The dwarf barb has delighted aquarium enthusiasts since it was first imported from India in 1906. This is not so much due to its magnificent colouring; dwarf barbs are pretty, but no colour miracles. Rather, the tiny animal, which only grows to 2-3 cm in size in nature, fitted wonderfully into the formerly common, relatively small aquariums. Since it lives at temperatures between 14 and 30°C, not even an aquarium heating was necessary in heated dwellings yet. And filtering and aeration was rarely practiced at that time anyway.
All this has changed fundamentally nowadays. In fact, Pethia phutunio is considered somewhat sensitive. The causes are easy to name: Control heaters prevent temperature fluctuations and there is no debris left in the clean aquariums. Debris, i.e. dead plant remains, faeces and food remains, are an important food component of these and many other barbs. But if you are looking for an ideal fish for a small, natural aquarium without technology, you will still find it in Pethia phutunio today.
For our customers: the animals have code 370902 on our stocklist. Please note that we exclusively supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
