Rosy barb

Pethia conchonius

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 61–75°F (16–24°C)
pH: 6.0–8.0
Adult size: 2.8 in (7 cm)
Minimum tank: 24 gal (90 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Beginner
Breeding: Easy
Rarity: Very common
Origin: South Asia (Pakistan, India, Nepal, Bangladesh)
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

Keep them in a group of 8 to 10 or more in a tank of 90 liters or larger. They are mostly peaceful and sit in the middle of the water column, but an under-grouped fish turns into a fin nipper, so a full school keeps them settled. Water can run cool, anywhere from 16 to 24 C, with a pH from 6 to 8, and they handle an unheated tank well. They are strong jumpers, so keep a tight lid on the tank. Feed flakes, pellets, and frozen foods like bloodworms or daphnia, and skip slow or long-finned tankmates such as bettas, angelfish, and fancy guppies.

In the wild

Rosy barbs come from rivers and streams across South Asia, through Pakistan, India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, where the water runs cool and moves with some current. They are a subtropical coolwater barb, so they do fine unheated in most rooms and prefer temperatures from 16 to 24 C. Give them a tank with dark substrate and a bit of flow, since both push their color deeper. A pH anywhere from 6 to 8 suits them, and open swimming space matters more than heavy decor.

Good to know

This is Pethia conchonius, a barb in the family Cyprinidae, growing to about 7 cm. It is an egg scatterer with no parental care, and the adults will eat their own eggs once they are dropped. Breeding is easy if you separate the parents from the eggs. With good care they live several years, and most fish in the trade are tank bred.

Did you know

The males earn the rosy name by flushing deep red as they mature and during spawning, while females stay a plainer silver-gold. That red comes on strongest over dark substrate with some current, so the same fish can look washed out in a bare, still tank and rich in a planted one with flow.