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This page will give a completely detailed profile of the selected
fish, from A to Z. The profiled fish will be chosen randomly by Badman,
and will come from the complete genre of tropical fish. New profiles
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This months profile was written by superpap56 an
active contributor to the site.
Puntius arulius
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Overview:
This barb is an extremely active schooler and does better in larger groups of at
least 6 ,many claim that uneven numbers are best to avoid pairing off and
aggression and to keep it's attention within it's own group.
Quick stats:
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Listed tank sizes are the minimum |
| Size: |
4.7 inches ( 12cm ) |
| Tank: |
40 gallon minimum (150 L minimum)Preferably a 55 gallon |
| Strata: |
All, mostly middle. |
| PH: |
6 - 8, tolerates wide range |
| Hardness: |
Not critical, tolerates wide range |
| Temperature: |
66°F to 77°F (19°-25° C) |
Classification:
| Order: |
Cypriniformes (carps) |
| Family: |
Cyprinidae |
| Genus: |
Puntius |
| Species: |
arulius |
Common name:
Arulius Barb, Tamiraparani Barb, Silas Barb, Longfin
Barb
Discuss:
Badmans'
Forum
Image gallery:
Additional
species photographs
Distribution
Asia: Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Cauvery river system, and the Tambraparani
river system in India
General Body Form:
Slender and elongated shaped like tall, slightly laterally-compressed torpedoes.
Photo courtesy of: Aqualand pets plus
Coloration:
Adult fish are dark brownish olive on the back, becoming lighter on the sides to white on the ventral surface. Males have silvery bodies with green near their lateral line region and three large black spots (and some smaller less-clearly defined ones) which go from dorsal surface to lower edge of green stripe. The region above their green stripe is orange-red. Females are generally a rosy pink in color with some green to gold iridescence, but
they maintain the same spot pattern.
Both sexes have a bifurcated caudal fin, red edges to their caudal and anal fins and
a dark dorsal which is almost violet in color on some individuals.
The fins are thin and transparent or translucent. Adults possess more pronounced colors than the juvenile.
Maintenance:
It is compatible with other peaceful fish large enough and bold enough not to be
food or intimidated. Good tankmates are other similarly-sized Puntius, larger
rasboras and danios, botiine loaches and gouramis of the genus Trichogaster.
Mine were fond of forming a train and using the whole tank to swim swiftly
throughout. I found that having 2 males were not a good idea while waiting on the
others to arrive as they fought constantly. They thrive in well oxygenated water and
really do not do very well in temperatures much above the stated range.
Diet: Omnivorous - High quality flake and floating pellets supplemented with live
foods such as small worms and crustaceans (especially for conditioning for
breeding) Pretty much eats what is offered.
Temperament: Mostly peaceful but can be a fin nipper.
Biotope:
Inhabits large streams, rivers, and lakes.
Breeding:
Sexing:
Males dorsal fin has a thin long extension trailing from it's top edge.
Females are plumper and males are more colorful . When breeding males develop white
tubercules around the mouthparts.
Spawning:
Quite easily bred, although you'll need to set up a separate tank in which to do
so if you want to raise any numbers of fry. Something around 30" x 12" x 12" in
size is usually recommended. This should be very dimly lit and contain clumps of
fine-leaved plants such as Java moss or Myriophyllum (spawning mops could also be
used) to give the fish somewhere to deposit their eggs. Alternatively, you could
cover the base of the tank with some kind of mesh. This should be of a large
enough grade so that the eggs can fall through it, but small enough so that the
adults cannot reach them. The water should be of around neutral pH, gH < 8, with a
temperature of around 75 - 80°F. A small air-powered sponge filter bubbling away
very gently is all that is needed in terms of filtration.
It can be spawned in a group, with half a dozen specimens of each sex being a good
number. Condition these with plenty of small live foods and spawning should not
present too many problems. Depending on your setup, simply check the spawning medium
or tank base each morning for eggs.
Alternatively it can be spawned in pairs. Under this technique, the fish are
conditioned in male and female groups in separate tanks. When the females are
noticeably full of eggs and the males are displaying their best colors, select the
fattest-looking female and best colored male and transfer them to the spawning tank
in the evening. They should spawn the following morning.
In either situation, the adults will eat the eggs given the chance and should be
removed as soon as eggs are noticed. These will hatch in 24-48 hours, with the fry
becoming free swimming 24 hours later. They should be fed on an infusoria-type food
for the first few days, until they are large enough to accept microworm or Artemia
nauplii. The species is quite fecund, and up to 2000 eggs can be produced from a
single spawning event.
Sources:
Fishbase , seriouslyfish.com and aquatic-hobbiest.com , and
my own experience having kept them.
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