Fiveline bonylip barb

Osteochilus pentalineatus

Also known as Five-lined osteochilus, Borneo bonylipped barb

FreshwaterFish

Fiveline bonylip barb (Osteochilus pentalineatus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 5.5–7.0
Adult size: 2.2 in (5.6 cm)
Minimum tank: 53 gal (200 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Southern Borneo, Indonesia
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

This is a small, active schooling grazer, so keep it in a group of at least six and ideally more, where the fish stay bold and spend the day working surfaces for algae and biofilm. It swims in the middle and lower water and stays peaceful, suiting a community of other calm, current-loving fish. Its diet leans vegetable, so offer algae wafers and a spirulina-based food alongside sinking pellets and the occasional frozen treat. Though it stays small, it is a restless swimmer, so a longer tank of around 200 liters gives a group the room it likes to cruise.

In the wild

The fiveline bonylip barb comes from rivers and blackwater-edged streams of southern Borneo, in soft, often tannin-stained water. Recreate that with a sandy bottom, smooth stones and driftwood to graze, some leaf litter, and steady, well-oxygenated flow. Keep it warm at 23 to 28 degrees Celsius, with a pH on the acidic side, from 5.5 to 7.0. Soft water and a dim, planted layout help it show its stripes and settle in.

Good to know

Osteochilus pentalineatus is a bonylip barb in the carp family, Cyprinidae, described by Maurice Kottelat in 1982. The genus name means bone lip, for the hardened, fringed lower lip these fish use to rasp algae and biofilm from wood and stone. FishBase records a maximum of about 5.6 centimeters, so it is a modest grazer rather than the mid-size fish it is sometimes sold as. Its breeding is not documented in aquaria.

Did you know

Its name means five-lined, but the real signature is in the genus: Osteochilus means bone lip, for the tough, fringed mouth it drags over surfaces to scrape a living from algae.

Tank mates

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