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Its probably so obvious to someone, i'll be completely embarrassed when I do find out what it is, but im stumped.

Thinking its maybe one of the indian river barbs, but I could be completely wrong, I know nothing about this group. Doesnt conform to any of the barbs , carp, characins, or sharks in baench, or indeed any other book I have, and I cant find him on fishbase either.

The tail that you cant really see much of in that pic, is huge and infused with a weak orange. He might have had barbels, but if he did, theyve been knocked off. I dont usually have an interest in this area of fish, Im not keen on the body type, but if im equipped for him, theres no need for him to go through the stress of another move,so im prepared to keep him. Tankspace is no issue.

http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a245/longhairedgit/IMG_5344.jpg


All I know is, hes 8-9 inches, definately a shoaler, probably not fully grown, prefers veg to meat, peaceful, but seriously skittish. He was handed into the LFS by a previous owner who said take him or i'll flush him (yes if I ever meet the guy I will shake him warmly by the throat). He was bashing his head in on the glass at the petshop, so I felt compelled to take him home and put him in a giant shoal of rainbows as a standby , and he has finally chilled out. He did have a bone protruding from his head until yesterday, and a lot of torn skin on the head, but im all over that and he seems to be healing well all things considered.

Need the ID, cos im only running warm tropical tanks at the moment, and the heat is ok while he's healing but if he needs to go outdoors i'll need to get on it pretty soon. If he's a tropical, i'll keep him, maybe find him some company. A latin name would be fabulous so I can do the usual throrough research.

I dont know if youve allready crossed it off the list because they are quite a common fish but is it a tinfoil barb? The body isnt as tall as most but if it was kept in a small tank could that have effected it? The red bottom fins and the dark stripe in the dorsal fin and also the sugestion of red in the caudial fin makes me think it as well as how you said you think it will still grow bigger.

http://www.aquahobby.com/gallery/e_tinfoil.php ?

That was my first thought , but the build seem wrong. Wouldnt be surprised if it is a closely related species or a subspecies though. Thanks for the try though.

Is it a species of Semaprochilodus? That's what it looks like to me, and they do show up in stores around here once in a while. Presumably they could appear on your side of the water too. I'm not really familiar with this group, but I know that they're South American tropicals. Fishbase has a number of them on the bottom of this page.

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

Cant find a species close enough in that genera, but leading on from that search I did come across the Cirrhinus genus of carp, possibly cirrhinus microlepis from the mekong river, and hes the spit of them, which is a bit unlucky, cos they average about 60 cm.

Just tested the theory, since the species he might be is a shellfish specialist. Hes hardly eaten in three days, just tried cockles and he ate four. Whole. Food recognition was instantanious.

Eeek, looks like I shall be the proud new owner of a very big fish. Looks like that monster tank is definately on the way.

oh dear me! i bet you wish he was a tinfoil barb now lol!

Hey git What about this one, Epalzeorhynchos frenatus

Frenatus

this profile says only about 6 inches. But everything else matches, even the compatability, of the species with Rainbowfish.

mts.gif" border="0"> I vote do you?
My Tanks at Photobucket

Close but no cigar, topfin is different, no spot on the caudal peduncle, god I wish it was one of those.lol Unfortunately he's already too big for that, and I can tell he's still merely a youngster.

Ok , finally got the id. Barbus jerdoni. 100% sure. Knew it had to be a big one.

Here a site with fish profile: http://www.fishbase.org/Summary/SpeciesSummary.php?id=13195

Djrichie
"So Long, and Thanks For All The Fish" Douglas Adams

Came in on this one late.

Knew it couldn't be a Semaprochilodous because they're Characoids, moreover Characoids with an adipose fin, and this one's very definitely a Cyprinid.

Just checked that Fishbase link ... 46 cm SL. WOW. That is a BIG Cyprinid for a home aquarium ... actually manages to make a Tinfoil Barb look like a practical home aquarium fish in comparison! At that size it's on a par with Labeo chrysophekadion, the Black Shark, a fish which demands a 250 gallon setup to keep it happy in the long term ...

I'm reminded here of something Innes said in his venerable book on the subject of Barbs:

Fortunately aquarists are not obliged to board all Barbs. Some of them weigh one hundred pounds!

William T. Innes, Exotic Aquarium Fishes, p. 187

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Yup its turning into a scary business, and as you know I was preparing for giraffe cats, but if I had shoal of these, id have to double the tanksize to cope, and that means getting towards swimming pool sizes. I'll keep him till his injuries heal, for definate, and certainly beyond the length of a foot or so, but beyond that i'm undecided.

I know these fish wont be freely available in the UK regularly, which is probably a very good thing indeed, but I know of a shop that has 6 more right now. Do I go for it, maybe go titanic, and in the years to come, have a giant community,bearing in mind I will look after them properly, and give them room befitting of the species, which means the equivalent of a heated indoor pond. You know if I keep them , I will keep a shoaling species in a shoal. But that means keeping something akin to a public display aquaria, or an indoor koi pond.

I'm hmmmmmm 'ing a lot. This will cost a bomb if I go for it. I was going a little pale at the money the giraffe cats are gonna cost me, but this is giving me the shivers. I figure adults in a shoal will need at least double the giraffe cats will, and more.

Do I like these fish that much? Even passing it on wont be easy, I know maybe one private individual and maybe 4 zoos who are capable of taking on one of these

Uerff, not this again ! I suppose the only saving grace is, if I do decide to keep him i've got a couple of years to sort something, but if the shoal is to be had, i'll have to move quickly, which would mean total commitment.

All this because some idiot buys a fish he knows nothing about, and then doesnt even have the grace to house it, and threatens to flush it. Sometimes I could kill, I really could. No way should this fish species ever reach general sale in the uk, its crazy stuff. Special orders for the most experienced only. The stupidity of the animal trade really comes home to me sometimes. Literally.



I suppose I can take some consolation in the fact that the fish is healing well and going to live, but man, talk about being a victim of your own success. God hates me, thats what it is! A tank for these guys will need to be at least 6 feet at the narrowest point, and I guess for humane care a shoal will need to be have about 12-18 feet horizontal swimming room, and 4 feet depth. Thats gonna mean nearly a 3000 gallon. 2000 would be pushing it.My head hurts.

I do NOT envy you in the slightest at the moment LHG.

However, if I was a LOT more affluent, and had a spare basement room looking to be pressed into service, I'd be tempted to save you the worry and say "Er, if you can get me 8 more, I'm building a 5,000 gallon setup in a basement that could do with some big fish ..."

Of course, the one fish you really should avoid like the plague among the Indian Barbs is this beastie. Innes mislabelled it as Barbus tor, which led to some confusion when searching for it initially, but eventually I tracked it down. Tor putitora, the Golden Mahaseer, is a 7 foot fish that tips the scales at around 110 pounds fully grown. You would have to be a seriously dedicated fan of large Barbs to take this beast on - especially as you'd need a shoal of them, which means you'd be looking at an indoor LAKE. Got a spare B-52 hangar to house them in?


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

I always forget about the adipose fin.

Good luck trying to figure out what to do with him.

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