Tiantian barb

Care at a glance

Overview

The tiantian barb is a peaceful nano shoaler with a cool streak, so keep it in a group of six or more in a planted tank kept on the cooler side. It swims in the middle water and pairs well with other small, cool-tolerant hill-stream fish such as dario and small loaches. Being tiny, it needs small foods and calm company: offer fine flake, micro pellets, and frozen or live daphnia, cyclops, and baby brine shrimp, and avoid fast, greedy tankmates that would beat it to the food. Plant it well with open swimming space. A tank of around 54 liters is enough for a good group.

In the wild

Pethia tiantian comes from clear, cool hill streams of the far eastern Himalaya, in the Putao region of northern Myanmar close to the northeast India border. A planted tank with fine substrate, some wood or leaf litter, gentle flow, and cooler temperatures reflects that home. Keep it at 20 to 25 degrees Celsius with pH 6.0 to 7.2. Clean, well-oxygenated water suits this small mountain fish.

Good to know

Pethia tiantian is a tiny carp-family fish, Cyprinidae, reaching only about 4.5 centimetres. It was described by Kullander and Fang in 2005 from hill streams in the far north of its range. Its doubled, sing-song name is unusual among barbs. Aquarium breeding is not on record, though as a small Pethia it is presumably an egg scatterer that gives no parental care.

Did you know

Described only in 2005, the tiantian is one of a cluster of small barbs that scientists found in the remote streams of the far eastern Himalaya, a corner where India, Myanmar, and Tibet meet and new fishes still turn up.

Tank mates

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

• Fallax killifish

  Fundulopanchax fallax

  Freshwater

  3.5 in (9 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)
• Paraguay black otocinclus

  Otothyropsis piribebuy

  Freshwater

  1.4 in (3.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Arnold's killifish

  Fundulopanchax arnoldi

  Freshwater

  3 in (7.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

• 

  Crescent gambusia

  Gambusia hurtadoi

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–79°F (20–26°C)
• Singa panchax

  Epiplatys singa

  Freshwater

  2.4 in (6 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

• 

  Cross loach

  Micronemacheilus cruciatus

  Freshwater

  1.6 in (4 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

Check the full mix in the stocking calculator

Common questions

Related species

• 

  Odessa Barb

  Pethia padamya

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)20 gal (75 L)61–77°F (16–25°C)
• Manipur barb

  Pethia manipurensis

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)
• Narayan barb

  Pethia narayani

  Freshwater

  1.8 in (4.5 cm)14 gal (54 L)68–77°F (20–25°C)

• 

  Bandula barb

  Pethia bandula

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)73–81°F (23–27°C)

• 

  Stoliczka's barb

  Pethia stoliczkana

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)20 gal (75 L)64–79°F (18–26°C)
• Cuming's barb

  Pethia cumingii

  Freshwater

  2 in (5 cm)16 gal (60 L)72–81°F (22–27°C)