The Chinese barb (Barbodes semifasciolatus) was one of the first “exotic” ornamental fish to be kept in aquaria. Under the completely misleading name “Japanese bitterling”, they were introduced and bred as early as 1897 in the then still young aquarium hobby. In the first known article on the species (May 1897 in the “Blättern für Aquarien- und Terrarienkunde”), the author, Emil Bade, already correctly stated that it was not a bitterling at all, but a barb, whose exact species name could not yet be determined due to several possible species.
Basically, this situation has not changed much to this day. Chinese barbs colonize a large distribution area in China and Vietnam. Today’s almost worldwide occurrences are usually attributed to releases of aquarium fish, although this can hardly be verified in individual cases and is rather unlikely, at least in the case of some Asian occurrences. It is generally accepted that B. semifasciolatus and B. synderi (from Taiwan) form a species group that should most probably be placed in a separate genus. There are numerous synonyms (e.g. S. aureus, S. fernandezypezi, S. guentheri, S. hainani, S. sachsii) and since these fishes look very different locally, it is more than likely that several of them are valid species. The claim that the golden barb (invalid fantasy name “schuberti”) is a cultivated form of the Chinese barb is also unproven. There are (or were) a number of anatomical differences between the golden barb and the Chinese barb. This is because in the last 70 years, wild forms of Chinese barb have often been unreasonably crossed with golden barbs and the hybrids are no longer typical in terms of their characteristics; pure-bred golden barbs are probably extinct.
Be that as it may, nowadays the Chinese barb as a wild form is a real rarity in the aquarium. We are therefore delighted that we are currently able to obtain them from Vietnam. What is interesting about the currently imported form is that some animals can develop a pretty orange dorsal fin. However, this is strictly mood-dependent and “orangefins” can turn into “glassfins” within seconds. Each Chinese barb in this population has an individually different stripe pattern on its flanks. This is extremely unusual for barbs. We are excited to see how the fish will continue to develop, because although they are still sexually mature with a total length of approx. 3 cm, they are still a long way from being fully grown. The maximum final size is 6-8 cm.
Chinese barbs are peaceful, lively and relatively undemanding aquarium fish. The chemical composition of the water is irrelevant, any tap water is suitable and the temperature can be between 14 and 30°C. Occasionally the animals are said to be terrible plant destroyers, but this is usually due to inadequate feeding, in which plant components (e.g. plant-based food flakes) must not be missing. Otherwise, any standard ornamental fish food of a suitable size will do. Chinese barbs should be kept in groups of 7 or more, otherwise they are often shy and sometimes quarrelsome. They are prolific free spawners that do not care for their fry and consume their own caviar as additional food soon after laying their eggs if they are not prevented from doing so by the breeder.
For our customers: the animals have code 371802 (md-lg) on our stock list. Please note that we only supply the wholesale trade.
Text & photos: Frank Schäfer
