The reasons that I
always kept a number of Barbs in my fish tanks are threefold
1: They are easily kept and do not require
a great deal of attention compared with other species
2: They are almost always lively and colourful
3: They are fairly easily bred
As the largest tanks I have are 36in x 15in x 15in I am
restricted in the size of fish I am able to keep and breed,
thus – The Small Barbs.
To keep the Barbs in good condition is quite an easy task,
all that is required is to ensure that there is no overcrowding,
that they have a varied diet (as well as dry and flaked
foods I like to feed live foods at least three times a week,
in addition they receive some greens in the form of chopped
cooked spinach or sprouts), good filtration to ensure clean,
clear, well-aerated water and a weekly change of 15 to 20
percent of the tank water.
 When
selecting my potential breeding stock I usually purchase
six young fish and I am quite prepared to wait until they
are nine months old before attempting to spawn them. I find
with most of the Barbs they are not much use beyond 2½
years of age.
I use 18in x 10in x 10in tanks for breeding and set up as
follows:- tank cleaned with a strong salt solution and then
rinsed thoroughly, approx. 6inches of tap water kept at
80ºF (22ºC) and allowed to stand for at least
two days, enough gravel to cover the bottom of the tank,
coconut fibre (taken from an old mattress years ago) filling
about ½ of the tank space leaving the other ½
as free swimming area. The final addition is an air stone
blowing gently in one corner. When using the fibre for the
first time I boil it until all the dye is removed and when
used for subsequent spawnings the fibre is rinsed thoroughly
under the tap and boiled again for a few minutes.
I try to have this all arranged in order to introduce the
pair or pairs of fish on a Friday evening then I know that
either myself or my wife will be at home during weekend
in order to remove the adult fish before they have a chance
to eat their eggs on completion of the spawning. If I have
more than one pair of fish I set up the appropriate number
of tanks in exactly the same manner as previously described.
I select the best of my males and females paying attention
to size, colour, shape condition – leaving out any
fish that does not come up to the desired standards –
and transfer one pair to each tank with a minimum of fuss.
The fish house lights are switched off about one hour later
and switched on again the following morning as soon as I
awake. I do not use light immediately above the breeding
tank, they get enough light from the normal room lights.
From experience I know that most pairs won’t start
spawning for at least two hours therefore I can relax, have
breakfast and catch up with correspondence, etc. On most
occasions the fish have completed spawning by early afternoon
(the females are much thinner and both fish are usually
resting near the bottom with very little activity going
on and I can then remove the adults and replace them in
their normal holding tank.
The eggs hatch in 24 to 36 hours and the fry are seen hanging
on the sides of the tank and among the fibre, they are like
tiny slivers of glass and are quite difficult to spot until
one knows what to look for. They remain like this for a
further four days when they become free-swimming, they fry
are no longer hanging on the tank side and can be seen swimming
about the tank in mid-water.
For B.oligolepis (checker), B.tittaya
(cherry) and B.vittatus my first food
is Liquifry No 1 for a period of four or five days (a small
squeeze from the tube three times per day) then on to newly
hatched brine shrimp for a further eight days, at this stage
I introduce a sponge filter and find this is sufficient
to keep the tank water clear. For B.tetrazona (tiger),
B.nigrofascitus (Niger or Black Ruby), B.conchonius
(Rosy), B.schuberti (Golden), B.semifaciolataus
(Half Banded), B.ticto and B.arulius my
first food is newly hatched brine shrimp. The B.arulius
require a larger tank for spawning and I used a 30in
x 12in x 12in set up as per 16in x 10in x 10in.
After the eight days on brine shrimp I shift the fry to
larger quarters, usually a 16in x 15in x 12in, and start
feeding finely mashed tubifex worms for about 10 days when
I start feeding fine dry foods in addition to chopped tubifex
and sifted daphnia.
The size of the food becoming larger as the fry progresses.
I use bare tanks for rearing and apart from heater and thermostat
the only other ‘extra’ is two sponge filters,
this makes for ease of cleaning when siphoning uneaten food,
etc., from the bottom.
As the average spawnings number between 200 and 600 (depending
on the type, age, condition etc) it soon becomes necessary
to divide the fry between three or four tanks in order to
raise good healthy specimens. I try to divide the fry into
the various tanks according to size as I find they do not
grow at an even rate disposing of any that are deformed
or badly marked.
Part of the fishes’ diet includes such things as scraped
raw White Fish, Cod Roe, Daphnia, Tubifex, Whiteworm, Chopped
cooked beef heart, Chopped spinach or sprouts as well as
two or three well-known dry foods.
One or two points not previously mentioned that may prove
helpful:-
1: If the fish don’t spawn on the
Saturday I sometimes try the addition of cold tap water
sprayed over the surface reducing the temperature about
4 or 5 degrees or the addition of some ice cubes to have
the same effect. This normally does the trick, if not, leaves
them for a further 3 or 4 days, checking each day, and if
they don’t spawn by then I start from scratch again.
2: I don’t normally separate my pairs
unless I have tried to spawn a particular pair and failed.
Then I place males in one tank and females in another for
seven or eight days making sure they get more than their
normal amount of live foods, particularly Daphnia.
3: If, after repeated attempts, you were
unsuccessful my advice would be to change your stock for
fresh and try again.
I have used soft water to fairly hard water when spawning
the Barbs and find no real difference to the results, therefore
it would appear relatively easy for most hobbyists to try
to spawn ‘The Small Barbs’ providing their local
water supply is not extreme one way or the other.
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