All the breeders of aquariums certainly know the Sumatran barbeque. This merry fish got its name due to the origin of the island of Sumatra. Such a pet is great for beginners aquarists. The Sumatran barbule is not fastidious in the content, it adapts well to the different hardness and acidity of the water. A characteristic feature of its appearance are four vertical bands of black color, which are located against the background of yellowish or silvery color of these fish. The size of the Sumatran barbeque with the content in the aquarium is 6-7 centimeters, and the life span is 4 years. How much a Sumatran barbeque lives is often determined by the characteristics and diversity of its diet.
What to feed the Sumatran barbs?
Sumatran barbs will not give you much trouble and will gladly consume the proposed food. Be it a dry or living variety of it. But if you want to grow highly active and reproductive individuals, the emphasis is still better on live food. Also in the diet of adult Sumatran barbs must necessarily be present vegetation. If you neglect this recommendation, then you risk seeing the combined aquarium plants . Thus, fish replace the shortage of this type of nutrients. In addition, without vegetable additives, Sumatran barbs may cause obesity and other diseases. These pets are in principle prone to recruit excess weight, so they need to be fed carefully, not overfeeding, once a day. And sometimes it is useful to arrange a day of unloading for them, depriving them of food in general. But such radical measures should not be taken more often than once in 10 days.
The Sumatran barboo is a schooling fish. Given this feature, breeders are advised not to limit themselves to one, but to start 6-8 pieces. Otherwise, a lone Sumatran barbeque will show excessive activity in the aquarium and irritate the obsession of its other inhabitants.
If we talk about the compatibility of Sumatran barbs with other fish, then it is quite good. The exception is made only by highly predatory fish and those whose size significantly exceeds its parameters. Otherwise, your pet can simply eat. And the Sumatran barbs themselves are not averse to pinching long tails and fins in fish, for which they are available, to show aggression towards them. Proceeding from this, it is not recommended to keep long-tailed fish in the same aquarium.
How to determine the sex of Sumatran barbs?
Female Sumatran barbs have external differences, which allow not to confuse them with males. The females are less brightly colored, as well as a more complete abdomen, than in males. In addition, females are noticeably larger, this is clearly visible to the naked eye.
Usually, the maturity of Sumatran barbs occurs after reaching 1 year.
The fecundity of the female Sumatran barba reaches 500 eggs at a time. But do not be scared at once - not all of them will be fertilized and become full-fledged fish. If the female has not spawned for a long time, she may just become sick and die. Therefore, one must approach the process of reproduction as a natural necessity.
Fry and caviar of Sumatran barbs, when they are grown in common aquariums, are often eaten by themselves as well as by various neighbors. Therefore, for the safety of the offspring, we advise in advance to take care of individual vessels and grow fry in them.