Ticto barb

Pethia ticto

Also known as Two-spotted barb

FreshwaterFish

Ticto barb (Pethia ticto) — (c) Ronith Urs, some rights reserved (CC BY) · cc-by

Care at a glance

Temperature: 64–75°F (18–24°C)
pH: 6.5–7.5
Adult size: 2.4 in (6 cm)
Minimum tank: 20 gal (75 L)
Temperament: Mostly peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Easy
Breeding: Easy
Rarity: Common
Origin: South Asia (India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar)
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

Keep a school of six or more, since a smaller group turns nippy and starts harassing tankmates. They're mostly peaceful active swimmers that hold the middle of the water column and want open room with gentle flow. Run the water cool, roughly 18 to 24 C, with a pH from 6.5 to 7.5, and skip the heater in most rooms since they dislike sustained warmth. Feed flakes, small pellets, and frozen treats like daphnia or bloodworms. Pair them with other cool-water fish of similar size and avoid slow, long-finned tankmates that the barbs may pester.

In the wild

Ticto barbs come from rivers, streams, and ponds across South Asia, including India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, and Myanmar. A lot of that range is subtropical and cool, so these fish do fine in an unheated tank and actually struggle with sustained warmth. Give them a tank of at least 75 liters with open mid-water swimming room, some planted edges, and gentle flow. Keep the water on the cooler side, around 18 to 24 C, with a pH from 6.5 to 7.5.

Good to know

This is a small cyprinid in the family Cyprinidae, reaching about 6 cm as an adult. It's an easy egg scatterer with no parental care, spawning over fine plants or marbles that let the eggs fall out of reach. A healthy adult can live several years, and most fish in the trade are commercially bred.

Did you know

Spawning ticto barbs is about as simple as egg scattering gets. Drop a pair or a small group over a layer of marbles or a dense clump of fine plants, and the scattered eggs fall into the gaps where the adults can't reach to eat them. Pull the parents afterward and the fry hatch on their own in a couple of days.