Systomus rubripinnis
The Systomus rubripinnis takes its natural habitat in Southeast Asian waters. The fish stay in the beds of large rivers. During the rainy season, rivers burst their banks, flooding adjacent rainforest areas. At that time, the Javanese barbs leave their permanent habitat and swim to shallow waters to spawn.
The body of Systomus rubripinnis is silver in colour with a greenish sheen in the reflected light. There are red spots on the gill lids. The fins and tail plumage are red. Tail with black trim. Sexual differences are poorly expressed. Males are slightly smaller than females. Sex can be accurately determined during the spawning period, when males have tiny tubercles on the head, otherwise they are absent. It should be noted that fish living in different rivers differ slightly in appearance. In nature, the size of fish reaches 25 cm.
The Systomus rubripinnis is a peaceful gregarious fish. However, they should not be kept with smaller fish, which might prey on the barbs or be chased. Therefore it is advisable to keep fish that are commensurate in size to the barbs and that live in the lower layers of water. Keep Javanese barbs in a group of at least 8 fish.
Due to their relatively large size, these fish should be kept in an aquarium with a minimum volume of 500 litres. The perimeter of the aquarium should be densely planted with various hardy-leafed plants. Pisces need a lot of living space, so it should be considered in the placement of various decorations in the aquarium, not abusing them.
Water parameters: temperature 18-26° C, hardness 2-20°, pH pH 6,0-8,0. Requires good filtration, strong aeration and a weekly change of at least 1/3 of the aquarium water with fresh. Lighting intensity of approximately 0.3 W/l. Daily light duration 9-10 hours.
Systomus rubripinnis are generally omnivorous, but the proportion of plant food in the total diet should be at least 60%. Fish are fed spirulina, dry flakes with the content of plant components, chironomid, proboscis, etc. Feed the fish need to 1-2 times a day.
Reproduction
On the successful breeding of Systomus rubripinnis in aquarium conditions we have no information. This is primarily due to the rarity of these fish in the collections of aquarists. Although captive breeding should not be difficult.