Help on Puntius Denisonii (Red Line Torpedo Barb)

[swozzie]

I have just bought 4 Red Line Torpedo Barbs. One of them is slightly different - the other 3 seem to have a split in the dorsal fin, it's in the same place and the same length on all 3. Also, their black stripe seems to turn downwards between their eye and their nose resulting in a redder nose than the other one. The different one also differs slightly in his behaviour, he tends to nudge the other 3 with his nose (maybe he caused the "splits" in the other dorsal fin) and hang back a bit more from the others. His red line is also paler than the others. He is also the biggest of the 4.

Could this be a male/female difference or is he a slightly different species or simply from a different part of the river?

Does anyone know where I can find out more on this species?

Any help much appreciated...
Mark Baldwin

 

[Joviella]

i also have these fish and have not had much luck with them so far.......theres very little info about on these fish and the people in the shop i bought them from no very little about fish fullstop.......sorry not to be of much help but maybe someone else will post a reply helping us both......

 

[swozzie]

I have had them for some 4 weeks now and can tell you this...

They are very peaceful. I have added 3 Clown Loaches and they get on great. The barbs are very interested in whatever is going on. They school together all the time. They are high/mid and lower level fish. They are extremely fast, sometimes so fast your eyes can't keep up. They are very greedy, food hardly hits the bottom of the tank. They stuff themselves full, they spend a bit of time trying to digest, sometimes spitting food back out only to consume it again. They go to sleep at night, resting on the bottom of the tank or in some plants. Their red stripe fades to pink when the lights go out. The bigger barb has stopped "nudging" the others, this seems to be a hierarchy thing so they probably have a pecking order although I haven't seen anything aggressive from any of them even when scambling for food. They eat algae and snails! I had lots of algae and snails before I got them and it all vanished within a day.

They are also more colourful than pictures could show. They are silver on the lower half, golden on top, black stripe going the length of their bodies with a bright red stripe going three quarters the length. Their fins have a yellow tint and they have patches of emerald green on top. There bodies can really reflect the light. I have seen a batch at another fish shop where the red stripe is always pink (even when the lights have been on for some time). I also read that these have been bred in captivity using hormone injection but the resulting fish don't have as colourful a red stripe.

Oh and they come from just 3 rivers in Kerala, South India. Apparently they are endangered but there are enough of them for export (whatever that means).

One last thing, Rainbow Sharks DO NOT like them at all! Mine was constantly chasing them for some 10days until I moved him although they were weary of him, they were also much faster and nimbler so he never actually got hold of one (I think). The Rainbow Shark didn't seem to be able to see them once the light level got low which led me to think that he was attracted to that bright red stripe!

Hope this helps someone...

 

[diamondfan]

there is a near look alike fish that is paler and may well be slightly bigger than the real red striped.you may have gotten one of them.

 

[Sanj]

there is a near look alike fish that is paler and may well be slightly bigger than the real red striped.you may have gotten one of them.

Yes, there is believed to be a very similar but seperate species(still some arguement on that), that is somewhat more boisterous, not quite as colourful and grows larger to 6" (the other grow to 4"). It has been named Puntius chalakudiensis, but when it is imported (not that common) will often be mixed up with the P. denisoni.

So you may have that form.