The Odessa Barb is another of my favourite cold water fish, though it took me some time to actually obtain some of these fish for my own cold water tank.
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NATURAL RANGE:
The Odessa Barb can be found throughout the rivers and streams of India and Sri Lanka, and north to the Himalayas.
DESCRIPTION:
The Odessa Barb belongs to the Cyprinidae family, which is that of the Carps, Minnows and Barbs.
The Odessa Barb will grow to a maximum size of 60mm. The Odessa Barb has a light brown colour. When comfortable in their surroundings individuals will display a clear reddish-brown band. The band becomes extremely bright on males that are ready to breed. There are also two black spots on each side of the body. Males appear to be slightly thinner than the females.
Odessa Barbs will live somewhere between 4 to 6 years.
TANK REQUIREMENTS:
Odessa Barbs are peaceful schooling fish that are extremely active. They make excellent community fish in a cold water aquarium. They prefer room in which to swim as they are a very active fish. They should be kept in schools of at least 6 fish. The Odessa Barb tends to inhabit the bottom section of the tank, though it will move through all other sections of the tank.
The temperature range preferred by Odessa Barbs is 14-24 degrees Celsius, with a neutral to slightly acid pH (6.0 to 7.5).
The minimum tank size for Odessa Barbs should be a 2 Foot tank. The tank should provide some vegetation and areas in which to shelter.
FEEDING:
Odessa Barbs will eat most flakes, frozen bloodworms and pretty much all other tropical fish foods. They will generally eat whatever is offered to them quite rapidly.
BREEDING:
The reddish-brown band on males will intensify when ready to mate. Breeding will generally occur when the water warms in Spring. Both the male and female will move into the vegetation to spawn.
Odessa Barbs can spawn some 300 eggs which are scattered about, generally in the early morning over several hours. They will eat their own eggs and so they should be separated from them immediately after spawning.
Eggs are generally laid among vegetation. The yellow eggs will hatch in about 2 to 3 days.
Fry of Odessa Barbs should be fed very fine foods such as infusoria and water maintained to a high standard.
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29/07/2006