Blueberry Barb (Barbus Fasciolatus)

2023 Author: Molly Page | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 22:49

Sineshtrihovy barbs or barb Fastsiolatus, or Angolan barb (African Banded Barb, Angolan Barb) - small, but quite well-dressed fish is native to South Africa. Graceful and very mobile, she has a peaceful character. Fasciolatus is unpretentious in content. Suitable for beginner aquarists. Omnivorous. Reproduction in aquariums is difficult. Unfortunately, it is rarely found on sale.

Habitat: South Africa (lower and middle reaches of the Zambezi River, Kuneme, Kafu, Laupula-Mweru, Okavango and Zambia, Lake Kariba, Angola).

Habitat: clean freshwater bodies of water with a fast current.

Description: the body is elongated. The eyes are large, the iris is red. The fins are rounded. Two pairs of small antennae.

Color: the main background of the body is light yellow, rarely orange, the belly is noticeably lighter. The pattern consists of 10-16 vertical blue-black stripes. The stripes can vary significantly in length and width. Unpaired fins are dark red.

Size: males - up to 4 cm, females - up to 6 cm.

Life expectancy: up to 5 years.

Aquarium: general, oblong, covered with a cover glass or lid on top.

Dimensions: at least 40 liters per pair, for a flock of 5-7 individuals - from 100 liters.

Water: dH 4-12 °, pH 6-8, aeration, filtration (peat granules are added to the filter), slight flow. Weekly water changes up to 20-30%. It is recommended to add a few handfuls of dry oak, beech or Indian almond leaves to the water. The leaves are replaced every two weeks. Barbus Fasciolatus is sensitive to the content of nitrates in water.

Temperature: 20-25 ° C.

Lighting: dim.

Soil: fine river sand, dark in color.

Plants: hard-leaved plants (Anubias, Cryptocorynes) and several floating bushes.

Decoration: driftwood, grottoes, large stones and other decor, you need a lot of free space for swimming.

Feeding: in nature, the blue barb eats small worms, crustaceans, insects, detritus and phytoplankton. In aquariums, it is omnivorous - it takes live (tubule, bloodworm, coretra), vegetable (spinach, lettuce, nettle, dandelion, algae) and combined feed. With a shortage of plant food in the diet, the fish begin to eat up the aquarium plants.

Commercial feeds include Neon Daphnia, Neon BloodWorms, TetraDelicaMix, TetraMin Pro, TetraMin Mini, Sera Granu Green, TetraPhyll, etc.

Behavior: very mobile, gregarious. It is recommended to keep at least 6-10 individuals in groups. If there are less than 4 fish, then they become aggressive. Angolan barbs love to hide in thickets of plants.

Personality: peaceful, a little shy.

Water zone: lower and middle water layer.

May be kept with: Peaceful proportionate fish.

Not to be kept with: fish with elongated or veil fins; with aggressive fish.

Photo © Frank Schäfer

Breeding fish: in aquariums this is a challenge - it is difficult to find a suitable pair or get the fish to spawn. Spawning is paired or group, in a separate aquarium. Producers are fed a variety of live foods for several weeks. A spawning aquarium with a volume of 45 liters or more (70-80x30x30 cm for a couple), a separator mesh and several bunches of small-leaved plants (pinnate, fontinalis, Javanese moss, hornwort, microfillum) are placed on the bottom. The filter is turned off. The lighting is natural, weak. Water parameters: dH 2-3 °, pH 6-6.8, KH up to 0-1 °, T 24-26 ° C. Purity of water is a prerequisite for successful breeding of barbs. Fish are planted for spawning in the evening, and in the morning spawning begins, which lasts about 2 hours.

After spawning, the net is removed and the aquarium is shaded. A few drops of methylene blue are added to the water. Aeration is not turned off.

Sex differences: males are slimmer, females are fuller; young females are inky red.

Puberty: begins at the age of 8-10 months.

Related article Sumatran barb (Puntius tetrazona)

Number of eggs: 100-400 sticky small eggs.

Incubation period: about two days.

Offspring: fry swim for 3-4 days. From the second week, soft water is gradually replaced with harder water.

Growth rate: at three weeks of age the fry are already 18-20 mm long and the first stripes appear on their body.

Feeding juveniles:starter food - "live dust", brachionus plicatilis, in 5-7 days give nauplii brine shrimp and microworms, later - small cyclops and daphnia. From the age of three months, juveniles are transferred to the feeding regimen of adult fish.

Jigging from parents: after spawning, the producers are planted.

Comments: The blue barb does not like "cramped" aquariums.