Sawbwa barb

Sawbwa resplendens

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 68–75°F (20–24°C)
pH: 7.0–8.0
Adult size: 1.2 in (3 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: Medium
Rarity: Common
Origin: Endemic to Lake Inle and its watershed, Shan State, eastern Myanmar
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

Keep them as a colony of at least 8 to 10 in a tank of 75 liters or larger, and skew the group heavily toward females, roughly four females per male or more, because males spar constantly for dominance and you want that aggression spread out. They are mostly peaceful toward other fish and sit in the middle of the water column, but they are shy and easily pushed off food by pushy tankmates, so pick small, calm company. Hold the water at 20 to 24 C with a pH of 7 to 8, since they will not spawn much above 25 C and a warm community tank does not suit them. Because the tank is unscaled and sensitive, run mature, stable, well oxygenated water. Feed small live and frozen foods like daphnia and brine shrimp, since they often refuse to color up or feed well on dried food alone.

In the wild

Sawbwa barbs are endemic to Lake Inle and its watershed in Shan State, eastern Myanmar, a high-altitude lake that runs cool, hard, and alkaline. That setting matters more than usual for this fish, so do not treat it like a soft, acidic blackwater species. Give them a heavily planted tank of at least 75 liters with a dark substrate and gentle flow. Keep the water moderately hard and on the neutral to alkaline side, with a pH of 7 to 8, and hold the temperature down at 20 to 24 C, since this is a subtropical fish that suffers in warm tropical setups.

Good to know

This is a tiny cyprinid in the family Cyprinidae, also sold as the Asian rummynose rasbora or naked microrasbora, and it reaches only about 3 cm. The body is effectively scaleless, which is where the "naked" name comes from, and that leaves it more sensitive to ammonia, poor water quality, and medications than most fish. It is an egg scatterer that deposits on the undersides of broad leaves, with breeding tied to high general hardness around 20 dGH or more.

Did you know

Despite being a barb by name, this fish is so small and so unlike a typical barb that the hobby keeps inventing new names for it, calling it a rummynose rasbora or a naked microrasbora instead. Breeding males turn bright, with a vivid orange-red nose and tail tips against a steely blue body, while females stay plain silver, which makes sexing the group and setting a female-heavy ratio easy to do by eye.