Puntius denisonii

[lochness]

Common Name: Denison Barb, Bleeding Eye barb, Red-Lined Torpedo barb, Rose Line Shark, Red-line Shark
Scientific Name: Puntius denisonii (may still be referred to as Barbus denisonii) - Cyprinidae family
Distribution: Southern India; attempts made in Asia to commercially breed them
Habitat: Highly oxygenated fast flowing streams
Size: To 5-6 inches
Diet: omnivore - High quality flake food, spirulina flakes and discs, frozen and live bloodworms, all forms of brine shrimp (live, frozen, pellets), daphnia, cooked shelled peas are a favorite as is peeled cucumber and zucchini.
Tank Layout: open swimming spaces, plenty of plants and varied landscape above mid-level as they do explore and seem to play throughout
Tank Size: minimum 75g
Tank Zone: mid-level
Temperament: Peaceful in larger groups of 6 or more
Lifespan: unknown
Chemistry:
-pH: 6.5 to 7.5
-Hardness:4 to 18 dGH
Temperature: 68-79 degrees F. They can adapt to cooler waters but imo that would tempt Ich and dropsy. They can also adapt to warmer waters up to 82F provided plenty of oxygen in the form of powerheads and/or air pumps with plenty of bubble walls installed and regular weekly water changes. Please Note: Stresses at temperatures hovering around 85F. The drop in oxygen levels is dangerous at these temperatures especially in the confines of an aquarium.
Sensitivities: React to temperature & pH changes during weekly water changes, but adapt fairly quickly - are also sensitive to landscape changes (very aware) more than other species.
Important note: no adverse reactions to ADPro's Quick Cure when the LDA33(pleco) my husband purchased was loaded with Ich and had to medicate the entire tank. Raised the temp to 83F for 4 days and medicated and the denisonii were troopers thru and thru and the tank was cured. Please note: I increased the rate on my air pump to max during the temperature increase for more oxygen and monitored the aquarium tank religiously to be sure it did not go over 85F.
Hardiness: Very hardy, tho have reported to be prone to dropsy (prevented with warmer temperatures above 75F-79F, a varied diet, regular weekly water changes and oxygenated water) - sensitive to temps over 85F.
Physical Description: Small mouths. Streamlined & bullet-shaped with shimmering colors of gold, green, yellow, red and black. A horizontal black stripe from nose, across the eyes to base of tail, another horizontal stripe on top of this of red extending only midway with an occasional yellow just in between. And green/gold above this. The dorsal fin is touched with red and ends transparent. Likewise the forked tail is almost transparent with a yellow and black short stripe just before the tips. The underside/belly is a soft off-white.
Sexes: suggested that females may be paler/lighter in color and more plump
Activity Peak: Diurnal
Habits: Shoaling during feeding more so a schooling species - will recognize you- always looking to eat. Listlessness and unresponsiveness is a sign of illness.
Spawning Notes: egg layers
Personal Experiences and Observation: My 7 p. denisonii were just about an inch long when I first got them and are now full-bodied and up to 5-6 inches long. They love spirulina discs and cooked shelled peas and although they will accept flakes, I can tell they only tolerate these. Their reaction to flakes is quite different than when they are fed frozen brine shrimp enhanced with spirulina or frozen bloodworms. As with any fish, a variety of foods keeps them very happy. They are also playful. They will swim in and out and around long tall plants and even through hollow logs and decorations, but it is no mistake that they are a schooling species. They are very peaceful and only will chase each other on occasion, but are ravenous during feedings and will get slightly nippy with each other if not fed sufficiently. Other Notes:






Reason for Edit: Found out they love cucumbers and zucchini this past week when I sunk a whole piece of each for my plecos and the Denisonii were all over it - in fact, one in particular was quite aggressive about it and very possessive - which is the very first sign of any kind of aggression I've ever witnessed from this species in any manner. They leave my much smaller breeding Cherry barbs and Cardinal tetras alone.

[lochness]

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I'd like to add this link for further reading on the denisonii:
http://indianaquariumhobbyist.com/co...ight=denisonii