Barbus fasciolatus
Barbus fasciolatus inhabits natural waters in Central and South America. The fish prefer to stay in coves and shoals in lakes and floodplain lagoons, as well as slow-flowing rivers in rainforests. The water in which these fish live is highly oxygenated and the bottom is a bed of fallen tree leaves. The fish spend most of their time under the plant cover, emerging only in the late evening and early morning to eat. This species of barb is not difficult to keep and can be recommended to beginner aquarists.
Barbus fasciolatus have a slender yellowish body. The body is a succession of dark transverse strokes. Males are more brightly coloured. Females are slightly larger than males and have a more faded colouration. The size of fish is 5-6 cm.
Keep Barbus fasciolatus in a group of 8-10 fish. An aquarium with a capacity of 100 liters is required for this number of fish. They are peaceful, gregarious fish, which can be kept in a common aquarium with other, peace-loving not too big fish. There is a peculiar hierarchy within the flock, with a dominant male.
Barbus fasciolatus should be kept in a densely planted aquarium. As a substrate is desirable to use coarse-grained river sand. At the bottom should be placed snags, branches of trees, arranging them so that they form a lot of shady spots. Adding dried leaf litter (beech or oak) brings the internal design of the aquarium even closer to the natural environment where these fish live.
Water parameters: temperature 20-26°C, hardness dH 1-12°, pH 5.0-6.5. Necessary filtration, strong aeration of water, as well as its weekly replacement of 1/2 - 1/3 of fresh water.
The lighting should be subdued, for approximately 10 hours a day. Select plants for placement in the aquarium should be their species that are undemanding to the light.
Barbus fasciolatus is an omnivorous fish. In nature, it feeds on insects, crustaceans and algae. In an aquarium environment fish are fed artemia, daphnia, lodging and dry food containing spirulina. The fish should be fed twice a day.
Reproduction
Barbus fasciolatus usually breed in the same aquarium where they permanently reside. In this case, you can not hope to get a lot of fry, as most of the eggs and the fry themselves will be eaten by the producers. To prevent this from happening, the best option would be to breed fish in a specially designated spawning tank.
In a spawning tank of about 10 litres, the spawners are planted with a separator net or a small-leaved shrub on the bottom. After the female has spawned and the eggs have been fertilized by the male, the spawners are set aside. The eggs are incubated for 24-48 hours after which the alevins hatch and immediately begin swimming and searching for food.
The fry are fed live dust and dry food intended for fish fry. After 7-10 days, the fry are given artemia.
The life span of Barbus fasciolatus in an aquarium is about 3-4 years.
