Redlip barb

Pethia erythromycter

Also known as Red mustache barb, Red lipstick barb

FreshwaterFish

Redlip barb (Pethia erythromycter) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–79°F (22–26°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 1.6 in (4 cm)
Minimum tank: 14 gal (54 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Irrawaddy basin, Myanmar
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

The redlip barb is a peaceful dwarf that shoals, so keep it in a group of eight or more; males then spend their time displaying to each other and colour up far better than lone fish. It occupies the middle water of a well-planted tank and mixes happily with other small, gentle species such as rasboras, small tetras, and dwarf shrimp too large to be eaten. Feed small foods it can manage: fine flake, micro pellets, and frozen or live daphnia, cyclops, and baby brine shrimp. Because it is tiny and slow to the food, avoid fast or greedy tankmates. A modest planted tank of around 54 liters is enough for a good-sized group.

In the wild

Pethia erythromycter comes from streams and their margins in the Irrawaddy basin of Kachin, in far northern Myanmar. It likes clear, gently flowing water, so give it a densely planted tank with fine substrate, leaf litter or wood, and calm to moderate flow. Keep it at 22 to 26 degrees Celsius with pH 6.5 to 7.5. Soft, clean water and cover from floating plants bring out the male's colours and encourage natural behaviour.

Good to know

Pethia erythromycter is a small carp-family fish, Cyprinidae, described by Kullander in 2008 and reaching only about 4 centimetres. The name means red nose, from the Greek for red and for snout, and refers to the scarlet snout of breeding males, who also raise small white tubercles there. Breeding is moderately achievable: it is an egg-scattering spawner that lays among fine plants, and the adults will eat their own eggs if left in.

Did you know

Nuptial tubercles, the little breeding bumps males grow on the snout, are unusual on a barb this small, and here they cluster on a bright red nose that gives the fish both its common name and its scientific one.