Butterfly barbus is an aquarium fish native to Africa. These fish have a long body. There are several small antennae in front. The back is brown, the abdomen is gray with an admixture of yellow, the sides are yellow-brown. The anal, caudal, and pelvic fins have a black edging.
Males are smaller than females, their color is brighter. In addition, males have a dark spot immediately behind the operculum, it resembles a crescent shape, while females have a similar round spot. In aquarium conditions, fish can grow up to four centimeters.
Butterfly barbus is a peace-loving schooling fish. They must be kept in a common aquarium with a flock of 6-8 fish with other peace-loving fish. They spend most of their time in the middle layer of water.
A 60-liter rectangular aquarium is suitable for keeping butterflies. The container must be covered so that the barbus does not jump out. Place driftwood and stones at the bottom. Plant the perimeter of the aquarium with plants with leaves that reach the surface of the water. Lighting should be of medium intensity, diffused.
Barbs eat a variety of live, dry, frozen and plant foods, it can be: koretra, daphnia, bloodworms, lettuce leaves scalded with boiling water, dandelion, spinach.
The barbus reaches its sexual maturity at the age of five months. Choose an aquarium with a volume of at least 100 liters as a spawning ground, the water level in it should reach 15 centimeters. Aeration in the spawning box should be low. Place a separator mesh on the bottom and plant some Javanese moss bushes. For 10 days before spawning, keep the producers separately, feed them with a variety of foods.
Place one female and two males in the spawning grounds in the evening. The spawning aquarium should be located close to the window so that daylight can easily enter it. Spawning will begin with the first rays of the sun. The female spawns about 60-80 small eggs during spawning. Separate the producers after spawning so that they do not eat the eggs. The eggs are incubated for a couple of days, then the fry begin to swim in search of food. Start feeding them live dust, small daphnia, microworms, cyclops. The feed must be varied - this is required for successful rearing of fry. The fry are characterized by uneven growth, so be sure to sort them periodically.
The life span of a butterfly barb in an aquarium is approximately 5-6 years.
