Borneo tiger barb

Puntigrus anchisporus

Also known as Anchisporus tiger barb

FreshwaterFish

Borneo tiger barb (Puntigrus anchisporus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–81°F (23–27°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 2.8 in (7 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Kapuas basin, Borneo, Indonesia
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

Treat it exactly like the familiar tiger barb, because it usually is one: keep a school of at least ten to spread out the natural fin-nipping, which turns on slow, long-finned tankmates when numbers are low. It swims in the busy middle water and is best matched with other fast, unfussy fish rather than anything with trailing fins. It is easy to feed, taking flake, pellets and frozen or live foods eagerly. Give the group at least 110 liters of open swimming space.

In the wild

The Borneo tiger barb comes from the Kapuas basin of West Kalimantan on Borneo, in forest streams and rivers. A planted tank with open central swimming room, a bed of sand or gravel and some wood suits it well. Keep it warm at 23 to 27 degrees Celsius and slightly acidic to neutral, pH 6.0 to 7.5, with clean, gently flowing water.

Good to know

Puntigrus anchisporus is a barb of the family Cyprinidae reaching about 7 centimeters. It carries the classic four black bars, but its dorsal and pelvic fins are marked with red rather than the black of the true Sumatran tiger barb, Puntigrus tetrazona. It spawns by scattering eggs among plants and is a moderate challenge to breed. Much of the tiger barb stock in the trade is actually this Bornean species.

Did you know

For over a century most pet-shop tiger barbs were sold as the Sumatran species, but the fish in our tanks is usually this Bornean barb, given away by the red rather than black in its fins.

Tank mates

Borneo tiger barb is a mostly peaceful, schooling species that keeps to the middle. These picks match on water type, temperature, pH, size and temperament.