Tambraparni Barb, Dawkinsia tambraparniei

Tambraparni barb (Dawkinsia tambraparniei) is not a common fish on the aquarium trade. Often its relatives are falsely named, but mature specimens are quite easy to identify. Johnny Jensen has excellent photos in his famous gallery and of course information is available in "Seriouslyfish". I have these in a 840 liter tank. As a schooling fish it should be kept in a group of more than eight species. In three years it can reach a standard lenght of 10 centimetres. Females are usually one inch smaller in size. Maximum standard size for males is about 12cm. Males develope several centimetres long dorsal fin rays when they are about two years old. Males have also red colour in their fins. Prices of these species vary from 10 to 15 euros. Trade specimens come usually from Singapore. Tambraparniei is originally southern indian specimen from Tambraparni river.

Recommended temperature for Tambrabarni Barb is between 19-25 Celsius and pH 6-8. However, I have kept these in 27 degrees of Celsius with pH of 6,4 and KH 3. This Barb tolerates even 32 degrees Celsius if the oxygen level is high. I have noticed that youngsters grow faster in higher temperatures. Tambraparni Barb is a very hardy fish and not very difficult to maintain. Expected lifespan is over six years. The diet consists of almost anything one can imagine. They can also tear and eat aquatic plants, even Egeria densa. By feeding with vegetables for example cucumber, you can save your precious plants. Aquarium should be quite long, at least 120 centimetres.

Tambraparni Barb is a very fast swimming and lively fish. It is not very shy, but when panicking it can jump out of the aquarium if it is not properly covered. Males develope tubercules in their noses when spawning time starts. They fight furiously holding each others mouth. They can spin around some time holding jaws together. In this video a group of young barbs are starting to spawn (The video is named wrongly: Puntius arulius).

Breeding Tambraparni Barb is not very difficult. They can spawn in every two weeks. One female can release hundreds of eggs in a single spawn. Spawning lasts few hours and eggs are scattered among the plants. Parents usually eat eggs, so you have to collect some of them in order to raise new fish. The main difficulty in the process is the diminutive size and transparency of the eggs. Size of the eggs is not more than 1mm. You can collect eggs by putting a bowl in a tank and a sieve on it. Spawning fibre on the sieve will guarantee that many eggs will end up in the bottom of the bowl. Afterwards the spawning bowl must be removed with water and eggs in it. Fry will hatch in 24-48 hours depending on the temperature. They must be fed with infusoria starting from the third day several times daily. If kept in a tank without any filter, water must be partly changed daily. For the first 40 days filter is not necessarily needed if the water quality is kept good. Air driven filter like Sera L60 is good enough later. In a 30-liter tank a school of 30 specimens can be grown to four centimeter. Youngsters reach sexual maturity in two years.

The growth rate is as follows:
1 day old, 4mm
14 days old, 6mm
30 days old, 10mm (first colour)
70 days old 14mm
120 days old 20mm
130 days old 30mm (adult colour)
140 days old 35mm

Mortality is not a problem after first few days. During the first two weeks fry must be fed with infusoria, then with Artemia nauplii, cooked egg yolk, microworms and powdered commercial fish food.

This is all you need for collecting eggs.

7 days old fry 5mm.

2 weeks old fry 6mm.

2 weeks old fry 6mm.

3 weeks old fry 8mm.

27 days old fry 10mm.

34 days old fry. 12mm. Artemia in stomach.

48 days old baby barb. 12mm.

67 old fry as a school. 13-14mm.

89 days old baby tambraparniei. 15mm. After this stage fry starts to grow faster.

136 days old baby. 30mm.
Below: 143 days old 35mm. Favorite food: Crushed Tetra Pro Energy and Artemia. Tetra Vital added to the water.

Dawkinsia tambraparniei male approximately 5 years old and 120mm long.  Note the tubercles on the nose.

Dawkinsia tambraparniei female approximately 5 years old and 90mm long.

Dawkinsia tambraparniei male approximately 5 years old and 110mm long.

Dawkinsia tambraparniei male approximately 5 years old and 120mm long.

Plastic aquarium for growing fry with Jawa moss (Taxiphyllum barbieri) and fine sand. 

Filters are a self modified internal filter with AquaBall powerhead and a Sera L60 with an Eheim AirPump 100.

A 50W Jäger keeps the temperature at 25 degrees.

Spawning starting at 18.00.

In the beginning of the spawning process females look fat.

A single female can carry several hundreds, maybe thousands of eggs.  (Bala Shark on the background)

In a densely vegetated community aquarium some babies can survive and reach adult size.
Here is a 30mm long survivor.

This youngster (sex is unknown) is 35mm long (Total Length).
It does not try to join the the adults and fortunately adult barbs do not try to eat it.

This five centimeter long youngster has joined the company of the adult specimens. The sex is still unknown.