Bigspot barb

Care at a glance

Overview

Keep bigspot barbs in a group of at least six in a tank of 200 litres or more, since they reach around 13 cm and are active swimmers. Warm, soft, slightly acidic water at 24 to 28 C with a pH of 6.0 to 7.0 suits them best. Feed flakes, pellets, vegetables, and frozen foods, and expect them to nibble soft plants. They can be pushy, so keep them with other robust, similarly sized peaceful fish rather than small nano species.

In the wild

The bigspot barb comes from clear jungle streams and soft, acidic swamps of the Malay Peninsula. It shoals in the middle and lower water in warm, soft blackwater. Adults show bold dark blotches and a rosy flush, brightest in mature males. It is a colorful, larger barb for a warm soft-water community.

Good to know

This is the fish most often sold in shops as the clown barb, though it has long been misidentified as its rarer relative Barbodes everetti from Borneo. It was moved from Puntius into the genus Barbodes and reaches about 13 cm. The bold blotches on the flank give it the name bigspot barb.

Did you know

Almost every clown barb sold in shops is really this species, while the true Barbodes everetti it is named for is rarely seen in the trade at all.

Related species

• 

  Spanner barb

  Barbodes lateristriga

  5.9 in (15 cm)74 gal (280 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Spotted barb

  Barbodes binotatus

  5.9 in (15 cm)40 gal (150 L)72–79°F (22–26°C)

• 

  Clown Barb

  Barbodes everetti

  4.7 in (12 cm)40 gal (150 L)64–82°F (18–28°C)

• 

  Gold barb

  Barbodes semifasciolatus

  2.8 in (7 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–75°F (18–24°C)

• 

  Malabar danio

  Devario malabaricus

  5.1 in (13 cm)48 gal (180 L)64–77°F (18–25°C)

• 

  Clown rasbora

  Rasbora kalochroma

  3.9 in (10 cm)34 gal (130 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)