1 kinds · tap one for a closer look
Active, fast schooler that can nip long fins when kept in small groups.
Fish sold as ticto barbs are often odessa barbs.
320 species in our list are a good match.
Active, fast schooler that can nip long fins when kept in small groups. Best with other robust fish of similar size; avoid veil-tailed species.
Flakes, small pellets and frozen or live bloodworms, daphnia and brine shrimp; some vegetable matter.
Tap a food to see what it is.
Adult males are slimmer and more colourful than females, especially on the fins; true ticto males have no red-orange on the body.
Common problems. Tap one to see the signs. This is a guide, not a diagnosis.
Egg-scatterer · Moderate
Egg scatterer with no parental care; spawns over mesh, marbles or fine-leaved plants, and adults eat the eggs so should be removed.
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.
About 150 eggs laid in batches of about 20; they hatch in 1-2 days and fry swim free about a day later.
Feed infusoria or liquid fry food for 3 days, then newly hatched brine shrimp and microworms; grade the fry as they grow quickly.
A hardy silver barb with a small dark shoulder spot and a dark spot on the tail base, found widely across the Indian subcontinent; it tolerates cool water, down to about 14 °C.
Scottish surgeon Francis Hamilton (Buchanan-Hamilton) described the ticto barb in 1822 in his famous work on the fishes of the Ganges. It is common across much of South Asia. Aquarists value it as a hardy, active barb that tolerates cooler water.
First described by Francis Hamilton in 1822.
15 facts checked with sources
Formerly Puntius ticto (moved to Pethia by Pethiyagoda et al. 2012). WRONG-NAME WARNING: Seriously Fish says the name is often misapplied to the more colourful odessa barb P. padamya; true P. ticto males lack red-orange on the body.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Cyprinus ticto (= Pethia ticto) · FishBase: Pethia ticto summaryLegacy has no family; sourced value recorded.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Cyprinus ticto (= Pethia ticto) · FishBase: Pethia ticto summarySize rule applied: larger well-sourced figure used. FishBase 12.5 cm TL comes from a length-weight study of wild fish in upland Ganga tributaries (Patiyal & Mir 2017). Seriously Fish gives 6.5 cm SL (~8 cm TL), which is closer to typical aquarium adults. Legacy 10 cm lies between. Reviewer may prefer ~8-10 cm for the site.
FishBase: Pethia ticto summary · Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)Seriously Fish 18-25 °C (preferred); FishBase 14-22 °C. Legacy 18-26 is 1 °C high at the top.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb) · FishBase: Pethia ticto summaryMatches Seriously Fish exactly; FishBase narrower.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb) · FishBase: Pethia ticto summaryLegacy has no hardness; Seriously Fish value recorded.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb) · FishBase: Pethia ticto summary80 x 30 x 30 cm = 72,000 cm³ = 72 L (Seriously Fish ~72 litres). Legacy 100 L is more generous than the sourced minimum.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)Legacy 6; Seriously Fish advises 8-10. FishBase (Ref. 51539) says groups of 5 or more.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)Legacy says semi-aggressive; Seriously Fish calls it very peaceful. Rival males spar and display.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)Legacy 'India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh' is incomplete. FishBase also lists Myanmar, Thailand and the Mekong, which Seriously Fish says may refer to other species. Populations vary and some have been described as separate species.
Eschmeyer's Catalog of Fishes: Cyprinus ticto (= Pethia ticto) · Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)Legacy's red-orange colouring and 'deeper silver body' description fits the odessa barb (P. padamya) better than true P. ticto; female-larger claim not stated by sources.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)Legacy says 200-300 eggs, free-swimming in 3-4 days; sources give ~150 eggs and free-swimming about a day after hatching.
FishBase: Pethia ticto summary · Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)Legacy 'about' is supported in substance; range wording corrected in nativeRange.
Seriously Fish: Pethia ticto (Ticto Barb)