da dum, da dum, da dum... the shark of the carp family...

[Magnum Man]

I call mine Denison barbs, but they also carry the name rose line sharks... and this morning I'm reminded of a pack of sharks, watching them... these guys seem like a great community fish, for a "shark"... are they the most community minded, of these type of fish??? I've always wanted a red tail, but have heard they are more shark like... I think the bala's are similar to the rose lines as far as attitude, and heard the rainbows are maybe more peaceful... which of these type of fish do you have, and what are your favorites???

 

[GaryE]

Any fish with a sleek body and a triangular dorsal is going to get sold as a shark. You can call them Roseline sharks, or Roseline barbs.

Red tails are just part of the huge barb group, and if they're sharks, I'm a blue whale (we have the same basic hairline....). So I may be a party/buzz killer, but I can't see any kind of group involved. If you look closely, high bodied barbs like tigers have that dorsal shape too. But with their bodies, they can't be marketed as freshwater tiger sharks.

I'm told there's individual variation in personality, but every red tailed or rainbow shark I've ever dealt with has been a cheap shot artist under the cover of darkness. At least if a fish going to be nasty, it should own it.

I'm a big fan of chunky, triangle dorsal barbs. One of the best "pet fish" interactive types I've ever kept had the barb dorsal - rosy barbs. They were really fun, goofy fish to keep. They were perpetual puppies with the zoomies.

Roselines are too large for my tastes, though they are beauties.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

The current Latin name for Red-line Torpedo Barb is Sahyadria denisonii. I have kept a group of these fish for almost 20 years. I have had to replace them twice in that time. I got my initial ones of AquaBid but since then I got two groups imported and bought them in 50 fish quantities. I sold most of them and kept as 8-10 for myself each time,