Boga labeo

Labeo boga

Also known as Boga, Red gill violet shark

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–81°F (20–27°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 11.8 in (30 cm)
Minimum tank: 106 gal (400 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Social
Tankmates: Tankmates with caution
Swim level: Bottom
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Ganges and Brahmaputra basins, South Asia
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

Keep this active grazing labeo in a large tank where it works the bottom and lower water, rasping surfaces for algae and biofilm. It reaches about 30 centimeters and is mostly peaceful toward unrelated fish, but it can be pushy with its own kind and with other similarly shaped labeos, so choose tankmates with care and give plenty of broken-up territory. Sturdy, fast midwater fish make the best company. Feed sinking wafers, pellets, blanched vegetables and some frozen foods. Provide at least 400 liters with rock, wood and open floor.

In the wild

The boga labeo lives across the Ganges and Brahmaputra plains, in large rivers and their connected still waters, where it grazes hard surfaces. Give it a spacious tank with sand or fine gravel, smooth stones and driftwood to work, and steady flow. It suits a broad range, about 20 to 27 degrees Celsius, at pH 6.5 to 7.8, in clean, well-oxygenated water.

Good to know

Labeo boga is a river cyprinid reaching about 30 centimeters, silvery with a violet sheen and the down-turned, scraping mouth typical of its genus. It is potamodromous, undertaking predictable spawning migrations of over 100 kilometers within its river systems. Its spawning in aquaria is undocumented. Close relatives include the major farmed carps rohu and mrigal.

Did you know

The boga is a long-distance traveler, migrating more than a hundred kilometers up and down its home rivers to spawn, and it shares a genus with rohu and mrigal, carps that feed much of South Asia.