Checker barb
Encyclopedia
The checker barb checkerboard barb, checkered barb, or island barb is a tropical freshwater
fish
belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). It is native to creeks, rivers, and lakes in Sumatra
, Indonesia
.
The name checker barb comes from the black marks on its side similar in appearance to those found on a checkerboard
. The adult males have red fins with black tips. It will grow up to at most 2 inches (5 centimeters).
The checker barb was originally described as Capoeta oligolepis by Pieter Bleeker
in 1853. It was also referred to as Barbus oligolepis
by many authors, though it does not belong in the genus Barbus
and B. oligolepis properly refers to a different fish species that is only found in Turkey
.
with a pH
of 6.0 - 6.5, a water hardness of 10.0 dGH
, and a temperature range of 68–75 °F (20–24 °C). Their omnivorous
diet consists of small worm
s, crustacean
s, insect
s, and plants.
An egg-scattering fish, they spawn
early in the morning on plants that are the center of the male's territory. Once the spawning
is completed, the pair will attempt to eat the eggs that they can find.
trade industry; this peaceful fish is sometimes used in community tanks by fish keeping hobbyists. The checker barb is a schooling fish that is well suited to a community aquarium. It requires warm(75-77 degrees F), soft to medium-hard water. It occupies the medium to lower levels of the aquarium and is an omnivore, doing well on processed foods. The checker barb is a prolific egg-scatterer that lends itself well to the novice breeder.
Freshwater
Fresh water is naturally occurring water on the Earth's surface in ice sheets, ice caps, glaciers, bogs, ponds, lakes, rivers and streams, and underground as groundwater in aquifers and underground streams. Fresh water is generally characterized by having low concentrations of dissolved salts and...
fish
Fish
Fish are a paraphyletic group of organisms that consist of all gill-bearing aquatic vertebrate animals that lack limbs with digits. Included in this definition are the living hagfish, lampreys, and cartilaginous and bony fish, as well as various extinct related groups...
belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae). It is native to creeks, rivers, and lakes in Sumatra
Sumatra
Sumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
The name checker barb comes from the black marks on its side similar in appearance to those found on a checkerboard
Checkerboard
A checkerboard or chequerboard is a board of chequered pattern on which English draughts is played. It is an 8×8 board and the 64 squares are of alternating dark and light color, often red and black....
. The adult males have red fins with black tips. It will grow up to at most 2 inches (5 centimeters).
The checker barb was originally described as Capoeta oligolepis by Pieter Bleeker
Pieter Bleeker
Pieter Bleeker was a Dutch medical doctor and ichthyologist, famous for his work on the fishes of East Asia – Atlas Ichthyologique des Orientales Neerlandaises – which was published 1862–1877....
in 1853. It was also referred to as Barbus oligolepis
Barbus oligolepis
Barbus oligolepis is a ray-finned fish species in the family Cyprinidae. It is endemic to Turkey.Its taxonomic history has become entangled with that of the Checker Barb of Indonesia, described as Capoeta oligolepis by Pieter Bleeker in 1853 and subsequently often placed in Barbus. But this is not...
by many authors, though it does not belong in the genus Barbus
Barbus
Barbus is a ray-finned fish genus in the family Cyprinidae. The type species of Barbus is the Common Barbel, first described as Cyprinus barbus and now named Barbus barbus...
and B. oligolepis properly refers to a different fish species that is only found in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
Habitat
Checker barbs natively live in a tropical climate and prefer waterWater
Water is a chemical substance with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at ambient conditions, but it often co-exists on Earth with its solid state, ice, and gaseous state . Water also exists in a...
with a pH
PH
In chemistry, pH is a measure of the acidity or basicity of an aqueous solution. Pure water is said to be neutral, with a pH close to 7.0 at . Solutions with a pH less than 7 are said to be acidic and solutions with a pH greater than 7 are basic or alkaline...
of 6.0 - 6.5, a water hardness of 10.0 dGH
DGH
Degrees of general hardness is a unit of water hardness, specifically of general hardness.General hardness is a measure of the concentration of metal divalent ions such as calcium and magnesium per volume of water...
, and a temperature range of 68–75 °F (20–24 °C). Their omnivorous
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
diet consists of small worm
Worm
The term worm refers to an obsolete taxon used by Carolus Linnaeus and Jean-Baptiste Lamarck for all non-arthropod invertebrate animals, and stems from the Old English word wyrm. Currently it is used to describe many different distantly-related animals that typically have a long cylindrical...
s, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, and plants.
An egg-scattering fish, they spawn
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
early in the morning on plants that are the center of the male's territory. Once the spawning
Spawn (biology)
Spawn refers to the eggs and sperm released or deposited, usually into water, by aquatic animals. As a verb, spawn refers to the process of releasing the eggs and sperm, also called spawning...
is completed, the pair will attempt to eat the eggs that they can find.
In the aquarium
The checker barb has commercial importance in the aquariumAquarium
An aquarium is a vivarium consisting of at least one transparent side in which water-dwelling plants or animals are kept. Fishkeepers use aquaria to keep fish, invertebrates, amphibians, marine mammals, turtles, and aquatic plants...
trade industry; this peaceful fish is sometimes used in community tanks by fish keeping hobbyists. The checker barb is a schooling fish that is well suited to a community aquarium. It requires warm(75-77 degrees F), soft to medium-hard water. It occupies the medium to lower levels of the aquarium and is an omnivore, doing well on processed foods. The checker barb is a prolific egg-scatterer that lends itself well to the novice breeder.