Pentazona Barb
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| Pentazona Barb Conservation status: Unknown | ||||||||||||||
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| Barbus pentazona (Boulenger, 1894) |
The Pentazona Barb (Barbus pentazona) or Hexazona Barb (Barbus hexazona) is a tropical fish belonging to the Barb group of the minnow family. Originating from Singapore and Malaysia, this fish is primarily found in the fish keeping hobby. The barb has two subspecies: the Five Banded Barb (pentazona) and the Six Banded Barb (hexazona). Due to its relation to the Tiger Barb its name sometimes includes Tiger (e.g. Five Banded Tiger Barb). Depending on the subspecies, the barb has five or six vertical black stripes on a orange or gold colored body. The fish will grow to a maximum length of 3.5 in (9 cm).
The Barb is an harmless, active schooling fish that is usually kept in groups of 5 or more. They prefer a well planted environment with rocks and driftwood but still need plenty of space to school. Its native environment is one of calm tropical waters. Pentazona Barbs prefer water with a 5–7 pH, a water hardness of 4–12.0 dGH, and a temperature range of 74–84 °F (23–29 °C).
Pentazona Barbs are egg-scatterers that spawn among a course gravel bed in open water. Once spawning is finished, they will usually eat any of the approximately 200 eggs that they find. It is usually necessary to separate the fish from the eggs after spawning in order to prevent the eggs from being eaten. The eggs will hatch in approximately 1 day.