Ticto Barb
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| Ticto Barb Conservation status: Unknown | ||||||||||||||
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| Barbus ticto (Hamilton, 1822) |
The Ticto Barb, Two Spot Barb, or Tic-Tac-Toe Barb (Barbus ticto) is a freshwater and brackish tropical fish belonging to the Barb family (Cyprinidae). Originating from the Himalayas, India, and Sri Lanka, this fish is sometimes found in the fish keeping hobby. The Barb is silver and gold with two black spots; just before the pectoral fin and near the back tail. It grows to a maximum length of 4 inches (10 centimeters).
The Ticto Barb is an active schooling fish that is usually kept in groups. When in large enough groups, they will not bother any other species of fish. They prefer a well planted environment that is similar to the still and shallow waters with mud bottoms of their native habitat. In shallow water, they fish will stay close to the bottom of the substrate. Ticto Barbs natively live in a subtropical environment and prefer water with a 6.0 - 7.0 pH, a water hardness of 4 - 10 dGH, and a temperature range of 57 - 71 °F (14 - 22 °C). They can live in both fresh and brackish water. Their diet consists of small crustaceans, insects and plankton.
Ticto Barbs are egg-layers that spawn among a course gravel bed. During spawning, they will lay approximately 150 eggs, laying around 20 at a time. Once spawning is finished, they will usually eat any of the 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 and will be free-swimming a day later.