Odessa Barb | Puntius ticto Odessa

The Odessa Barb is a species of cyprinid fish from Central Myanmar, where it is known to occur in artificial ponds above the Anisakan Falls and also from the lower Chindwin River. This fish is very active colony. This beautiful fish that has metallic red scales is suitable for aquascape fish. Classified as an active fish can coexist with fish of its size.

Getting to know the Odessa Barb Fish

Getting to know the life of the Odessa Barb Fish is an active and agile fish that can be said to be semi-aggressive. In nature, these fish often swim in groups, if the fish are kept in large numbers, at least 6 fish will look better and attractive, no wonder many want to keep and include them in their aquarium. The waters are generally clear, lacking aquatic plants, and flow over limestone resulting in a pH value of around 11.0. The substrate in the area is gravel or mud. Odessa Barb fish live in water conditions with low pH. A good pH is between 6.5 – 8.5. For the temperature, Odessa Barb likes temperatures between 16 o C – 25 o C, you don’t need to use a heater if you want to take care of it.

Keeping and Cultivating Fish Odessa Barb

If you want to keep Odessa Barb fish, you should prepare an aquarium with a capacity of more than 50 liters (50x30x35 cm). Set the aquarium temperature ranges from 16-25 o Celsius. With the pH set between 6-8. The aquarium can be decorated with twigs, red Malang sand, or Holland sand. In addition, for the plants you can adjust according to taste, for example, using anubias, or valisneria plants.

The Odessa Barb is sometimes known as the Scarlet Barb, and the female’s body is silver and pink with a black spot above the pectoral fins. Males are black to silver in color and have a beautiful bright red stripe that runs horizontally from head to tail. They are very beautiful and lively fish that prefer to go to school. They prefer a well-planted tank of at least 30 gallons with soft, slightly acidic water.

Rocks and driftwood can be added to the aquarium, but leave plenty of room for swimming. The Scarlet Barb is a very active fish that can irritate or even bite the fins of larger and slower moving fish. It is best, when trying to breed Odessa Barbs, keep a number of Barbs in the same tank until they pair up.

After a pair of females breed, the female will lay eggs and the male will follow behind to fertilize. The seeds will swim freely after about 5 days. Feed the newly hatched brine shrimp fry until they are large enough to accept the crushed flake food. The Odessa Barb needs to be fed a variety of foods including vegetables as well as meaty foods. Feed quality flake foods as well as freeze-dried, live and frozen foods such as brine shrimp and bloodworms.

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