Barna baril

Opsarius barna

Also known as Barilius barna, Striped hill trout

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 64–79°F (18–26°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 5.9 in (15 cm)
Minimum tank: 53 gal (200 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar
Family: Danionidae

Overview

This is an active, trout-like baril for the longest tank you can give it, kept as a group of five or more so any chasing is spread across the school. It patrols the current in open midwater and strikes fast at food, so choose robust companions and avoid small or timid fish. Barils are champion jumpers, so a tightly fitting lid is not optional. Feed floating and sinking foods along with frozen and small live items such as bloodworm and insect larvae. Around 200 liters with real flow suits a group.

In the wild

The barna baril lives in clear, gravelly hill streams and larger rivers from India through Nepal, Bangladesh, and into Myanmar. Build a river-style tank with strong flow, high oxygen, a substrate of sand, gravel, and rounded stones, and plenty of open length. It handles a fairly wide range, so keep it at 18 to 26 degrees Celsius with a pH of 6.5 to 7.8.

Good to know

Opsarius barna is a danio-family cyprinid, Danionidae, reaching about 15 centimeters, silver with tall blue-grey bars along the flank. Hamilton described it in 1822, using barna, the local Bengali name for the fish. Like other barils it hunts insects at the surface of running water; its breeding is not recorded in aquaria.

Did you know

Barils feed the way trout do, rising to snatch insects off the surface, so a school working the current line gives an aquarium something close to a river rise.