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Gold barbs never stop moving -- especially if they think you plan to feed them.

Origins:  Originally found in Southeast Asia, all of these guys now come from fish farms.  Gold barbs originally came from the wild as green barbs.  We haven’t seen the wild greens for 2.5 decades.

Name Origin:  If you look real close, you can see the tiny barbs that put them in the barb family.  The genus name was changed to Capoetes, then Puntius but we still call them “barbs.”  They were discovered by someone named Schubert and then someone named Sachs.  So you can find them under a variety of genera and species.  Just call them gold barbs.  Sometimes getting technical just causes confusion.

Water Conditions:  Not particularly affected by pH or hardness, these guys do well in any clean water.  They do like a teaspoon of salt per gallon but will tolerate much more (or none).

Appeal:  You couldn’t ask for an easier fish to keep.  They never hide and rarely pester other fishes – unlike some barbs (you know who they are).  Golds also mix well with “bitier” barbs such as the tiger barbs.

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2.5"-inch adult gold barbs -- about the same size as an adult black tetra.

Size:   You usually see them on the market at 1 to 1.5 inches.  We’ve seen them grow to three inches.  They naturally grow larger in a 55 than they would in a 10-gallon tank.  But you want the smaller guys.  The biggies are trade-ins that outgrew a tank somewhere.  The smalls have much more mileage left on their warranty.

Diseases:  Like most barbs, gold barbs can catch velvet – a nasty parasite much harder to cure than ich.  You treat it the same way but it takes longer to cure.  Keep your water clean and add salt to help prevent velvet.  You’ll rarely see velvet except on barbs, danios, and anabantids – all fishes from Southeast Asia.

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Gold barbs mix well with most fishes -- especially other barbs.

Great Small Tank Citizens:  Gold barbs mix well with typical fishes that “fit” best in 10-gallon tanks – tetras, danios, moons, mollies and the smaller gouramis. They might pick on the long fins of angels their own size.  Breeder size angels try to eat them (and often succeed).

Foods:  If any other fish will eat your choice of food, so will they.  Of course they love live and frozen foods as well as flakes and pellets. 

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Gold barbs -- even these little guys -- add color to the drabbest aquarium.

Gravel Choice:  Darker gravels will darken your gold barbs.  Light gravels tend to bleach them out.  Avoid red, orange, and yellow gravels because they tend to blend into these colors.

Plants:  Watching a school of gold barbs exploring your plants in search of tasty morsels adds to your enjoyment.  Unlike some of the larger barbs (especially tinfoils), gold barbs won’t eat your plants or uproot them.

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2.5"-inch adult male -- lots of black on the males, usually along his lateral line.

Sexing:   Females grow larger and plumper than the males.  Females stay gold all over.  Males grow a series of splotches on their sides.

Separate Your Breeders:  Gold barbs breed like most other barbs – in groups.  Condition the sexes separately till the females fill with eggs.  Feed California blackworms and brine shrimp to get them in the mood.  Feed them multiple times per day.  The multi-feedings play a bigger part in conditioning them than the type of food.

Breeding Process:  Put the parents in a tank with large gravel or marbles on the bottom and bushy plants in one end of the tank.  Your barbs will usually breed the next morning when the light first hits their tank.  Take the parents out as soon as they start eating their eggs.  Barbs ignore their eggs except when they’re hungry.  Unfortunately, they always think they’re hungry.

Fry Food:  Feed baby barbs infusoria.  Have your culture going long before you attempt the breeding process.  Your breeding success depends upon your infusoria cultures.

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Adult gold barbs under three inches.  Java moss makes a great spawning plant.

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Mature gold barbs add color to your community tank.

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1.5-inch female and male gold barbs.

Last Word:  When you see the juvenile gold barbs, you only get a hint of their potential mature colors.  They really are gold.  The more of these you add to your tank, the more you will like them.  LA.

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