Giant Barbs

12 Volt Man

AC Members
Feb 11, 2007
2,651
1
36
Ontario Canada
Hello Everyone, I am new to the boards, but have been keeping fish for about 15 years. I currently have 8 tanks (7 freshwater, 1 salt) ranging in size from 90 gallons to 10 gallons.

During university and college, I worked in the fishroom at a large aquarium store franchise outlet up here in Canada (big al's aquarium services). After graduation, I left the fish industry for a job in my intended feild (wastewater treatment)

One thing I loved about the job was talking to "fish people" about fish lol.

thus, I am no longer a lurker LOL

Anyway, while at the store, about 2 years ago we ordered in some fish listed as "big scale diamond sharks" from a supplier up here (puntius daruphani if I recall). They came in as small, silver barbs with orange fins. Basically, a normal tinfoil barb with orange fins instead of red fins.

The Baensch atlas (vol 2) lists these fish as "pale barbs" with a maximum size of 7 inchest total lengh.

well, 2 years later, my fish are 18 inches long each (!) and probably weigh close to 5 pounds a peice.

Very very beautiful, but getting cramped in my 90 gallon.

I am starting to have a back up plan in place in case they continue to grow. A local fish store has a 'wall tank' of about 1000 gallons full of other large barbs and cichlids that they could possibly go do if they continue to grow. Right now, they are very healthy and very happy, but if they each grow even a few more inches, they will not be able to live safely where they are now. Too much load means running the risk of water quality problems, and this is trouble.

I run an AC 500 and a Rena XP3 on the tank, and change 1/3 of the water religiously every week.

I am a firm believe in weekly water changes (I usually change 1/3 of the water in each of my tanks weekly).

They are living with a red headed severum (aka Rotkeil severum) a photo of which I have entered into the photo of the month contest, two synodontis cats (syno notatus and syno eupterus) and a pink tailed chalceus.

My question is has anyone else had the pleasure of keeping this beautful (but overlooked in the hobby) barbs? and if so, what is their maxium size?

Its funny, when I before I bought them, I looked them up, saw an eventual size of 7 inches and thought "no problem"

I had no idea they were going to turn into pacus!

LOL

Thanks!

Here is a shot of these big bruisers in the 90 gallon:

Barbs2.jpg
 
Nice fish.....though looks like they really need a 6 or 8 foot tank.
 
nice fish, agreed on the longer tank idea though. seems like they dont have much room to turn around in this one.
 
Isn't fishkeeping the same thing as wastewater treatment? :)
 
LOL very true.

we have to keep our nitrifiying bacteria happy in our fish tanks just like we do at the wastewater plant LOL

we discharge to a local creek, so our final effluent ammonia levels have to be very low.

I am looking to get a 150 or 180 with in the next year to year and a half, right now I am not in a position to get a giant tank just yet.

although I sure want one lol

-12 Volt Man
 
Wow. Those are amazing.

The only suggestion I can offer though, is try monsterfishkeepers.com. The people there are into big fish, so are more likely to have kept these. Good luck with those huge fish : )
 
Wow. Those are amazing.

The only suggestion I can offer though, is try monsterfishkeepers.com. The people there are into big fish, so are more likely to have kept these. Good luck with those huge fish : )

Thanks! I will check it out. These fish seem to be rare in our hobby, probably because they get so huge and don't really show off their huge scale pattern until they are big.

when they are small they just look like any old barb.
 
Beautiful fish. :-) What are you feeding those monsters?
 
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