#black ruby barb

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I’ve spoken about endemism a number of times in this series, but it deserves to be covered again, in much more depth, like, what it means, how it happens, and the vulnerability of such organisms. Today’s fish, the Black Ruby Barb, is one such fish, and you’ll be amazed what its country of origin has done to protect it!

The Black Ruby Barb (BRB) appeared in Pocket Camp during fishing tourney #39 in June 2021 and hasn’t been back since as far as I can tell. It is a freshwater fish, so you could fish for it in the Lost Lure Creek. 

Not only is BRB a freshwater fish, but it is also a Cyprinid, a fish belonging to the carp Family Cyprinidae. We have covered Cyprinids so much in this series, I’m really going to skip over it for now. However, the BRB is from the Subfamily Barbinae, which, isn’t entirely sorted out yet. Fish known as “barbs” go here for the most part. If you are an avid freshwater hobbyist, that name should be familiar as many species appear in the aquarium pet trade, including the BRB. The Black Ruby Barb is also called the Purplehead Barb, (Pethia nigrofasciata). Because they are bred to be pets, like other aquarium fish, they now come in a wide variety of domesticated forms.

Now, when you see “endemic” and “pet trade” in the same post, you should also see an “uh oh”. Indeed, the Black Ruby Barb is endemic to two freshwater basins in Sri Lanka, an island nation just off the coast of India. As you can imagine, their numbers plummeted due to overharvest for the pet trade. Are we surprised? Of course not - but you’ll be surprised to find out in 2020 Sri Lanka banned all harvest of the BRB, and now breed the fish to still provide for the aquarium market. My hope is that a steady supply of farmed fish will eliminate attempts at illegal harvest. I’m not saying I have faith, I’m just hoping.

Sri Lanka is an amazing place with *a lot* of endemic species - helps to be a tropical island nation that’s *just* close enough to Southeast Asia to have gotten a large batch of organisms to work with, including large mammals like elephants! Endemic broadly means the organism is found no where else on Earth, but more specifically, that they are isolated and restricted to a very particular environment. Islands, like Sri Lanka, are a perfect place for this to arise, especially for freshwater and terrestrial animals stuck there because they can’t cross seawater. After being isolated from the mainland, those organisms begin to evolve in a different direction than their mainland counterparts, adapting to their island specifically, eventually evolving into completely separate species. This is called “allopatric speciation”, in which geographical barriers have interfered with natural gene flow. Though islands are an obvious place where this happens, endemism can happen anywhere a population becomes isolated. So, mountain peaks in tropical areas, volcanoes, lakes with no outlets, and certain marine habitats like black smokers and sea mounts, can be hot beds for endemism. Hell, even large, busy highways can split populations of species that just can’t get across the road without becoming pancakes! 

As you can imagine, this natural restriction leaves these organisms very vulnerable to extinction. For many, destruction of their very specific habitat could deal a huge blow they may not be able to recover from. Which is why what Sri Lanka has done for the BRB, a tiny fish, is incredible and I wish more places would do that!

Pethia nigrofasciata is a Ceylonese carp, traded as the black ruby barb, but also known as the purplehead barb. Historically the species was regarded as belonging to Barbus or Puntius. It grows to about 6.5 centimeters, or about 2 and a 1/2 inches in length. It is native to winding, elevated forest streams, above flood level, from the Kelani to Nilwala basins in the southwest of the island. The waters in such streams are on the soft, acidic side, and are clear, cool, and shaded.

The fish mainly preys on the aquatic larvae of chironomid flies, and ephemerooteran nymphs, as well as green algae and diatoms, and for that reason belongs to the ecological guild of fish that feed near the stream bottom. The mouth of this species is subterminal, befitting such a benthic feeder, and its gill rakers are widely spaced. Other cyprinid species sharing its habitat, consume prey in midwater, or from the water surface. P. nigrofasciata is also distinct by its preference for shallow water, and the fringes of branch and root systems.

P. nigrofasciata in fact has specific habitat requirements, living where the bottom is sandy with some rocks or submerged wood, and maybe a few clumps of macrophytes, typically Aponogeton. Though the forest shades the streams, P. nigrofasciata prefers the full sun, being recorded in waters with a temperture of 25 or 26 degrees centigrade. Such habitats also have a pH of about 6.

(Original title: Black Ruby Barb Fact Sheet)

Black ruby barb - Puntius nigrofasciatus (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Black Ruby Barb, Puntius nigrofasciatus, is a hardy fish suitable for a community aquarium as long as care is exercised in the selection of the other fish. Other common names for fish are Purple Headed Barb and Ruby Barb. Another Scientific name that has been used is Barbus nigrofasciatus. The Black Ruby Barb comes from Sri Lanka. It grows to about two and a half inches (7 cm) long.

Water Conditions

The Black Ruby Barb prefers reasonably soft, slightly acidic water. It will still be fairly comfortable with neutral water (pH 7). Its ideal temperature range is 21-26 degreesC (70-79 degreesF). It will take a little higher for short periods. In the wild, it schools in slow flowing streams and rivers with abundant vegetation. Their plants should be very well planted with some free space for swimming.

The Black Ruby Barb does not like dirty water with a lot of fish wastes and regular partial water changes are a good idea. It is also one of the fish more susceptible to Ich (White Spot). You need to watch out for this disease and be ready to treat for it.

Food

The Black Ruby Barb is an omnivore. It will eat any normal fish food, but live food is preferred and if possible some mosquito larvae, blood worms, Daphnia or other suitable sized live food should be given. Frozen Blood worms are also good and may be easier to obtain and store than live food.

