Identity and search names
- Common name
- Gold barb
- Scientific name
- Barbodes semifasciolatus
- Other names
- Chinese barb, Schuberti barb, Puntius semifasciolatus, Barbus semifasciolatus
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Group
- Barbs
- Origin
- Red River drainage and adjoining waters of southern China and northern Vietnam; the gold form is a captive colour strain
- Review outcome
- PASSED
Environment and housing
- Environment
- Freshwater
- Care level
- Beginner
- Adult size
- Usually 5–7 cm; exceptional adults may approach 8 cm
- Expected lifespan
- About 5–7 years
- Minimum housing
- At least 120 L with open swimming length for a mature shoal
- Temperature
- 18–26 °C
- pH
- 6.0–8.0
- Hardness or minerals
- Soft to moderately hard
- Salinity
- Freshwater
- Lighting
- Normal lighting with planted margins and open swimming room
- Social structure
- Keep at least 8–10, preferably more
- Placement or swimming zone
- Middle and lower water
- Temperament
- Peaceful, active shoaling fish
- Compatibility
- Suitable with active peaceful fish that tolerate the same cooler-to-tropical range; avoid long-finned or timid species in cramped tanks
- Habitat structure
- A mature filtered aquarium with open swimming space, planted margins, wood or rock refuge and moderate current
Feeding and nutrition
- Diet
- Omnivore; combine quality prepared food with small invertebrates and vegetable matter
- Feeding frequency
- Feed small portions once or twice daily without allowing dominant fish to monopolise food
Breeding and reproduction
- Breeding or reproduction
- Free-spawning egg scatterer over fine plants or mops; adults provide no care and may eat eggs
- Parental care
- No parental care
System demands
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
Detailed husbandry
- Identity scope
- This profile covers Barbodes semifasciolatus and its domestic gold or “Schuberti” form. Colour alone does not create a separate species, and the name must not be confused with the smaller golden dwarf barb.
- Adult size and space
- Usually 5–7 cm; exceptional adults may approach 8 cm. At least 120 L with open swimming length for a mature shoal. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression and waste production rather than sale size.
- Social structure
- Keep at least 8–10, preferably more
- Placement or swimming zone
- Primary zone: Middle and lower water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding and refuge.
- Feeding ecology
- Omnivore; combine quality prepared food with small invertebrates and vegetable matter
- Feeding plan
- Feed small portions once or twice daily without allowing dominant fish to monopolise food
- Water stability
- Maintain 18–26 °C; pH 6.0–8.0; hardness/minerals: Soft to moderately hard. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact number.
- Adult projected load
- Plan capacity for Keep at least 8–10, preferably more at the documented adult size (Usually 5–7 cm; exceptional adults may approach 8 cm) in At least 120 L with open swimming length for a mature shoal. Include feeding intensity, territorial behaviour and breeding growth rather than counting sale-size juveniles.
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration sized for the full adult group and feeding load, with intake protection where juveniles, long fins or small fish are present. Provide steady turnover without preventing normal swimming or resting.
- Aeration
- Maintain strong surface gas exchange and stable dissolved oxygen. Increase aeration during warm weather, medication, transport recovery, breeding crowding or any ammonia or nitrite event.
- Maintenance
- Test ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, remove waste from feeding and shelter zones, and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes before nitrate or dissolved organics accumulate.
- Habitat structure
- A mature filtered aquarium with open swimming space, planted margins, wood or rock refuge and moderate current
- Compatibility plan
- Suitable with active peaceful fish that tolerate the same cooler-to-tropical range; avoid long-finned or timid species in cramped tanks
- Breeding plan
- Free-spawning egg scatterer over fine plants or mops; adults provide no care and may eat eggs Parental care: No parental care.
- Quarantine
- Quarantine new fish in a separate cycled aquarium with dedicated equipment. Match temperature and mineral chemistry gradually, confirm feeding and normal respiration, and never add transport water to the established aquarium.
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. The gold colour is a domestic strain, not a separate species. Undersized groups and heavily inbred stock increase stress and poor condition.
- Biosecurity and release
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
- Main risk
- The gold colour is a domestic strain, not a separate species. Undersized groups and heavily inbred stock increase stress and poor condition.
- Overridable warnings
- The gold colour is a domestic strain, not a separate species. Undersized groups and heavily inbred stock increase stress and poor condition. Any override must still preserve adult space, social welfare, stable chemistry, oxygen and filter capacity.
Welfare and risk
- Welfare checks
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. The gold colour is a domestic strain, not a separate species. Undersized groups and heavily inbred stock increase stress and poor condition.
- Main warning
- The gold colour is a domestic strain, not a separate species. Undersized groups and heavily inbred stock increase stress and poor condition.
- Biosecurity
- Never release fish, fry, eggs, aquarium water, sediment, plants or live foods into drains, dams or natural waterways. Confirm current Australian import conditions and South Australian possession, trade and movement rules before acquisition or transfer.
Sources
Source note
Current identity or scope, husbandry, system-demand, welfare and Australian biosecurity evidence checked; active retired-source links removed; all AquaNexus wording is original.
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Barbodes semifasciolatus — Current accepted-name, synonym, family and habitat check
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Barbodes semifasciolatus — Accepted-name, synonym and taxonomic-placement cross-check
- Seriously Fish — Barbodes semifasciolatus — Wild identity, captive gold strain, adult scale, shoaling and breeding evidence
- IUCN Red List search — Barbodes semifasciolatus — Conservation-status and wild-provenance cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list — Current South Australian possession and trade restriction cross-check
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia — Current Australian live-fish import pathway and permitted-species warning