The content of the article
The saucer-shaped barbus is a very large fish belonging to the category of cyprinids, a distinctive feature is the presence of a red tail. The body length of these fish can reach 35 centimeters in length. By nature, such a barbus has a beautiful silver color, which also contains a golden tint. There are fish that have other interesting colors. For example, there is a golden barbus and an albino. However, it is worth noting that the golden species - a breed obtained artificially, in vivo you will not find such a fish.
As for the content of such a variety of barbus at home, then no special difficulties arise in this case. The only problem most aquarists face is the rapid growth of individuals. Far from always, sellers say in advance that the bream-shaped barbus grows to large sizes, and very quickly. As a result, the purchased aquarium very quickly becomes small, as a result of which it is necessary to acquire a new tank.
Keeping barbs in a common aquarium is not recommended, as they can easily eat any smaller fish. Aquarium such fish need a fairly large and spacious. As a filling at the bottom of the tank, you can use fine gravel, there must also be plants in the corners. It is better to choose more rigid and strong species from plants, since barbs are very fond of digging the soil and can easily dig all seedlings.
In vivo distribution
The appearance of the red-tailed barbus
A barb-shaped barbus is a fish that has a long body resembling the shape of a torpedo. The dorsal fin of this species is located quite high, the fin is bifurcated on the tail. In size, barbs of this kind are very large, they grow up to 35 centimeters. They also live long enough, the average life expectancy is 10 years. If you provide them with good conditions, the barbs can live even longer. In adult fish, yellow or gold color is most often found, fins are traditionally red in color with black stripes placed on them.
Difficulties in maintaining
Barbs are one of the most unpretentious fish, which are very easy to maintain. Providing them with good conditions is very simple. They feed on almost all available feeds; they have no special care requirements. The only thing every breeder will have to face is rapid growth. It is important to consider that a small silverfish purchased can grow to the size of an aquarium. For this reason, initially large spacious containers should be purchased for this breed. This type of fish is not always suitable for aquarists, since not everyone has such a space at home, as well as the means to buy a large aquarium.It is also not recommended to buy a bream-shaped barbus for beginner aquarists.
What to feed?
The great advantage of barbs is their omnivorous nature. They easily consume a variety of live, frozen and even artificial feeds. These fish can be fed even large feeds, for example, give them earthworms or shrimp. Barbuses are very fond of animal food, however, they also need to be given plant-based feed. Spinach, cereal containing spirulina, lettuce, cucumbers, zucchini and other vegetables containing fiber can be added to their diet. Food should be given twice a day. The amount of food is easy to determine: you need to give as much food as the fish can eat in three minutes. It is better not to give a larger amount of food so as not to overfeed the individuals.
How to contain?
To choose the volume of an aquarium for a barbus, it is necessary to take into account that it can grow to very solid sizes. Moreover, these fish do not live alone, for their normal life it is necessary to keep from 5 individuals in one tank. For such a large number of large fish, a capacity of about 800 liters is required.
As farmer-like barbs eat quite a lot and most importantly - eagerly, after each meal in the water traditionally there remains a large amount of food. For this reason, it is necessary to install a sufficiently powerful filter in the aquarium so that it purifies the water and also creates a small flow in it. Water must be filled with oxygen, so additional equipment will not be superfluous. Since the bream-shaped barbs can jump well, the aquarium needs to be covered with something.
In order to create conditions favorable for the barbus, you should bring them as close as possible to natural ones. This will require a course, since in natural conditions these fish live in bodies of water with a fairly rapid course. At the bottom of the tank you will need to place gravel and large stones. Small pebbles are better not to use, as barbs easily turn them over. Various plants will also be required in the aquarium. It is rather difficult to pick them up, since any weak and small plants and their parts are easily eaten by barbs. For this reason, it is better to choose harder and harder plants. The most suitable options are Anubias and Echinodorus.
As for the water parameters, in principle, they can be completely different, however, there are ideal indicators. Water temperature should be in the range from 22 to 25 degrees, acidity not more than 7.5 units, and hardness not more than 10 units.
Interaction with other species
In general, bream-shaped barbs do not belong to aggressive species, however, any fish with smaller sizes are considered exclusively as food. Also, it is not recommended to settle slow-moving fish with barbs in the neighborhood, since excessive activity of red-tailed can become a serious stress for them. Best for living in the same aquarium with barbs are large, but not aggressive fish. For example, excellent neighbors will be kissing gourami, shark balu, plecostomy, striped platidoras and others.
In natural conditions, barbs always live exclusively in packs, so they need neighbors at home. The minimum number of red-tailed barbs for maintenance is 5 individuals. Otherwise, these fish will become either too shy or very aggressive. And in fact, and in another case, the fish will have stress, as a result of which there will be an exacerbation of diseases.
Video: aquarium fish bream-shaped barbus
Submit