DENISONII BARB

INTRODUCTION 

Miss Kerala

Beautiful and lively as it is, denisonii I kept was just once because it's very hard to even get it in my town. A pair costing anything between 400- 700 Indian rupees. But its lively nature and beautiful red stripes with a hue of silvery-blue make it a perfect choice for aquariums. Although they should be kept in shoals or otherwise the beauty is not off much use as it somewhere gets lost in the aquarium decor.

ORIGIN

India is the proud place of origin for this beauty, but they're much confined to areas of the southern part of the country. Its distribution is limited to chaliyaar and few other rivers and few parts of Kerala. Kerala falls under the western ghats and bears the resemblance of it. 

"Puntius denisonii" as it is known scientifically is an inhabitant of hill streams or lakes with lots of vegetation.

It prefers to live in shoals as being already said to ward off predators.

SIZE 

They easily can reach 6-8 inches in length with a torpedo-like body built. The females are a bit plumper than their counterparts. In the aquariums they do not reach their maximum length owing to overcrowding or lack of space and nutrients in the water; but in the wild, there's no stopping them to reach their ultimate size. The females do have a more rounded belly almost like most other fishes.

FEEDING HABIT 

It's not too cheesy about the food in the aquariums; a mix of pellets, bloodworms, and daphnias and occasional algae wafers are enough to sustain their optimal health. 

In the wild, they fed upon crustaceans, insects, algae, and even sometimes the eggs of other fishes. They're fast feeder and so care must be taken to keep them with slower fishes like angels and bettas; where the latter might starve.

HEALTH 

The should be an occasional water change now and then. I wasn't very skeptical about my water change schedules when I had them but they seemed pretty happy in my tank. However I was a novice at that time and wasn't very sure and respectful about the WC schedule; and so I would highly recommend you, readers, to be a bit strict with the WC schedule as these are delicate fishes. Apart from that fed them with their choice of diet and their health will be maintained.

TANKMATES 

Although I myself have seen them been kept with almost every fish, however, some long-finned fishes are better avoided to rule out the possibility of fin nipping.

They look best when kept with discus, neons, and cardinals in a planted set up. However, you can easily have them in a species only tank with a more biotope built.

BREEDING 

Winters months are the ideal time for them to lay eggs. They simply deposit the eggs in clusters in between the rocks or dense vegetation with the male fertilizing them right away.

A single female lays around 200-250 eggs and the male fertilizes them. Sometimes a harem does exist where a single male will breed with multiple females.

DISEASES

Denisoniis are susceptible to bacterial infections and fin rots. In the aquariums, a good WC schedule might oust the possibility of such an infection.

Add the newly bought stock in a mature only tank and in that way one can rule out the possibility of life losses. 

Denisonii are somewhat a bit delicate species and therefore quarantining them is better for their survival before adding them to the main tank.

CONCLUSION 

Denison isn't for very faint-hearted aquascapers according to my opinion. They're brilliant in bringing alive the whole tank with their playful nature. They are among vulnerable species and so they should be protected. Overfishing and pollution are making their population very less, they should be in the list of a few of those fishes which are considered not rare but very exotic.

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Check our other chapters on INTROVERTS:  INTROVERT SPEAKS

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Check our other blogs on AQUA-LIFE: AQUA-SPEAKS

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