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Barbus gelius, Hamilton, 1822

Origin: India, in slowly flowing and standing water.

Etymology: unk.

Synonyms: Cyprinus gelius, Systomus gelius

First European import: Germany, 1912

Description: See picture.

Care: The fish should be kept at lower temperatures, or else they will not live very long. Barbus gelius should be kept in larger groups of 8 or more fish, in larger tanks from 80 cm or more.Best kept in a species tank at 20 degrees, pH around 6-6.5, and soft water, peat filtration is recommended. The tank should be densely planted, with a dark soil and some pieces of driftwood, but also some free swimming space. The fish are very shy if not kept properly.

Temperature: 18-22 degrees.

Feeding: Omnivorous, very small live, frozen and flake food.

Size: Up to 4 cm

pH: 6.0-7.0

Breeding: Raise the temperature to 22 degrees. In a tank as described in the care section the fish will spawn. Up to 100 eggs per female, which will hatch in a day, and require large amounts of extremely small food. If not fed properly in the beginning, the fish will not fully grow out. The fish are best bred in large ponds in the summer!

Sexual dimorphism: See picture, bottom right a male is visible, with a deep yellow-orange stripe, left side a female is visible, with a distinct belly.

Prices: 1-3€

Additional: Seldom available, although recently some new import.

Picture references: All pictures: E. Naus

References: Baensch, H. A., Riehl, R.(1982): Aquarien Atlas I. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany.(click on the link to buy this book)