Shacra baril

Opsarius shacra

Also known as Barilius shacra, Thousand spotted barilius

FreshwaterFish

Shacra baril (Opsarius shacra) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 64–79°F (18–26°C)
pH: 6.5–7.8
Adult size: 5.5 in (14 cm)
Minimum tank: 53 gal (200 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Himalayan foothill rivers of India, Nepal and Bangladesh
Family: Danionidae

Overview

The shacra baril is a fast, cool-water schooling fish built for big river tanks, so keep a group of at least six and give them length to swim. They are mostly peaceful but energetic, and are best matched with equally lively fish such as larger barbs and hillstream loaches rather than small or slow tankmates, which can be harried. Barils burn energy quickly, so feed generously and often with flake, pellets, and plenty of frozen or live foods, or they thin out fast. A long tank of around 200 liters or more with strong flow and a tight lid suits them, as they jump.

In the wild

It ranges along Himalayan foothill rivers in India, Nepal and Bangladesh, in the Ganges and Brahmaputra drainages, clear, gravel-bedded water that runs cool and fast and swings with the seasons. Give it a long tank with current, open water, a gravel or sand bed, and rounded stones. Unheated or lightly heated is fine, from 18 to 26 C, with the pH from 6.5 to 7.8.

Good to know

Opsarius shacra, family Danionidae, was described by Francis Hamilton in 1822 and grows to about 14 centimeters, slim and silvery with a row of short bluish bars along the side. It is also written as Barilius shacra. Its aquarium breeding is not recorded; in the wild it is an open-water egg-scatterer that spawns with the seasonal rains.

Did you know

Hamilton kept the local Gangetic name for the fish when he described it in 1822, so the scientific epithet shacra preserves the everyday name that river people were already using.

Tank mates

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