Egg-scattering free spawner with no parental care; bred in a separate, very dimly lit tank with mesh, marbles or fine-leaved plants, slightly acidic to neutral water at the warm end of its range; adults eat the eggs.
Keep a group of 6-8 and condition them with live and frozen foods; choose the fattest female and the most colourful males. A trio (1 male, 2 females) also works.
20-40 L bare tank with a mesh grid or a layer of marbles over the floor, java moss or spawning mops, a gentle sponge filter and water at 24-26 C.
Heavy feeding for 2 weeks, then a cooler (about 2 C) water change and morning sun or a bright light.
Eggs hatch in 24-48 hours; fry free-swimming about 24 hours later. No egg count found.
Infusoria, then newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms.
One breeding tank for the stoliczka's barb, drawn to scale from the breeding guide.
Water: 24–26 °C · pH 6.5–7.5 · bare bottom
A plan from the breeding guide and an adult size of 5 cm. Tank shape is a standard 2 : 1 : 1.2 box, at least 6 adult lengths long. Check each step in the guide above.
A 120 cm rack for breeding the stoliczka's barb in numbers.
In total: 4 tanks, about 176 L of water. A litre of water weighs about 1 kg, so check that the floor and rack can take the weight.
Sizes are worked out from the breeding tank in the guide. Tanks fit a standard 120 cm rack when they can; bigger tanks go on their own stands.
Adult males are noticeably slimmer and more colourful, especially in the unpaired and pelvic fins; the dorsal fin of a breeding male is red with a black margin and rows of black spots.
Typical for egg scatterers
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Eggs are scattered over mops or fine plants, often at first light. Remove the parents straight after.
Most eggs hatch in 1–2 days. Keep the tank dim and remove white (fungused) eggs.
Fry use up the yolk and start swimming. Feed infusoria or liquid fry food several times a day.
Switch to newly hatched brine shrimp or microworms. Start small, daily water changes.
Add finely crushed flake. Sort fry by size so the big ones don't eat the small ones.
Most small fish reach about 2 cm in 2–3 months and can join the main tank.
A general guide for this breeding type. Days change with temperature and species.
Feed live or frozen food twice a day. Keep males and females apart if you can.
Set up a virtual breeding tank and see what would likely happen.
An educational estimate from the breeding rules, not a promise.