good fishkeepingTHE FRESHWATER FIELD GUIDE

fish · Cyprinidae

Six-banded barb

Desmopuntius hexazona

Wild range: Malay Peninsula, Singapore, Sumatra and southern Borneo (FishBase; Seriously Fish). (Asia)

Six-banded barb (Desmopuntius hexazona), a small golden fish with dark vertical bars, from the aquarium trade
Photo via Rupert A. Collins (Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0) · original

At a glance: Six-banded barb care

Compiled reference information. Review the care notes and original sources below.

What temperature is listed for Six-banded barb?

The compiled profile lists 24.0–26.0 °C for Six-banded barb (Desmopuntius hexazona). Check the original sources below for context and differing recommendations.

What tank size is listed for Six-banded barb?

The profile lists a minimum tank volume of 21.0 US gallons (80.0 liters). Volume alone does not establish suitability; consider dimensions, group size and other inhabitants alongside the full care notes.

What pH is listed for Six-banded barb?

The compiled profile lists a pH of 6.0–7.0. Review the cited care sources alongside the other water parameters in this profile.

Natural habitat

A small, peaceful barb from the blackwater peat swamps of the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, with a golden-orange body crossed by six dark bars. It grows to about 5.5 cm, stays in a loose school in the middle and lower water, and does best in a dim, well-planted tank with soft, slightly acidic water. Most fish sold as pentazona or five-banded barbs are actually this species.

Where they are found

Desmopuntius hexazona (Weber & de Beaufort, 1912) is the name used by Catalog of Fishes, FishBase, GBIF (7918345, accepted) and Seriously Fish, following Kottelat (2013), who moved the barred Sundaland barbs into Desmopuntius. ITIS still lists it as Puntius hexazona (TSN 639376). Other synonyms: Barbus hexazona (original combination) and Systomus hexazona. For years it was misidentified as 'Puntius johorensis', a different, larger species now in Desmopuntius (Kottelat 1992), so that name is noted here and not aliased. In the trade it is usually sold as the pentazona or five-banded barb; the true D. pentazona (our Five-banded barb page) has a small dark mark at the rear base of the dorsal fin that D. hexazona lacks, and the fish in shops are almost always D. hexazona (Seriously Fish; Fishkeeper UK; Collins et al. 2012 barcoding). Range: Malay Peninsula, Singapore, eastern Sumatra and southern Borneo (FishBase; Seriously Fish); a Mekong record in FishBase is considered outside the genus range (Wikipedia). It is threatened in Singapore, where it survives only in the Central Catchment reserve (Seriously Fish). Max length 5.5 cm TL (FishBase) / 55 mm SL (Seriously Fish). IUCN: Least Concern (assessed 2019, per FishBase).

Aquarium care

A group fits a tank of about 80 L with a base of at least 80 x 30 cm (Seriously Fish; Atlarium). Keep it at about 24-26°C and pH 6.0-7.0 in soft water; hosts give wider ranges (Seriously Fish 20-26°C, pH 4.0-7.0, 1-5 dGH; Atlarium 24-28°C, pH 6.0-7.5, 3-12 dGH; Fishkeeper UK 25-28°C, pH 6.0-7.0, up to 12 dH; Practical Fishkeeping 22-26°C and below pH 7). It comes from sluggish water, so gentle filtration is enough, but keep water quality high because it is sensitive to deteriorating conditions (Seriously Fish; Practical Fishkeeping). Dim lighting, a dark substrate, roots, leaf litter and dense planting such as Cryptocoryne, Microsorum or moss make it bolder and bring out its colour (Seriously Fish; Fishkeeper UK; Practical Fishkeeping).

Feeding

A micropredator in the wild that eats small insects, worms and crustaceans. It takes small flakes and micro-pellets, but give daily live or frozen foods such as Daphnia, Artemia and bloodworm for the best colour and condition (Seriously Fish; Atlarium; Fishkeeper UK).

Compatibility

Peaceful and does not nip fins like the tiger barb (Atlarium; Fishkeeper UK). Keep at least 6, and ideally 8-10 or more, because small groups are shy (Atlarium; Fishkeeper UK; Seriously Fish recommends 8-10). Good tankmates are other calm Southeast Asian fish such as rasboras, small loaches and small gouramis; avoid boisterous fish that outcompete it for food (Seriously Fish; Practical Fishkeeping).

Breeding

Condition the group on live and frozen foods, then move one or two pairs or a small group into a dim breeding tank with soft, acidic water, a mesh or marble base or fine-leaved plants such as moss or spawning mops, and gentle aeration. Spawning usually follows the next morning. Remove the adults once eggs appear, because they eat them. Eggs hatch in 24-36 hours and the fry swim after 3-4 days; feed infusoria first, then microworm or Artemia nauplii. Males are slimmer, slightly smaller and more colourful; females are fuller-bodied (Seriously Fish; Atlarium; Fishkeeper UK).

Sources

Compiled from multiple independent care sheets — not copied from a single site.