Pool barb


The pool barb, spotfin swamp barb, or stigma barb is a tropical freshwater and brackish fish belonging to the Puntius genus in the family Cyprinidae. It is native to inland waters in Asia and is found in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yunnan, China.

Description

It reaches an adult size of 18 cm. and a weight of 70 grams. The first maturity of female occurs at 4.7 cm. At the population level, size at 50% maturity is 8.6-9.0 cm.

Habitat

Its native habitat is rivers, streams, and ponds in plains and submontane regions. It is a plentiful shoaling fish.

Breeding

Pool barbs naturally breed within a temperature range 20–30 °C and >50 mm rainfall. The threshold gonadosomatic index for breeding is 10.5 units in females. Females also need to attain a body fitness of at least 1.6-1.7 units for successful spawning decision.

Synonyms

This fish was originally named Cyprinus sophore by Francis Buchanan-Hamilton in 1822, and is also referred to as Systomus sophore, and Barbus sophore.