The black banded barb or spanner barb is an old friend in the aquarium, although it is somewhat out of fashion. In former times it was called Barbus or Puntius lateristriga, at present it is assigned to the genus Barbodes.
The pretty, peaceful animals are widespread in Southeast Asia, where they mainly inhabit clear waters, such as shallow sections of lakes and ponds or small rivers. Here, they roam in loose troops of usually 5-10 animals. There are numerous variants of the species, some of which can be assumed to be separated one day as independent species. Therefore, it is important to breed only with animals of one locality in order to avoid unintentional hybrids. The animals we can offer at the moment are wild catches from Thailand.
When feeding these barbs, which are usually 6-8 cm long in nature, but can easily double that size in an aquarium, you have to make sure that they also get plant food components, otherwise the aquatic plants are in danger. Tender plant species should generally not be used in aquariums with larger barb species.
Barbodes lateristriga is a productive free spawner. They have no special demands on the water composition, however, the middle body spot can shine in soft, acid water instead of white splendidly yolk yellow. The water temperature should be in the range of 22-28°C.
For our customers: the animals have code 369853 on our stocklist. Please note that we only supply wholesalers.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
