Barb

Barb are a small sized group of fish that are naturally found in the freshwater rivers and lakes across the
southern hemisphere. There are over 2,000 known species of barb in the world inhabiting the frehswater
regions of Asia, Africa and South America.

The barb fish is often referred to as a freshwatershark, due to the fact that barb are one of the
few species of freshwater fish to have rows of teeth in their mouths. Despite their small size, barbs are
known to be ferocious hunters and are dominant predators in the world of small fish in their natural
environment. Barb do only prey upon the fish that are smaller than them, but also on medium
sized fish that can sometimes be double the size of the barb.

Due to their small size and bright colours, barb are commonly kept in household aquariums worldwide.
The most common barb kept in aquariums are the cherry barb (pink/red in colour) and the tiger barb
(silver body with thick, black stripes and red fin on its belly).

Barb are known to be relatively hardy fish and can easily adapt to changes in the water including changes
in pH levels and temperate. It is known that barbs can successfully inhabit unheated tanks, and although
this has proved to be successful in many cases, it is not recommended as barb are naturally found in
warmer tropical waters.

Due to their aggressive and dominant nature, it is not ideal to keep barbs in artificial tanks with
smaller species of tropical fish. At the same time, barb will also hunt medium sized fishif there is a lack of
food, and so are best kept on their own (just barbs) or with much larger species of fish.

Barbs are known to lay numerous eggs in order for a few to hatch successfully. The baby barb are called
fry and generally hatch within a few days of being laid. Like their hardy barb parents, the barb fry are able
to adapt well to changes in their surroundings.

Barbs are opportunists and will therefore eat almost anything that they can find. Although barbs prefer a
predominantly meat based diet that includes smaller fish, insects and bloodworm, barb are also known to
eat aquatic plants particularly those that are softer and therefore easier to ingest. The exact diet of the barb
however, depends on the species and the region in which it inhabits.