View Full Version : Longing for Denison (Torpedo) Barbs
clawlan
08-13-2007, 8:21 AM
Man, these have always been my favorite freshwater species but i have never had the opportunity to own any. I just went to a new LFS and they have them in stock!! Only thing is that I'm not sure if my tank is large enough. I have a 28g and i know they get up to about 5" and like to have plenty of swimming space. What do you think? Could I get just one or 2 as centerpieces? I'm thinking that I may have to hold out till i get a bigger tank. What do you think? Also, they are over $20 each...
Sploke
08-13-2007, 8:24 AM
Everything I have read indicates they are schooling fish, so I would prefer to keep them in a group of 4 or 6. I'm going to try and get a school for my 150 when it gets up and running. In my opinion they are too big to really do well in a 28g tank. The cheapest I have seen them anywhere is about 18 bucks online, but when you tack on shipping, its the same as or more than the 20-30 bucks my LFS charges.
clawlan
08-13-2007, 8:50 AM
Yea, i have read as juveniles, they are shoaling but tend to become slightly more solitary as they move into adulthood. Either way, I think your right. I'll wait till I get a nice big tank and get a nice large school of them.
lochness
03-28-2008, 6:53 PM
If you read they are shoaling as juvies and then become solitary as adults then you must be referring to the erroneously reported information from fishprofiles.com - I had a small discussion with the admins when I looked to alter their wrong info about the p. denisonii but they were and remain stubbornly incorrect due to a very old and outdated collection trip from a respected aquarist (Madan Subramanian at Bangalore, India) who even later on admitted on his own forums that his initial research and data were inconclusive and insufficient and highly affected by a new dam and previous weather conditions at his research sites.
P. denisonii are a schooling species throughout their lives and thrive in groups of 6+ much like other cyprinids of puntius barb genus. These should not be kept in anything smaller than 75g.
lochness
03-28-2008, 7:41 PM
self-correction and added info: it was a new reservoir not a dam and the location they eventually found the p. denisonii in had been wiped clean a few hours earlier by commercial fishermen in addition to rainy season. Madan Subramanian's thread can be found here: http://indianaquariumhobbyist.com/community/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=6785&postdays=0&postorder=asc&highlight=denisonii&start=0
P. denisonii grow to 5-6 inches and require alot of swimming space. The also appreciate plenty of plants and wood and a varied environment as they are quite playful and curious and enjoy swimming in and out and around logs, plants etc. Like any fish, regular weekly water changes and a varied diet are essential for p. denisonii to be happy. I have my own working profile which will be updated with my current breeding research in the next coming weeks:
lochness
03-28-2008, 7:43 PM
and the site to my profile on p. denisonii can be found at http://www.fishforums.com/forum/profile-article-discussions/15354-puntius-denisonii-progress.html
I apologize for the multi posts but due to some editing restrictions with 30 min timer, I had to do it this way until it's lifted :)
Dwarf Puffers
03-28-2008, 7:56 PM
Good plan, on waiting for a large tank and getting a good school of them. They really are amazing fish, but 20-30$ anywhere else would be 50$+ here.
The LFS here had them last year, 3 for $18, must have been a mistake, I'm still kicking myself for not buying a bunch but didn't have any tank space at the time.