The Sumatran barb is an aquarium fish, one of the most common characters that aquarists prefer to keep in their paradise. If you decide to breed these fish at home, you must provide them with a comfortable stay and proper maintenance.
Conditions of detention
The Sumatran barbus is appreciated for its mobility, peacefulness, small size and beautiful color. It is best to keep them in small flocks of 5-10 individuals, together with other peaceful species of aquarium fish that can fend for themselves. If there are only 2-3 barbs in your aquarium, then they can treat each other and neighbors aggressively. The Sumatran barb is not a predator, but it can swallow the fry of other fish. In veiled and sedentary fish, it can gnaw off fins.
It is better to keep them in an aquarium with a volume of at least 50 liters, with free swimming space and dense vegetation. Lay dark soil at the bottom, otherwise the color of the barbs can quickly fade. The content of Sumatran barbs is practically no different from the content of other species of aquarium fish. The optimum water temperature should be 21-23 ° C, the hardness and acidity do not matter much.
Aquarium plants should be selected with small leaves (myriophyllum or kabomba). Install the filter and backlight. If there is no filter (the barb is less sensitive to a lack of oxygen than other aquarium fish), you need to periodically change a third of the volume of water to fresh. If you notice that the fish are swimming near the surface of the water with their heads up, change the water immediately.
Feeding
Sumatran barbs are unpretentious in feeding. They eat dry and live food, pluck plants with pleasure. Adults require additional plant nutrition in the form of dried algae, lettuce leaves or nettles. Barbs feed in the water column, if necessary, they take food from the surface and from the bottom. These fish are prone to obesity, so have a hungry day once a week. Feed them with a tubifex, daphnia, small bloodworms and a coretra.
Breeding
At the age of 5-9 months, it becomes possible to breed Sumatran barbs when they reach puberty. At the same time, the spawning process can take place at any time of the year. Plant the producers, keep them separately for about one month. At this time, provide them with proper nutrition, give herbal supplements. Use an aquarium of at least 10 liters for spawning. Place a separator mesh on the bottom to prevent future offspring from being eaten.
To spawn faster, increase the water temperature by 3-4 ° C, add distilled water. After the fish marks the eggs, spawn the parents, replace 30% of the water volume. And so that the fungus does not develop on the eggs, add a little methylene blue to the water. The incubation period lasts about two days, on the third or fourth day the fry begin to swim and feed. They need to be fed with ciliates or live dust. After a month, they acquire the color of adults.
