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Cuming's Barb
Puntius cumingii
📍 Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka)
Cuming's Barb is a small, colorful cyprinid native to Sri Lanka, displaying two distinctive black spots on its body along with vibrant yellow-orange and reddish fins. It is an active, hardy species well-suited for community aquariums with similarly sized peaceful fish. Their striking coloration and lively schooling behavior make them a popular choice among hobbyists.
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Care Guide
Diet
Cuming's Barbs are omnivores that readily accept high-quality flake foods, micro pellets, and freeze-dried foods as a staple diet. Supplement regularly with live or frozen foods such as daphnia, brine shrimp, and bloodworms to enhance coloration and overall health. Feed small amounts two to three times daily, only what they can consume within two to three minutes.
Behavior
Cuming's Barbs are active, peaceful schooling fish that thrive in groups of six or more, displaying their best colors and most natural behavior when kept in a proper school. They occupy the middle water column and are constantly on the move, exploring the tank with curiosity. Unlike some barb species, they are not known to nip fins, making them excellent community tank residents.
Breeding
Cuming's Barbs are egg scatterers and can be bred in a separate breeding tank with fine-leaved plants or a spawning mop to catch the adhesive eggs. Slightly raising the temperature to around 26-27°C and conditioning the pair with live foods will encourage spawning. Parents should be removed after spawning as they will eat the eggs; fry hatch within 24-48 hours and can be fed infusoria or commercial fry foods initially.
Tank Mates
Similar size, peaceful temperament, and comparable water parameter requirements make them ideal tankmates
Peaceful schooling fish with overlapping water parameters and similar activity levels
Small, peaceful schooling fish that coexist well with Cuming's Barbs without competition
Bottom-dwelling and peaceful, occupies a different zone and poses no threat to barbs
Gentle and peaceful gourami species that shares similar water conditions
Peaceful algae eater that occupies the bottom zone and does not compete with barbs
Common Diseases
Ich (White Spot Disease)
Small white spots resembling grains of salt on the body and fins, flashing against surfaces, lethargy, and loss of appetite
Raise water temperature gradually to 28-30°C, treat with ich-specific medication containing malachite green or formalin, and perform regular water changes
Fin Rot
Frayed, ragged, or disintegrating fin edges, sometimes with reddish or white margins, accompanied by lethargy
Improve water quality through frequent water changes, remove any fin-nipping tankmates, and treat with antibacterial medication such as kanamycin or erythromycin
Velvet Disease (Oodinium)
Gold or rust-colored dust-like coating on the body, rapid gill movement, flashing, and clamped fins
Dim tank lighting, treat with copper-based medication or formalin, and raise temperature slightly to speed up the parasite's life cycle
Bacterial Infection (Columnaris)
White or grayish patches on the body, frayed fins, ulcers, and rapid deterioration of condition
Treat with broad-spectrum antibiotics such as kanamycin or nitrofurazone, improve water quality, and reduce stress factors in the tank
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Quick Facts
- diet
- Omnivore – accepts flakes, micro pellets, live and frozen foods such as daphnia and brine shrimp
- lifespan
- 3-5 years
- max size
- 5 cm (2 in)
- tank size
- 20 gallons minimum
- temperament
- peaceful
Water it likes
- ph
- 6.0-7.5
- ammonia
- 0 ppm
- nitrate
- <20 ppm
- hardness
- 2-12 dGH
- temperature
- 72–79°F (22–26°C)