Companions

Black Ruby Barbs are schooling fish and should be kept in schools of at least six fish. Although not the most aggressive fish kept in aquaria, they can nip the fins of slow moving fish. I would avoid putting it with long finned fish like Siamese Fighting Fish, Guppies and Endlers Guppies. Some suitable companions for a school of Black Ruby Barbs are Gold Barbs, PristellaTetras, Rummy Nose Tetras, Harlequin Rasboras, Scissortail Rasboras, Lemon Tetras, Black Widow Tetras, Emperor Tetras, Head and Tail Light Tetras, Glass Bloodfin Tetras, Swordtails, Platies, Zebra Danios, Glowlight Tetras and White Cloud Mountain Minnows as well as the Corydoras catfish like the Peppered Catfish.

I would not recommend them as companions for Mollies, Cherry Barbs, Neon Tetras and Cardinal Tetras. The reason I do not recommend them for aquariums with Mollies is the big differences in water requirements. Also avoid large and predatory fish with Black Ruby Barbs.

Breeding

The Male Black Ruby Barb changes color when it is ready to breed. In this state, it becomes clear why it is called things like the Purple Headed Barb. The males get an intense red- black color and tend to be a bit bigger than the females. The females are a little plumper than the males. The Black Ruby Barb is an egg scatterer, and lays its eggs over plants, preferably fine leaved ones. 

The water for spawning should be soft and moderately acidic with a temperature of about 27 degrees C (80 degrees F). Typically they will spawn first thing in the morning. About 400 eggs per female should be laid. By using marbles on the bottom of the tank, most of the eggs should fall out of reach of the parents. As with many fish, Black Ruby Barbs eat their own eggs and babies. It is usual to remove the parents after spawning.

Baby Care

Keep the eggs dark until they hatch. The eggs hatch in about one day, and are free swimming after about a week. The babies will eat protozoa (infusoria) at first and this can be supplemented with the finest fry foods. As they grow, the babies can be fed bigger fry food and will be helped to grow by suitable sized live food like screened daphnia.

Pest Fish

As with all captive fish, do not allow them to get out into ecosystems they are not native to.

By Steve Challis

Steve Challis has many other fish fact sheets and other articles on http://www.bettatrading.com.au.

Article Source: EzineArticles

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Aquarium Fish Care - Barb Care Tips For Beginners

Barb Care

Sumatra barbs, red barbs, rosy barbs and tiger barbs are all different varieties of freshwater fishes. They are easy to maintain and breed. But the larger barbs can only be kept with big fishes. The large barbs can cause trouble in communal tanks and destroy your structured plans. They require more attention than the smaller ones and therefore the barbs have to be separated and grouped.

Puntius conchonius (Rosy Barb, Prachtbarbe, Praktbarb) (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The purple head barb and the black ruby are from Ceylon. These fishes grow to the size of around two and half inches and live in communal tanks well. The female ones create a colourful and vibrant environment by flaunting their grey-yellow bodies that also show stripes or dark blotches. The male lot are mostly either black or brown and/or have their fronts that are vermilion red. They are not like the boisterous group of Puntius Conchonius groups and live comfortably in communal waters. They are not finicky when it comes to food and they hence eat anything. They also have no demands when it comes to the water conditions, they are best suited for natural water which is hard water. These types of fish are also easy to breed. They lay around three hundred eggs and like other barbs also spawn.

The Sumatra and tiger fish belong to the species of Capoeta Tetrazona. These come from Sumatra and Borneo and grow up to two inches. They are colourful and set off the tanks with their colours and stripes. The fish keeps changing its behaviour and because of this nature it happens to be among the most diverse in the market. This is proved as some people say the fish is mild and calming while others refer to it as the bully who terrorizes the other fish!

The Sumatra and tiger fishes need the similar water conditions as compared to other barbs. They tend to live in the practical as well as impractical alkaline water. The fish does well in salt water too. The temperature that is recommended is 78 degrees Fahrenheit. These fishes have good appetites and they are not fussy and eat everything. Breeders will benefit as barb fishes are all healthy spawns.

Female Sumatra and tiger fishes are fat and differ from the male ones who are slim and colourful fishes. The female ones are quite ordinary and plain and they breed. They however do have some bladder problems and the fins have a tendency to go rot. The water hence should be clean and spotless. The tank also should be watched over during breeding as the spawns laid by the fishes are likely to be bitten by the mutants.

Capoeta Titteya or Cherry barbs are fishes that come from Ceylon too and they grow to the size of two inches. They are normally brownish-yellow in colour or brownish red. These fishes differ from the others to look at as they consist of top to bottom dark black lines. They are good communal fishes and require the same water and feeding conditions like the other barbs. The male in these are of darker colours and during breeding they undergo change in colours which appears to be black or even cherry red but the stripes evaporate eventually.

These barbs breed like the others too and even lay up to a number of 200 eggs. The cherry barbs consist of a wide variety and the fascinating thing is that while some types feed on other barbs itself; the other types don?t do this.

Concluding if you are a beginner then to get better acquainted with tips on aquarium and fish care you can check the new Harlequins line out.

By Abhishek Agarwal Abhishek is an avid Fish Lover and he has got some great Aquarium Care Secrets up his sleeves! Download his FREE 105 Pages Ebook, “Aquarium Care Made Easy!” from his website http://www.Wonder-Homes.com/636/index.htm. Only limited Free Copies available.

Article Source: EzineArticles

Barb Care