Immaculate barb

Care at a glance

Overview

The immaculate barb is a peaceful, schooling fish, so keep it in a group of at least six; in a shoal it swims openly through the middle water and stays calm toward its tankmates. It grows into a fairly large, deep-bodied barb, so give it length and pair it with other active but even-tempered community species rather than small fish it might unsettle at feeding time. It is an omnivore that readily takes sinking pellets, flake, and frozen foods. Because of its adult size, plan on a spacious tank of around 250 liters or more, well beyond what a small barb would need.

In the wild

Records place Systomus immaculatus in Assam and the wider Brahmaputra drainage of northeast India, in clear, flowing subtropical rivers and streams. Recreate that with a sand or fine gravel bed, smooth stones and driftwood, and steady, well-oxygenated current. Keep it in the range of 22 to 27 degrees Celsius, with a near-neutral pH from 6.0 to 7.2. Open swimming lanes with some planted cover along the edges suit an active mid-water shoaler.

Good to know

Systomus immaculatus is a barb in the carp family, Cyprinidae, and its species name means spotless, for a plain, unmarked body with none of the bars or blotches that badge most barbs. FishBase gives a maximum of about 19 centimeters, making it one of the larger fish in this group rather than the modest ten-centimeter barb it is sometimes listed as. Its breeding is not documented in aquaria.

Did you know

Its name is a quiet joke at the family's expense: in a group of fish famous for spots, stripes, and shoulder blotches, the immaculate barb's field mark is having no markings at all.

Tank mates

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

• Van Heurn's rainbowfish

  Melanotaenia vanheurni

  Freshwater

  7.3 in (18.5 cm)66 gal (250 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)
• Peppermint pleco

  Spectracanthicus punctatissimus

  Freshwater

  4.7 in (12 cm)66 gal (250 L)79–86°F (26–30°C)
• Festive sharkminnow barb

  Labiobarbus festivus

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)73–82°F (23–28°C)

• 

  Red tail lasiancistrus

  Lasiancistrus heteracanthus

  Freshwater

  7.1 in (18 cm)66 gal (250 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)
• Peruvian royal whiptail

  Sturisoma nigrirostrum

  Freshwater

  8.7 in (22 cm)66 gal (250 L)75–82°F (24–28°C)
• Head-spot delta pleco

  Lasiancistrus tentaculatus

  Freshwater

  6.7 in (17 cm)66 gal (250 L)77–84°F (25–29°C)

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• Binduchitra barb

  Systomus binduchitra

  Freshwater

  3.9 in (10 cm)29 gal (110 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)

• 

  Beardless barb

  Cyclocheilichthys apogon

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)72–82°F (22–28°C)

• 

  Black Moor

  Carassius auratus

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)25 gal (95 L)61–75°F (16–24°C)

• 

  Ogilbie's osteobrama

  Rohtee ogilbii

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)68–81°F (20–27°C)

• 

  Ryukin

  Carassius auratus

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)25 gal (95 L)61–73°F (16–23°C)
• Blackline poropuntius barb

  Poropuntius melanogrammus

  Freshwater

  7.9 in (20 cm)66 gal (250 L)64–77°F (18–25°C)