Puntius lineatus - Lined Barb

Cyprinidae

Native to Penisular Malaysia and the islands of Sumatra (Indonesia) and Borneo (Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam). In Peninsular Malaysia it has been collected in the states of Johor (River Muar basin) and Pahang (the lake of Tasik Bera). On Sumatra it has been found in the province of Jambi (River Batang Hari basin) and on Borneo in the Malaysian state of Sarawak and the Indonesian province of Kalimantan Barat/West Kalimantan (River Kapuas basin). There are also a number of records from Brunei Darussalam.

Inhabits peat swamps and associated black water streams as well as other still waters, often in areas where submerged grasses and other plants flourish. Marginal vegetation also tends to grow thickly in these areas. The water itself is typically stained dark brown with humic acids and other chemicals released by decaying organic material. The dissolved mineral content is generally negligible, and the pH can be as low as 3.0 or 4.0. The substrate is usually littered with fallen leaves, branches and submerged tree roots.

The largest officially-recorded specimen measured just 2.1"/5.3cm.

A 24" x 15" x 12"/60cm x 37.5cm x 30cm/70 litre tank is big enough to house a small group of these.

Fairly undemanding provided its tank is well-maintained. It can appear a little washed out in very sparsely decorated set-ups though. A combination of fairly dim lighting and a dark substrate will encourage it to show its best colours. It can look quite superb in a heavily planted setup, decorated with pieces of bogwood, twisted roots and a layer of surface vegetation to create shade. Soft-leaved plants may be nibbled at so select tougher or fast-growing species.

It will also do well in a tank set up to recreate a peat swamp-type environment with dim lighting, roots and branches, leaf litter and real peat fibre added to the filter or mixed into the substrate. You could also add Asian plant species that can survive under such conditions, such as Microsorum pteropus (Java fern), Taxiphyllum barbieri (Java moss) and Cryptocorynes.

70 - 76°F/21 - 24°C

4.0 - 7.0

1 - 12°H

Like many barbs it's a generalised omnivore in nature, feeding on a variety of worms, insects, crustaceans, plant matter and other organic debris. In the aquarium it's just as easily-fed and will greedily accept just about anything offered. For the best condition and colours offer regular meals of small live and frozen foods such as bloodworm, Daphnia and Artemia, along with good quality dried flakes and granules.

This species makes an ideal addition to a peaceful community of similarly-sized Southeast Asian species. Other Puntius species, rasboras, many loaches and gouramis of the genus Trichogaster are all ideal tankmates. If geography is not an issue it can be combined with most peaceful fish of a size too large to be considered food and that have a bold enough disposition to not be intimidated by its size and active nature.

It's a schooling species by nature, and really should be kept in a group of at least 8-10 specimens. Maintaining it in decent numbers will not only make the fish less skittish, but will result in a more effective, natural looking display. Any aggressive behaviour (unlikely with this species) will normally also be contained within the group.

The female is the thicker-bodied sex, while males tend to have more well-defined markings on the body.

Quite easily bred by all accounts, although you'll need to set up a separate tank in which to do so if you want to raise any numbers of fry. Something around 18" x 12" x 12"/45cm x 30cm x30cm in size is usually recommended. This should be very dimly lit and contain clumps of fine-leaved plants such as Java moss or spawning mops to give the fish somewhere to deposit their eggs. Alternatively, you could cover the base of the tank with some kind of mesh. This should be of a large enough grade so that the eggs can fall through it, but small enough so that the adults cannot reach them. The water should be acidic with pH below neutral, gH <5, with a slightly raised temperature of 75 - 80°F. A small air-powered sponge filter bubbling away very gently is all that is needed in terms of filtration.

It can be spawned in a group, with half a dozen specimens of each sex being a good number. Condition these with plenty of small live foods and spawning should not present too many problems. Depending on your set-up, simply check the spawning medium or tank base each morning for eggs.

Alternatively try spawning it in pairs. Under this technique, the fish are conditioned in male and female groups in separate tanks. When the females are noticeably full of eggs and the males are displaying their best colours, select the fattest-looking female and best coloured male and transfer them to the spawning tank in the evening. They should spawn the following morning. Be sure to provide plenty of cover for the female as the male may be quite aggressive in his pursuit of her. In some cases she may even require a period of rehabilitation in a tank that does not contain any males.

In either situation, the adults will eat the eggs given the chance and should be removed as soon as they are noticed. They will hatch in 24 - 48 hours, with the fry becoming free swimming 24 hours or so later. These should be fed on an infusoria-type food for the first few days, until they are large enough to accept microworm or Artemia nauplii.

There are three other very similar-looking species of laterally-striped Puntius hailing from Southeast Asia, P. johorensis , P. gemellus and P. trifasciatus. Of these Puntius lineatus is most often confused with P. johorensis  by simple virtue of the fact that these two are the most commonly imported species. Identifying it is actually quite easy though as the other three all possess two pairs of barbels (vs. 0 - 1) and grow to a much larger adult size. Puntius lineatus also exhibits an intriguing fleshy lower-lip structure that may indicate it belongs to a different genus altogether. In a 1996 paper discussing the differences between this group Maurice Kottelat concluded that Puntius lineatus differs from the other species"especially by its fleshy lower lip forming a continuous postlabial groove in specimens larger than about 20mm SL, a character unique among Southeast Asian Puntius". With the exception of Puntius lineatus the fry of this group also exhibit vertical bars rather than lateral stripes, the adult patterning developing later.

The genus Puntius is currently viewed as something of a catch-all for well over 100 species of small cyprinid. Most experts agree that a full revision is required, with the likely outcome that many species will be placed into new or different genera. When describing the genus in 1822, Hamilton identified the defining characteristics as: "absence or presence of maxillary only or rostral and maxillary barbels; dorsal fin with last simple ray serrate or entire, branched rays usually 8; anal fin with last simple ray entire, branched rays usually 5; lateral line complete or incomplete, lateral-line scales 17-36 in row; cephalic cutaneous papillae minute or absent; pharyngeal teeth in 3 rows, usually 2,3,5/5,3,2; colour pattern extremely variable." All the species currently in the genus are native to Southeast Asia, India and Sri Lanka.

The other main source of confusion with Puntius is that some authors do not recognise all the member species as such, rather following Walter Rainboth (1996) and preferring to place some into the alternative genus Systomus. Rainboth proposed that Systomus should be reinstated (it was first erected in the 19th century) as a valid genus on account of the fact that in its current state Puntius would seem to constitute a polyphyletic grouping i.e. not all of its members appear to have descended from the same common ancestor. The defining characteristics of a Systomus species are (according to Rainboth) a serrated (vs. smooth in Puntius) dorsal spine, the presence of 2 or 4 barbels (vs. always 2) and less than 12 gill rakers (vs. 12-20). SF tentatively lists all species as Puntius at present.

Literature cited

1. Kottelat, M. - Raffles Bull. Zool. 44(1):301-316. 1996
   The identity of Puntius eugrammus and diagnoses of two new species of striped barbs (Teleostei: Cyprinidae) from southeast Asia.
2. www.petfrd.com
3. www.fishbase.org