Twin-striped barb

Desmopuntius gemellus

Also known as Gemellus barb, Twin-banded barb

FreshwaterFish

Twin-striped barb (Desmopuntius gemellus) — The Wet Spot Tropical Fish · Used with permission

Care at a glance

Temperature: 73–82°F (23–28°C)
pH: 5.0–6.8
Adult size: 3.5 in (9 cm)
Minimum tank: 29 gal (110 L)
Temperament: Peaceful
Social behavior: Schooling
Swim level: Middle
Difficulty: Medium
Breeding: No record
Rarity: Rare
Origin: Jambi and Riau blackwaters, Sumatra, Indonesia
Family: Cyprinidae

Overview

The twin-striped barb is a peaceful blackwater shoaler, best kept in a group of six or more in a soft, shaded, tannin-stained tank. It swims in the middle water and, like the other striped barbs of the peat swamps, it is gentle and suits calm soft-water tankmates such as gouramis, small rasboras, and other blackwater species. It takes small foods readily, including fine flake, micro pellets, and frozen or live cyclops, daphnia, and grindal worm. Plant it, add leaf litter and wood, and keep the light low. A tank of around 110 liters suits a good group of these pinstriped fish.

In the wild

Desmopuntius gemellus is a blackwater barb from Sumatra, in the Jambi and Riau lowlands of Indonesia, where it lives in soft, acidic, tannin-stained forest streams and swamps. Recreate that with leaf litter, wood, a dark substrate, dim light, and gentle flow. Keep it warm and very soft, 23 to 28 degrees Celsius, at a low pH of 5.0 to 6.8. Stable, clean blackwater brings out its fine stripes.

Good to know

Desmopuntius gemellus is a small carp-family fish, Cyprinidae, reaching under about 9 centimetres, marked with fine dark pinstripes from nose to tail. It was described by Kottelat in 1996, and the name gemellus is Latin for a twin, a nod to its close resemblance to the other striped blackwater barbs of the johorensis group. There is no record of it breeding in aquariums.

Did you know

Its name says it plainly: gemellus is Latin for twin, given because it is so hard to tell apart from the other pinstriped blackwater barbs it lives among that even trained eyes need a close look.