Denison Barb (Sahyadria denisonii)

Sahyadria denisonii, formerly Puntius denisonii, has a variety of common names, and its genus was not even created until 2013. This beautiful fish is native to India, it has a silvery to dull golden body, with a stark black lateral line, and the black also appears at the ends of its forked tail. Directly to the interior of the black spot on the tail is a small but vibrant yellow band. Right above the lateral line, from the tip of the nose to about the belly, traveling right through the eyes, is a bright red band. This red is also present in the dorsal fin, which make the common names make sense, such as roseline barb, or red-line torpedo barb. This fish is endangered in the wild, with its habitat being decimated, but also by their explosion of popularity in the hobby leading to overcollection. Luckily for the denisonii barb, it is now much more sustainably bred in captivity, and ours are tank bred in Europe.

This fish gets relatively large, capping out around 8 inches or so in a well suited aquarium, and can live a number of years as well. This fish is one that also loves to swim, and really should not be kept in an aquarium that has a footprint smaller than 36”x18” or so, as it can easily clear even 3 feet in a second, and realistically the more swimming room the better for these rather active fish. Flow is also an important thing to have in the aquarium, because it gives the fish something to swim against, as well as the fact that they are from rivers and streams in the wild, and as such are well equipped to swim against some sort of current. Water changes are also a must, as in a river the water turnover would be much greater than anyone could ever reasonably provide in an aquarium, therefore extra oxygenation of your water is also recommended in order to help these swimmers breathe easier. You may also consider adding plants to aid in oxygenation, since these gentle giants are not known to eat or damage plants. This fish is fairly tolerant of most water pH as well as hardness, but clean and well oxygenated water are a must, and you should probably be doing fairly large, regular  water changes as well.

As mentioned, these fish are rather large as aquarium fish go, but they are very gentle, and so you should keep this in mind when choosing tankmates. Smaller fish would be fine to keep with these guys, and in a planted tank especially, a small group of these fish could be a great centerpiece. Alternatively, a school of largish barbs would be an excellent dither fish for a larger species, especially considering that this fish is more than capable of keeping itself out of most other fish’s jaws. Whatever route you decide to go, it is certain that this fish will add a nice pop of color into your aquarium! These fish ship individually bagged.

Please Note: Live Animals delivered with FedEx are 100% covered by our Dead-On-Arrival Guarantee Coverage as disclosed in our Terms & Conditions. Live Animals delivered with USPS are not covered by our Dead-On-Arrival Guarantee Coverage. For complete details, please read our Terms & Conditions prior to ordering.