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Name:
Scientific name: Systomus partipentazona
Common name: Tiger barb
AKA: Partipentazona barb
Mistakenly or previously labelled: Barbus partipentazona/ Puntigrus partipentazona/ Puntius partipentazona

Country of origin: South-East Asia – Cambodia, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia (Peninsular Malaysia), Singapore, Thailand, Viet Nam
pH: 6.0 – 7.0
Temperature: 22 - 26c
Hardness: 54 – 179 ppm
Water flow: standard
Oxygenation: standard

Maximum size: 4 cm

Diet: Live, frozen, flake & pellet foods – it is an omnivore.

Breeding:
Males: smaller, slimmer, brighter colours
Females: larger, rounder, duller colours

They are an egg scatterer, and if provided with a mop or sufficient moss or plants, they can lay eggs, however they need to be kept from them by a division in the tank, or removal of the eggs or fish. They will not provide any care, so removal of the parents is still the best plan, as they will eat their eggs and fry. Breed in a separate tank in a pair or a group.

Lifespan: years

Tank companions:
They are NOT good tank companions with shrimps.

They are a schooling species. They should be kept in groups of 8+ to spread the aggression in the group.

Like other tiger barb species (there are many similar looking fish with this common name), they have a nasty reputation for nipping (particularly other species), but this is often curbed by keeping them in a group. They should not be kept with species with long, trailing fins (such as bettas or paradise fish) for this reason.

They are shy for a tiger barb, and can be kept with other peaceful species, such as tetras. They should not be kept with boisterous or aggressive tank mates.

As with any fish they will eat any fish small enough to fit in their mouths, and equally can be eaten by any fish large enough to eat them. This should be taken into account when choosing tankmates.

Stocking plans can be checked with aqadvisor.com

Tank:
Minimum tank size is 2.5 ft for a small group. More room is needed for a larger group and/or tankmates.

They could be kept in a heavily planted tank with open areas for swimming, floating plants for cover and driftwood. They do best on a dark substrate.

It requires extremely good water quality, achieved through frequent, large water changes.

Confused with:
There are other recognised species in the genus, all of which are allowable imports to Australia:
Systomus hexazona (previously Puntius hexazona) - Tiger Barb/ Sixband barb - clear at back of dorsal fin
Systomus lateristriga (previously Puntius lateristriga) - Spanner Barb/ T-barb
Systomus partipentazona (previously Puntius partipentazona) - Tiger barb/ Partipentazona Barb
Systomus pentazona (previously Puntius pentazona) - Five-banded Barb/ Pentazona barb – dark stripe at back of dorsal fin
Systomus tetrazona (previously Puntius tetrazona) - Tiger Barb, Sumatra Barb

Until recently these and many other genus were known as Puntius – this is still the genus name given on the allowable import list.

Hampala macrolepidota (slender barb) juveniles have a similar pattern, and come from the same region & habitat.

Although these fish are on the allowable import list, there is very little information about them, or evidence that they are being kept or bred in the trade. They are endangered in their natural habitat, and given the lack of information about them being kept by hobbyists or commercially bred, this should be taken into account if making the decision to keep them. Experienced hobbyists with experience in breeding fish may consider keeping them, but they are not a fish for beginners.

Puntius partipentazona (previous synonym) are legal imports to Australia as of 27/01/2014 (list last updated 16/10/13).
http://www.environment.gov.au/system...mport-list.pdf

The IUCN Red List reports Systomus partipentazona as a species of least concern, with a stable population trend, at 25/01/2014:
http://www.iucnredlist.org/search

It is very important not to release any aquarium specimens into our waterways. Any that are not sold or re-homed/ given away, can often be re-sold to aquarium stores. If they are homed in ponds, care should be taken that they cannot escape in run-off into our waterways. Even if fish are native & local they should not be moved from one waterway to another, as this can transfer disease. If they are not local fish, they can both spread disease and either out-compete or eat local fish, shrimp & plants, causing their demise.

They are good fish for experienced hobbyists.

Relevant threads:

Systomus pentazona, Five banded barb:
http://www.aquariumlife.com.au/showt...highlight=barb

References:

Encyclopedia of life:
http://eol.org/pages/216906/names/synonyms

Fishbase:
http://www.fishbase.org/summary/Syst...pentazona.html

Seriously Fish:
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/south-a...-nomenclature/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/its-oft...bout-its-name/
http://www.seriouslyfish.com/species...artipentazona/

Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Puntigrus_partipentazona

Pics & threads with pics:


DE
27/01/2014