Emperor round-face barb

Cyprinion semiplotum

Also known as Assamese kingfish

FreshwaterFish

Emperor round-face barb (Cyprinion semiplotum) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 61–77°F (16–25°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 23.6 in (60 cm)
Minimum tank: 396 gal (1,500 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Difficult
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Himalayan foothill rivers from India to Myanmar
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

This is a large, cool-water grazing barb reaching about 60 centimeters, so it is really a fish for the biggest systems and public aquariums, kept in a group where volume allows. It works the middle and lower water, grazing algal film from stone. Mostly peaceful for its size, it needs large, sturdy tankmates and a great deal of swimming room. Feed a mixed diet weighted toward vegetable matter, algae wafers and spirulina, with pellets and some frozen foods. Plan for at least 1,500 liters with strong flow and cool, well-oxygenated water.

In the wild

The emperor round-face barb grazes algae-covered stone in cool, clear, fast foothill rivers of the eastern Himalaya, across northern India, Nepal, Bhutan and Myanmar. Recreating that means volume, brisk current, high oxygen and cool water, around 16 to 25 degrees Celsius, at pH 6.5 to 7.8, over a bed of rock and gravel.

Good to know

Cyprinion semiplotum, the Assamese kingfish, is a large cyprinid reaching about 60 centimeters, with a rounded snout and a mouth built for scraping algae from rocks. It is assessed as vulnerable by the IUCN, its numbers reduced across its Himalayan range. It is seldom kept outside public collections and is not bred in home tanks.

Did you know

In Assam this big river grazer is prized enough to be called the kingfish, valued as food and now under real pressure across its eastern Himalayan range, where it is listed as a vulnerable species.

Tank mates

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