Gold Barb
Encyclopedia
The Green Barb or Chinese Barb (Puntius semifasciolatus) is a subtropical freshwater
fish
belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). Its native habitat is the Red River
basin in southeast China
. This species was originally named Barbus semifasciolatus, and is also referred to as Capoeta semifasciolata, Barbus fasciolatus, and Puntius semifasciolate. The popular gold strain P. semifasciolatus var. schuberti (Gold Barb or Schuberti barb) was developed by hobbyist Thomas Schubert of Camden, New Jersey in the 1960s through selective breeding. For many years it was thought to be a distinct species but is in fact a selected sport of the indigenous (green) species which is rarely found in aquaria.
The gold barb is a medium-long barb. Adults have highly arched backs and a short pair of barbels on the upper jaw at the corners of the mouth. The back is light to reddish brown, the sides are metallic green or yellow-green, with a brassy or golden sheen below. The belly is whitish, turning orange-red in males at mating time. Females can be distinguished by their dull colors and their overall bulk. The average size of adults is 2.75 to 3 inches (7 - 8 centimeters).
In the wild, they inhabit running water with a pH
range of 6.0 - 8.0, a water hardness of 5.0 - 19.0 dGH
, a depth range of 0 – 5 metres and a temperature range of 64 - 75 °F (18 - 24 °C). Their diet consists of worm
s, insect
s, and plant matter.
This fish is commercially important in the aquarium hobby industry.
around a hundred eggs, although up to 400 eggs have been observed from an exceptional female. This breeding occurs at the first light in the early morning.
Albino variants of the Gold barbs have been produced by Dennis Wilcox in the 1970s in the US. Gold barbs with no black markings have been observed by Stanislav Frank in Europe also around that time. Flesh colour (pink) specimens appeared by 1990s. Tri-colour, ie, black, orange and pink specimens appeared recently. See: http://www.mobettafishes.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=diamond_tiger_barb_001
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). Its native habitat is the Red River
Red River (Vietnam)
The Red River , also known as the Sông Cái - Mother River , or Yuan River , is a river that flows from southwest China through northern Vietnam to the Gulf of Tonkin...
basin in southeast China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. This species was originally named Barbus semifasciolatus, and is also referred to as Capoeta semifasciolata, Barbus fasciolatus, and Puntius semifasciolate. The popular gold strain P. semifasciolatus var. schuberti (Gold Barb or Schuberti barb) was developed by hobbyist Thomas Schubert of Camden, New Jersey in the 1960s through selective breeding. For many years it was thought to be a distinct species but is in fact a selected sport of the indigenous (green) species which is rarely found in aquaria.
The gold barb is a medium-long barb. Adults have highly arched backs and a short pair of barbels on the upper jaw at the corners of the mouth. The back is light to reddish brown, the sides are metallic green or yellow-green, with a brassy or golden sheen below. The belly is whitish, turning orange-red in males at mating time. Females can be distinguished by their dull colors and their overall bulk. The average size of adults is 2.75 to 3 inches (7 - 8 centimeters).
In the wild, they inhabit running water with a pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
range of 6.0 - 8.0, a water hardness of 5.0 - 19.0 dGH
DGH
Degrees of general hardness is a unit of water hardness, specifically of general hardness.General hardness is a measure of the concentration of metal divalent ions such as calcium and magnesium per volume of water...
, a depth range of 0 – 5 metres and a temperature range of 64 - 75 °F (18 - 24 °C). Their diet consists of worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, and plant matter.
This fish is commercially important in the aquarium hobby industry.
Breeding
An egg-scatter, adult barbs will usually spawnSpawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
around a hundred eggs, although up to 400 eggs have been observed from an exceptional female. This breeding occurs at the first light in the early morning.
In the aquarium
The Gold Barb, a gold colour variant of the China Barb, is an active, peaceful schooling species that spends most of its time in the mid-level and bottom of the water. Its typical lifespan in captivity is around four to six years. This peaceful green-gold fish is often used in community tanks by fish keeping hobbyists. It breeds readily in outdoor pools and free-standing ponds during summer months, and withstands cooler temperatures better than other tropical fish. However, it does not stand the cold as well as its original plainer China barb counterparts.Albino variants of the Gold barbs have been produced by Dennis Wilcox in the 1970s in the US. Gold barbs with no black markings have been observed by Stanislav Frank in Europe also around that time. Flesh colour (pink) specimens appeared by 1990s. Tri-colour, ie, black, orange and pink specimens appeared recently. See: http://www.mobettafishes.com/gallery/view_photo.php?set_albumName=album01&id=diamond_tiger_barb_001