Snakeskin barb

Desmopuntius rhomboocellatus

FreshwaterFish

Care at a glance

Temperature: 72–82°F (22–28°C)
pH: 6.0–7.5
Adult size: 2.2 in (5.5 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Hard
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Borneo
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

Snakeskin barbs are peaceful, shoaling fish that should be kept in a group of at least eight, since a good shoal keeps them settled and brings the males into their richest color. They swim in the middle water and suit a quiet, planted community or a soft blackwater tank with other small, gentle species. A larger group also keeps their attention on each other rather than on any smaller or long finned tankmates. Feed a varied diet of small flake, micro pellets, and frozen or live foods such as daphnia and bloodworm. A tank around 75 liters or larger will comfortably house a shoal.

In the wild

This barb comes from the blackwater streams and peat swamp forests of Borneo, where the water is soft, acidic, and stained dark brown with tannins beneath dense forest. It shows its best in warm water of about 22–28 C and a pH of 6.0–7.5, ideally toward the softer, more acidic end. Recreate that with a dark substrate, plenty of driftwood and leaf litter, and gentle, tannin stained water under subdued light. Generous planting broken by open swimming space completes the setting.

Good to know

Desmopuntius rhomboocellatus is a small member of the family Cyprinidae that reaches around 5.5 cm. It is a warm orange to red fish crossed by a series of dark, diamond shaped bars and blotches that link into a chain like pattern down the flanks, which gives it the snakeskin name. It was formerly placed in the genus Puntius. It is an egg scattering, non guarding spawner, and breeding it is considered difficult and is seldom achieved in the home aquarium.

Did you know

The species name rhomboocellatus points to the row of rhombus, or diamond, shaped markings along the body, each edged so that it reads almost like an eye spot. Linked together down a coppery orange flank, they create the chain mail or snakeskin look that gives the fish both its scientific and common names.