Common name: Gold Barb, China Barb, Half Banded Barb, Shubert’s Barb, Six-banded Barb
Scientific name: Puntius Semifasciolatus
Average Adult Fish Size:  2.8 inches  /  7 cm
Place of Origin: Southeast Asia
Typical Tank setup: A well planted aquarium with rock work and driftwood / bogwood. Plants will give the weaker individuals a place to hide, until the pecking order of the school is established.
Recommended Minimum Aquarium Capacity: 30 gallon / 120 litre
Compatibility: The Gold Barb needs to be kept in schools. The larger the school the better with 9 fish a good minimum amount. If kept in smaller schools the weaker individuals will be harassed continuously by the more aggressive individuals until they die. Gold Barbs have a tendency to nip the fins of slow fish and ones that have long flowing fins. The way to combat this is to keep them in a large enough school. If this is done, they will generally keep themselves busy within the school and usually not bother their tankmates too much. If kept with smaller fish, they too should be kept in a school.
Temperature: 64 – 75 Deg F / 18 – 24 Deg C
Water chemistry: pH 6.0 – 7.5
Feeding: In their natural habitat, Gold Barbs consume both vegetable and meaty foods ranging from plant matter to insects and small worms. Omnivores like the Gold Barb should be fed a varied diet containing both plant and meaty foods in order to provide them all the nutrients that they need to support a healthy immune system and slime coat. Hobbyists should feed the Gold Barb a quality flake food designed for tropical omnivores mixed with algae or plant based flaked foods. In addition to quality flaked foods, Gold Barbs should be offered quality frozen foods, blood worms, tubifex worms, brine shrimp and similar fair to mix up their diet and provide them a wide range of nutritional foodstuffs.
Sexing: Females are much duller overall in colouration, and are rounder in the belly. They are often slightly larger overall than the male. The belly of mature males who are ready to spawn will turn red to red-orange in colour.