Barbus red: description, maintenance and care

Barbs (or longhorns) belong to the genus of ray-finned fish and belong to the carp family. In the wild, they are found in the waters of countries such as Malaysia, Indonesia, on the island of Sumatra. These fish began to be massively bred in the 30s of the XX century. Today barbs are one of the most popular aquarium fish, now there are about 15 species that can be successfully bred at home. We're going to talk about the red barbus.

The red Sumatran barbs are genetically modified fish. They appeared as a result of the introduction of genes of marine animals into the genes of the common Sumatran barbus. Thanks to this, a red fish was born with the ability to glow. Red striped barbs are often called barbus glofish (from the English word glofish - glowing fish), it can also be called transgenic.

In an aquarium, red barbs reach 4-6 cm in length, they have a flattened body, triangular fins and a two-lobed tail. The mustache is absent in this species. The background of the coloring is a striking coral shade, along which 4 black stripes run vertically. This view looks especially impressive when illuminated by a blue lamp. Females are distinguished by their large forms and a full round belly, while males are more graceful and more brightly colored.

Red barbs are very mobile and playful fish, they are constantly moving, exploring the bottom, catching up with each other. Unlike other types of barbs, which are badass, red individuals have a very peaceful disposition. They prefer to swim in the upper and middle water layers.

In order for the red barb to live in the home aquarium for as long as possible, the following recommendations of specialists must be observed.

• The volume of the aquarium. The container should be not just voluminous, but long (at least 55 cm). For 5-8 fish, you will need about 80 liters of water.
• Lighting. Red barbs like moderate light. The aquarium should be located near the window, and in the evening it is necessary to turn on the backlight.
• Water requirements. The water must certainly be settled. The acidity required for these fish is 6.5-7.5 pH. Hardness - from 4 to 10. Comfortable temperature of the aquatic environment is 20-25 degrees Celsius. Replace 1/4 of the water volume once a week.
• Priming. It is preferable to make the bottom in a dark color scheme. Against its background, red barbs look especially impressive and bright. Medium to coarse sand, pebbles or a special soil mixture are suitable.
• Equipment. In the wild, these fish live in running water. Therefore, using a compressor and a filter, you need to try to recreate the flow of water. In addition, the compressor will enrich the water with the necessary oxygen, and the filter will make it clean.
• Plants and decor. Plants should not be very densely planted, as nimble barbs will need a lot of swimming space. The best choice is floating plants: salvinia, duckweed, riccia. But for these fish, you need to plant some thickets as a shelter, using, for example, a water fern. You should not decorate the aquarium with large objects so as not to interfere with the fish actively swimming.
• Feeding. Red barbs can be fed dry, frozen or live food (tubifex, bloodworms, daphnia). Feed should be 2 times a day in small portions. The remains of food lying on the bottom, these fish are carefully selected. It is also necessary to include herbal supplements in the diet so that barbs do not eat young shoots of plants.

Breeding red barbs is easy. To begin with, you need to equip a spawning ground, which is suitable for an aquarium with a volume of at least 10 liters. It is necessary to pour old water and 30% fresh water into it. No soil is required; plants are placed on the bottom to protect the eggs from being eaten by fish. It is also necessary to shade the spawning ground.

Females with full belly and active males are planted in the evening in a prepared aquarium. Spawning usually occurs the next morning. The female spawns several hundred eggs, the male fertilizes them. Immediately after this, the parents must be removed from the spawning grounds so that they do not eat the eggs.

Larvae appear after 24 hours. At first they hide, and on the fourth day the fry are already able to swim and eat food.

As noted, red barbs are peaceful aquarium fish. Suitable neighbors for them will be gourami, platies, swordtails, catfish. It is better not to put delicate fish, for example, neons, in an aquarium with barbs. The best solution is to co-locate several non-aggressive species of these fish. Red barbs are spectacular aquarium fish. They do not require special conditions of keeping and are not very difficult to care for, which allows even novice aquarists to start them.

For the red Sumatran barb, see below.