I like barbs a lot, and they don't get their just respect. This month, as I write, there's a fish of the month contest on them, which makes me think about barbs I don't always have now, but I'd love to show people.
First, a confusing little fish from the Congo River region, Enteromius (used to be Barbus) hulstaerti. It's from a species complex of similar fish - there's a lot of variation and probably a bunch of undescribed speies involved. Every time I have seen them imported, they have been slightly to strikingly different. What doesn't change is their micro-fish status - these fish are in the same size class as Bororas from Asia, or H. amandae (ember tetras) from South America.
Next, a Cameroonian commercial import of Enteromius 'jae' - another mess of probably related micro-fish travelling under one name.
And last, a Gabonese jae type we caught in 2023 that isn't as intensely coloured as the first, but is also a tiny, interesting fish.
I think we should all somehow find these and get to work on making them popular.
First, a confusing little fish from the Congo River region, Enteromius (used to be Barbus) hulstaerti. It's from a species complex of similar fish - there's a lot of variation and probably a bunch of undescribed speies involved. Every time I have seen them imported, they have been slightly to strikingly different. What doesn't change is their micro-fish status - these fish are in the same size class as Bororas from Asia, or H. amandae (ember tetras) from South America.
Next, a Cameroonian commercial import of Enteromius 'jae' - another mess of probably related micro-fish travelling under one name.
And last, a Gabonese jae type we caught in 2023 that isn't as intensely coloured as the first, but is also a tiny, interesting fish.
I think we should all somehow find these and get to work on making them popular.
