Fish F

[Carla isaac]

We have has these two lovely fishes for 6 years and we cannot remember what they are called so we are hoping that someone will be able to shed some light on this for us please.

 

[Byron]

I would consider that fish to be Barbonymus altus, commonly called Tinfoil Barb.

B. altus is probably the species usually encountered in the hobby as the "Tinfoil Barb." The "true" Tinfoil is another species, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii, and the two are very similar. The subject species (B. altus) body colouration is more golden, and the red caudal fin does not have the distinct black submarginal stripe along both lobes as on B. schwanenfeldii, whose body colouration is more silvery than golden. The subject fish is also half the size of the other at maturity, reaching around 8 inches (compared to 14 inches).

Here is more data:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species/barbonymus-altus/

 

[Carla isaac]

Thankyou very much for your reply and link. I did look them up and i admit the Tinfoil did look like a match but i was doubtful because ours look more slender and are only about 41/2 inches, at what age are they fully grown?

 

[fluttermoth]

They should be fully grown now, if they're six years old. How big is their tank, and what other fish do you have?

 

[Carla isaac]

Hi there thank you for your reply. Their Tank is 80 litres and we have 1 cherry barb (we recently lost his mate) and 1 neon (They ate the rest when we were on holiday!)

 

[Byron]

In terms of time, they should be fully grown now as fluttermoth said. But there is more to this.

Fish grow continually, and both physically (external size) and internal (organ development) independently. Factors such as genetics, food and the environment affect this. "Environment" here means many things; in terms of aquarium captivity, environment includes the water parameters, water quality, tank size, number of fish in the species, other fish species in the aquarium, the aquascape, etc.

This species, Barbonymus altus, has a normal lifespan of 8 to 12 years. It is a shoaling species, which means that it should be kept in a group of six or more. With fewer, as here, the fish will be under stress, so this will affect the growth and almost certainly lifespan; it may affect behaviours/aggression too.

This species will eat smaller fish, so do not acquire more cherry barbs or neons or anything similar. The remaining are likely to be eaten sooner rather than later.

 

[Essjay]

Byron has mentioned things that affect fish growth and he includes tank size. You say your tank is 80 litres, but in the link that Byron gave you, the recommendation is for a tank at least 150 cm long. Your fish's growth will have been affected by the small tank size, I'm afraid.

 

[Carla isaac]

Thank you all for your help.We don't have enough room for a bigger tank so not sure where to go from here? Get more to keep them happy in a school or maybe take some of the ornaments out perhaps?

 

[Carla isaac]

So i have taken most of the ornaments out and we are going to buy an air pump for them also. I hope this at least helps a bit.