Fiveband Barb | Desmopuntius pentazona

Sumatran fish ( Puntius tetrazona ) is a type of small fish belonging to the Cyprinidae tribe , the children of the Cyprininae tribe. The name is the trade name as an ornamental fish. In West Kalimantan, it is known by the name of fish with clothes . In English , this fish is known as the Sumatran barb or tiger barb .

Small fish, with a total length (along with tail) reaching 70 mm . Body yellowish with four dark upright bands; the first band passes through the eye and the last at the base of the tail. Imperfect lateral line, 22-25 pieces with only 8-9 leading scales are porous. The caudal peduncle is surrounded by 12 scales. Body height is about half the standard length (without tail).

Around the mouth, the pelvic and tail fins are reddish. The dorsal and anal fins are black, but the black on the dorsal fin is bordered by a red stripe.  The species traded, apart from the yellowish ones, are also reddish, greenish and albino individuals . The greenish color, which is actually a symptom of melanism in Sumatran fish, and the albino color are the result of selective breeding in captivity to increase the selling value of this fish.

Habitat and distribution

Sumatran fish naturally spread in the Malay Peninsula (including in the territory of Thailand ), Sumatra and Borneo . In addition, there are also reports of findings from other parts of Southeast Asia that are difficult to confirm, whether these fish are native to the area or adapted released fish .

This fish is often found in shallow rivers with medium currents, which are clear or cloudy. Sumatran fish like pH between 6.0–8.0, water hardness between 5–19 dGH , and water temperature range between 20–26 °C . Sumatran fish are also found in swamps , which indicates that these fish have a fairly high tolerance for changes in water quality. The average lifespan of Sumatran fish is about 6 years.

Benefit

Sumatran fish is one of the aquarium fish that has a fairly high commercial value. According to the record of imports of ornamental fish from the United States in 1992, this fish was ranked 10th with the number of individuals imported that year as many as 2.6 million individuals.

Maintenance in the aquarium

Sumatran fish like to swim in groups. If kept in small numbers, less than 5 tails, these fish can become aggressive and disturb other fish. Weak and less agile fish can suffer greatly

from the bite of the dominant Sumatran fish, which will mainly attack the fins. In large groups, the aggressiveness of these fish can be controlled.

Agile and fast swimming, Sumatran fish can be kept mixed with fish that are just as agile as platis fish, catfish relatives , or tiger fish relatives ( Chromobotia macracanthus ). The aquarium should also be filled with aquatic plants as a place to play. Sumatran fish are omnivores , can be given dry food (artificial) or live prey such as worms , water fleas or mosquito larvae .

This fish can be bred in an aquarium. The female Sumatran fish lays between 150-200 eggs at a time, which are distributed among aquatic plants. The eggs will hatch after 24 hours, and the young fish start to look active after 3 days. As feed for fish in the first weeks, tiny shrimp can be used.

Related types

The taxonomic status of this species is not yet established and there is still a long debate about it. In 1855 Pieter Bleeker , a German fish expert working in the Dutch East Indies at the time, first described this species as Capoëta tetrazona . However, in 1857, Bleeker used the same specific epithet again to name another, related but not very similar species, namely Barbus tetrazona (now known as Puntius rhomboocellatus ). Meanwhile, to add to the complexity, in 1860 Bleeker changed the specific name of the Sumatran fish toSystomus (Capoëta) sumatranus . It was only in the late 1930s that this error was corrected and the name Barbus tetrazona was returned to the Sumatran fish.

Another similar species is Puntius anchisporus , with a coloring pattern very similar to that of Sumatran fish. The difference is, P. anchisporus has a perfect lateral line and the tail is surrounded by 14 scales.

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