AquaNexus verified profile
Tinfoil barb
Barbonymus schwanenfeldii
Tinfoil barb is Barbonymus schwanenfeldii, a 30–35 cm South-East Asian schooling fish requiring six or more and roughly 1,200 L of permanent adult space.
Outcome: PASSED Permanent ID: 689
Profile overview
- Scientific Name
- Barbonymus schwanenfeldii
- Identity and search names
- Tinfoil barb, Red-fin tinfoil barb, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii, Barbus schwanenfeldii
- Category
- Freshwater fish
- Subgroup
- Barbs
- Environment
- Freshwater aquarium
- Origin
- Large rivers, floodplains and lakes of mainland and insular South-East Asia
- Care
- Advanced
- Adult Size
- Usually 30–35 cm total length; large adults may exceed this
- Lifespan
- 10–15 years or longer with appropriate care
- Tank
- At least 1,200 L for six or more, with public-aquarium-scale swimming length
- Temp
- 20–27 °C
- pH
- 6.0–8.0
- Hardness
- Soft to moderately hard
- Salinity
- Freshwater; no routine salt addition
- Lighting
- Normal aquarium lighting
- Placement
- Mid water
- Diet
- Large omnivore consuming fruits, seeds, aquatic plants, algae, insects, crustaceans and other available foods
- Filtration
- Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
- Aeration
- Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
- Maintenance
- Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
- Welfare
- Maintain the stated adult space and social structure, verify feeding, and intervene early when injury, exclusion, weight loss, abnormal respiration or altered behaviour appears. Tinfoil barbs are commonly sold as juveniles but become large, powerful schooling fish. One or two adults in 700 L is not an acceptable substitute for a full group with swimming length.
- 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.
- Review Status
- PASSED
- Source Status
- CURRENT — accepted identity or explicitly bounded species profile; husbandry, welfare, sources and Australian/South Australian biosecurity rechecked. CURRENT
App-ready care, welfare and biosecurity details
Identity Scope
Single-species profile for Barbonymus schwanenfeldii. Preserve permanent AquaNexus ID 689, slug tinfoil-barb and route /species/tinfoil-barb/; retain former combinations, locality labels and trade names only as searchable aliases.
Adult Size And Space
Expected adult size: Usually 30–35 cm total length; large adults may exceed this. Minimum permanent housing: At least 1,200 L for six or more, with public-aquarium-scale swimming length. Plan around adult dimensions, activity, social structure, aggression, oxygen demand and waste production rather than sale size.
Social Structure
Keep six or more only where a very large long aquarium can support the adult group and heavy waste load
Swimming Zone
Primary zone: Mid water. Keep that zone usable for movement, feeding, refuge and escape.
Feeding Ecology
Large omnivore consuming fruits, seeds, aquatic plants, algae, insects, crustaceans and other available foods
Feeding Plan
Offer measured plant-rich pellets, greens, fruit sparingly and varied invertebrate foods; avoid chronic overfeeding
Water Stability
Maintain 20–27 °C; pH 6.0–8.0; hardness or minerals: Soft to moderately hard; salinity: Freshwater; no routine salt addition. Stable oxygenation and nitrogen-cycle control matter more than chasing one exact value.
Habitat Structure
Public-aquarium-scale covered system with long open swimming room, strong current and oxygenation, robust décor and industrial mechanical and biological filtration
Compatibility Plan
Use only similarly large robust non-predatory fish with matching swimming and filtration needs
Breeding Plan
Seasonal river and floodplain egg scatterer; ordinary home-aquarium breeding is not realistic 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, respiration, skin, fins and waste, 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. Tinfoil barbs are commonly sold as juveniles but become large, powerful schooling fish. One or two adults in 700 L is not an acceptable substitute for a full group with swimming length.
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
Tinfoil barbs are commonly sold as juveniles but become large, powerful schooling fish. One or two adults in 700 L is not an acceptable substitute for a full group with swimming length.
Adult Projected Load
Plan filtration and stocking for the full adult size (Usually 30–35 cm total length; large adults may exceed this), the complete social group and peak feeding waste, not the current shop size. Permanent housing remains At least 1,200 L for six or more, with public-aquarium-scale swimming length.
Filtration
Use mature biological filtration with effective mechanical solids capture and turnover matched to the species’ natural flow needs. Protect intakes, preserve established media during cleaning and keep ammonia and nitrite at zero.
Aeration
Maintain continuous surface agitation and dependable dissolved oxygen across the whole aquarium. Increase oxygen reserve in warm water, strong-current systems, dense groups, medication periods and power interruptions.
Maintenance
Observe feeding, respiration, body condition and social behaviour daily; test nitrogen waste and key chemistry on a schedule; clean mechanical media before trapped waste decomposes; and perform regular temperature- and chemistry-matched water changes.
Overridable Warnings
Warnings are decision support, not permission to ignore welfare limits. Override only with specimen-specific evidence, equivalent risk controls and a recorded reason; never override legal, biosecurity, provenance or no-release requirements.
Sources and review basis
- Eschmeyer’s Catalog of Fishes — Barbonymus schwanenfeldii: Taxonomy — accepted name, former combinations, synonyms and identity cross-check
- Ismail et al. — feeding ecology of Barbonymus schwanenfeldii: Feeding ecology and adult biology — large omnivorous river fish rather than small ornamental barb
- IUCN Red List search — Barbonymus schwanenfeldii: Conservation and provenance — wild status, locality and collection-risk cross-check
- PIRSA — South Australian noxious fish list: Australian biosecurity — current South Australian possession, trade and movement restrictions
- DAFF — importing live ornamental fish to Australia: Australian biosecurity — national live-fish import pathways and permitted-species warning
AquaNexus uses original editorial synthesis. Exact import, possession, movement and disposal requirements must be rechecked with the current authority before acquisition or transfer.