FishProfiles.com Message Forums

HI,

I got me a school of 6 of Puntius Mahecola. They are a local Indian fish, tat much I know so I shouldnt have any trouble keeping them. Does anybody know how big they can grow?

Actually, it may also be the filament barb, but not the golden dwarf barb because it does not have barbels close to it's mouth.

Can anybody help??

According to fishbase.org they grow about nine cm. That's a pretty nice looking species. I've never heard of it myself.

---

And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

I tried to look up two different kinds of fish on that site & it wouldn't work for me. Maybe it's cause I have an iMac. I don't know. Anyone else have an iMac that it won't let you look up fish on this site?

I used to have some of those guys (in a display tank at the store, not at home), they are pretty cool. The care is pretty much just like any barb, but I have found that the red on the tail will fade if they aren't happy... I didn't even know they had red on their tails before I moved them into the display tank.

Feeding them lots of live and frozen foods should keep their colors bright as well.

---

I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Oh this could be fun.

There are some unanswered questions about taxonomy with this group of Indian Barbs. Practical Fishkeeping magazine labels it as Puntius assimilis, under the common names of Mahecola Barb or Mascara Barb, citing its home as the Nethravati River, in an area previously known as South Canara in Karnataka State in India. Fishbase lists Puntius Assimilis as an 11.2 cm fish.

The fish isn't illustrated on the Fishbase page, but IS illustrated on the Practical Fishkeeping page, and clearly shows a forked tail with a conspicuous red oval on the extremities of the tail fin, a tear-drop shaped black patch stretching from just behind the posterior edge of the dorsal fin to the caudal peduncle, body colour a colour gradient from a silvery ventral (belly) region, through a yellowish green covered by iridescent scales, to a brownish dorsal surface. Dorsal fin is red.

Practical Fishkeeping has the following to say:

This fish should not be confused with the real Puntius mahecola. Recent research (2005) has shown that P. mahecola is a distinct species, and not actually a synonym of P. filamentosus as previously believed. Many previously suggested that "mahecola" was a geographic race or sub-species of filamentosus rather than a distinct species, since this form has more red on the caudal fin and brighter adult colouration than the typical filamentosus. P. assimilis is a distinct species and sits in a species group alongside filamentosus, singhala, tambraparnei, aurulius, srilankensis and exclamatio. P. mahecola is not a member of this group and real ones actually look very different to the assimilis being sold in the trade under the mahecola nametag.

The fish in question exhibits considerable differences in colouration between the genders, and males in particular develop trailing dorsal fin filaments with age, much as in P. filamentosus. Juveniles have dark bars that disappear when the fish reaches between 1 inch and 2 inches in length.

If you log in to the Practical fishkeeping website, the article is here, though that link won't work unless you're logged in as a member (registration is free).

Care is much the same as for P. filamentosus - plenty of space, good, clean water, and feeding to be performed with some care as the fish is, like most Barbs of similar size, a self propelled garbage compactor with fins that will gorge if given the opportunity. The fish should be given small feedings several times per day, because if it is fed one large meal per day, it will pass partially digested food out the rear end and add significantly to filter loading. Vegetable matter should be provided in the diet - the fish would probably appreciate celery tops and fresh spinach - and it will gobble up algae wafers like mad.

It's also a pretty active fish, and likely to be a jumper. Keep it well covered, otherwise it might decide to launch upon an aerial excursion, and when it does so, I suspect it will be capable of flying some distance!


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for all the info, and I figured out the jumper part when I was getting the school home. The fish has settled down completely and the tail fins have a bright red colour - I guess coz the water in my tank is always a nice and warm 30 degrees C. It's also doing a good job of distracting the cichlids from fighting with each other.

The only problem that I have now is that all the species I saw online - the assimilas, the filamentosus and the mahecola pretty much look like the one I have. The colours on the tail fins are pretty bright, but other than that I cannot tell which species it is exactly.

It is kinda like the Denisonii barb, same region - south India, but is far less pricey and hopefully will be less delicate.

Puntius filamentosus, Puntius assimilis and a brace of others look alike because they are part of a species complex. This was something that arose when the taxonomy of these fishes was revised in 2005. One of the key workers in this task was Rohan Pethiyagoda, who I gather is a pretty big name in conservation on the Indian sub-continent.

The genuine fish that is correctly identified as Puntius mahecola after the revision is a different looking fish with different habitat requirements.

Given that your fishes are probably part of the filamentosus complex, the same care will apply to your fishes, be they assimilis, singhala or one of the other less well known members of the complex, as the familiar filamentosus. Space, clean water and care with respect to feeding to stop them gorging being the three main points. Supply those and 95% of your management issues are covered.

I've seen juveniles of this fish (labelled as "Melon Barbs" for some unknown reason) at my LFS. They're pretty lively and frisky, even more so if they're in a big shoal. Even small ones have considerable appetites though, and will continue eating as long as you're prepared to feed them, a bit like Labrador dogs, hence my comment that they're garbage compactors with fins. Your principal feeding worry with these fishes will be restraining their tendency to stuff themselves to burping with anything and everything edible! They'll also be vigorous competitors for food when feeding time arrives, so it might be a good idea to make sure some food reaches those fishes that don't barge their way to the front of the queue.




Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Luckily everybody in this tank is a big hog and I should not have to worry about any of the fish not eating.

Anyway, thought I should share a picture of the new fish:

http://i35.photobucket.com/albums/d152/clownygirl/Random%20pictures/DSCF2483.jpg

looked at the picture of yours and i know now it looks exactly like mine. wanted to know the best fish to keep in the tank with them. i have a 25 gallon and have had mine for almost 9 years. he is all alone now as i had a flying fox in with him but he died. thanks.