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I have scaled back all of my fishkeeping to just one aquarium right now, a 50-gallon (U.S. gallons) aquarium. Those who know me will be surprised to learn that I am not even keeping any cichlids at this time. I have turned the tank into a low-budget plant aquarium with a few small schools of some cyprinids that attract my eye. I have Tanichthys albonubes, Danio choprae, and a few Rasbora trilineata and R. einthovenii. Other non-cyprinid inhabitants include a few small spike-tailed paradise fish, a couple of whiptail cats, two Otocinclus spp., individuals and a sizeable "pet" Synodontis angelicus.

Well, right now the tank is pretty busy so if I want to add more fish I will likely be getting rid of some -- likely to go are either the trilineata or the whiptails. I like the fire "barb" alot but would like to try a real barb that is not too agressive. I have tried B. ticto and B. oligolepis but both have proven to be unruly amongst themselves and the other fishes. I would like to try the banded fasciatus or the dwarf clown barb (gelius) but do not know if they would be able to fit into the community without harassing the other fish, in particular, the anabantoids.

Any input would be appreciated. To see a picture of the tank (in a juvenile state, the plants were put in place within the last month), see:

http://static.flickr.com/109/281930761_1bec98d03b_o.jpg

Joe Middleton
Portland, Oregon, Estados Unidos[link]

If you find tictos to be particularly troublesome, by all means, steer clear of the fasciatus. IME, they are everything that's wrong with cyprinids, with none of the benefits--basically, highly nippy (albeit "peaceful", yet very sessile and boring compared to most other puntiids. Plus, they get a little large (though I've never seen imports over, say, 2.5"ish).

Thank you for the input. I will keep looking for those Fire Barbs!

If by "Fire barb" you mean the Sri Lanka Fire Barb, which is actually a Rasbora (its scientific name is Rasbora vaterifloris) then I'd say go and get them!

They are GORGEOUS fishes once they've coloured up. However, they are seriously rare. I've yet to see them in the UK despite 30-odd years of searching for them!

The other species you mention, Barbus gelius, is a nice, peaceful, inoffensive fish that has the distinct advantage of being small, so you can, when you rehouse the big fishes, have a decent sized shoal (12 of them, say), depending of course upon the other stocking. Mind you, since you already have Rasbora eithoveni and triliniata, that will limit things somewhat because they reach a fair size.

Oh, if you can house your angelicus catfish in its own 50 gallon setup for a while and let it grow a bit, it'll make you some money - Synodontis angelicus is a SKY HIGH DESIRABLE fish among many Catfish enthusiasts, and they'll pay you a substantial sum for a big one, which will in turn finance some interesting operations with respect to your Cyprinid setup!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002