A question for Barb connoisseurs

[TNG]

I saw this fish in a pet store, in a tank close to a tiger barbs’ tank.
Can someone tell what it is, is it Puntigrus partipentazona? Its behaviour is quite distinct from the tiger barbs’ in another tank.
Sorry about the low quality photos.

 

[GaryE]

There is a group of species that resemble the hobby tiger barbs. Puntigrus partipentazona is a nice one, smaller and by reputation less nippy than the tiger barb (which can grow surprisingly large).
It's still a super social fish, and all social fish can get unpredictable if kept wrongly. These guys need heavily planted tanks, with a vegetable component to their diet. They need to be in larger groups - a dozen would be good, although a couple fewer will work. If they have a large group, then they become a self contained world with zero interest in other species. If the group is too small, rogue individuals won't be as destructive as tiger barbs can be, but they may nip. Boredom makes for badness.
Predictably, a group needs room to move, so you'd need a decent sized tank.
There are a lot of barbs we don't see regularly that are, IMHO, better fish to keep than the ones we do. The business has concentrated on selling mutated morphs of tiger barbs rather than breeding the really nice natural members of the group. Desmopuntius rhomboocellatus is a delightful barb I wish we saw more. Where I am, in Canada, we don't get a lot of the nicer Asian fish.

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[WhistlingBadger]

I believe you're right; this seems to be Puntigrus partipentazona or something very similar (there are a whole bunch of more-or-less identical species in the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra). I've kept pentazona barbs, which are very closely related and possibly the same species. They are wonderful little fish. You want at least seven of them, more is better, as they are rather shy and enjoy hanging out together. They aren't at all nippy like tiger barbs. I kept a school for years alongside pearl gouramis.

I feel sorry for this little guy, all by himself in a tank of tiger barbs.

 

[Byron]

Agree with others. Data on this species:

Puntigrus partipentazona (Barbus partipentazona, Systomus partipentazona) — Seriously Fish

www.seriouslyfish.com

 

[TNG]

Thanks for confirming it's not a tiger barb. There were 6 or 7 in the store about a month ago, not enough for a school. Returned to the store a few days ago, hoping they'd have more in, but saw a single fish swimming with other species. I pointed out to a staff member that it wasn't a tiger and asked what barb it was - the response was it's a tiger barb, we only order tiger barbs. A bit disappointed really as Puntigrus partipentazonas are rarely seen here.

 

[gilpi]

This might be a dumb question but, how can one tell the difference between a Puntigrus partipentazona and a juvenile Tiger Barb?

 

[TNG]

This might be a dumb question but, how can one tell the difference between a Puntigrus partipentazona and a juvenile Tiger Barb?

An adult Puntigrus partipentazona is quite different from an adult tiger, different colouration and behaviour. It’s easy to tell them apart when put side by side.

I have never seen a juvenile partipentazona or juvenile tiger, so hope others can answer that question.