwanenfeldii is a tropical southeast asian freshwater fish of the family cyprinidae. It lives in large rivers as well as in streams ditches and manmade canals.
Tinfoil barbs are a schooling fish and they should be kept in a group with at least 3 tinfoils. The specific epithet is frequently misspelled schwanefeldii. The tinfoil barb is also utilized as food fish in its native region and grown in aquacultures.
Imagining their glistening silver scales combined with their red and orange fins swimming in our tank is a beautiful scene to watch. However a few people know that it takes several requirements to keep tinfoil barb fish in an aquarium which makes them unsuitable. This species was originally described as barbus schwanenfeldii by pieter bleeker in 1853 and has also been placed in the genera barbodes and puntius.
They are playful and avid swimmers and enjoy exploring all levels of the aquarium in their school. My go to choice when it comes to barb fish the tiger barb is an extremely popular community tank fish that s very hardy and even recommended for beginners with a few caveats. It can be up to 14 inches 35 cm long.
Distinguished from other species of the genus in having a red dorsal fin with a black blotch at the tip red pectoral pelvic and anal fins red caudal fin with white margin and a black submarginal stripe along each lobe and 8 scale rows between dorsal fin origin and lateral line ref. A group with 6 or more is ideal but will require a very big aquarium as these fish will quickly grow to be very large. Tinfoil barb fish might be tempting to keep because of their undemanding traits.