Golden Dwarf Barb Care Guide

[Blub]

Golden Dwarf Barb
(Puntius gelius)

Common names: Golden Dwarf Barb, GelI Barb, Golden Barb, Dwarf Barb.

Size: 6cm

pH: 6.0 – 7.0

Tempº: 18ºC - 25ºC

Tank region: Middle Bottom layer

Origin: India, Bangladesh.

Gender: Males are smaller and have more intense colouration.

Notes: The Golden Dwarf Barb is a small, slightly sensitive Barb suitable for communities of small, peaceful fish. The Golden Dwarf Barb is a schooling species, and thus should be kept in groups of 6 or more. As with most small schooling species, it feels most comfortable in a Planted Aquarium with lots of cover. This species does not appreciate heavy currents, and will accept commercially prepared foods.

 

[JustAFishServant]

Maybe they're called "Golden Dwarf Barbs" since B. semifasciolatus (Barbodes semifasciolatus, Gold Barb, Golden Barb, Goldfinned Barb, Chinese Barb, or Schuberti Barb) has the same name but gets at least 2.5" and prefer cooler temperatures. They're different species but share common names. And calling two different fish from separate locations the same name would be very confusing

 

[FishDin]

I love these fish. I used to have a group of them. Very peaceful

 

[chromedome52]

This care guide entry is quite old, and some information is outdated. The genus is now Pethia, and the fish in the photo is actually Pethia canius, rather than gelius. It is identified by the fact that the first spine in the dorsal is curved, rather than straight. It is, however, the most commonly seen of the three species (the third is aurea) that make up the group of Golden Dwarf Barbs, and the most attractive.

 

[bgarthe]

These fish are awesome, fairly tolerant, prefer groups, and remain small…..staying less than an inch long.. Mine are in a nano fish 65g tank. My pH is 7.8, GH 2-4, and KH 2-4, temperature 78 degrees F. Sorry about poor pic quality. I’ll try to do some better ones.

 

[otterblue]

These fish are awesome, fairly tolerant, prefer groups, and remain small…..staying less than an inch long.. Mine are in a nano fish 65g tank. My pH is 7.8, GH 2-4, and KH 2-4, temperature 78 degrees F. Sorry about poor pic quality. I’ll try to do some better ones.

Hi. Do you have pethia gelius or pethia aurea? I'm looking for the latter. I believe authea is the smallest of the three.

 

[bgarthe]

Actually I have seen tons of pics going back and forth about this. If you go by the link below, mine are P. aureus. They were purchased as P. gelius. Other images say otherwise.


Pethia.jpg

 

[chromedome52]

This is the fish I bred back in 1994 as gelius, and may have actually been that species. Color and patterns (i.e., photos) are not dependable for identifying the species as they can vary in all three. You need to check the meristic data to really be sure. Mine got about 1.75 inches, and gelius is the largest of the three. Sometimes the black markings got really dark, other times they faded as in this picture.

 

[bgarthe]

Mine are not even close to 1.75”. They are adults…..maybe close to 3/4” or 7/8”.

 

[otterblue]

Mine are not even close to 1.75”. They are adults…..maybe close to 3/4” or 7/8”.

Could you please tell me where you got yours from?

 

[bgarthe]

Boy…..it’s been a while. If memory serves me correctly, I special ordered them from my local pet shop. I’ll check and see if I can, by chance, find an invoice.

 

[FishDin]

Could you please tell me where you got yours from?

Mine also remained less than 1". I got them from Aquatic Arts.