Beardless barbs.....

[esoxlucius]

.....or Cyclocheilichthys apogon to give it it's posh name. Anyone kept them? I've read up on line about them but could do with some info from guys who've actually kept them. My LFS has a group of them, I think they're gorgeous. They remind me of a flagtail tinfoil type fish. See picture for ref.

 

[jeaninel]

Those look nice. How big do they get?

 

[esoxlucius]

Those look nice. How big do they get?

Their max adult size is one of their best attributes, they only go to about 6-9", so they're well within the range for many of us mini monster guys. They're best kept in groups of around half a dozen so a 180g seems reasonable to me.

They belong to the cyprinid family and come from the far east, but don't have any barbels, hence beardless barb. The only detail I can't seem to find anywhere is life span and although they're meant to be peaceful they might be fin nippers for all I know and it'd be nice to know how they get on with plants, just a few details that I thought someone would be able to fill in.

But sadly, although a few members like these fish, going off reactions, it seems that no one has kept them

 

[fishhead0103666]

The fact that they stay so small while looking beautiful is great, I’m going to be book marking this page for future use. Why not get the group yourself and teach us about them? Be the Viktor of these fish

 

[Justepic]

Totally agree with fishhead, man they look cool! Those silver scales with those black spots are awesome. I mean, how did people understand how tiger barbs were without experimenting first? Go for it man.


P.S.

Esoxlucius's Barb sounds

 

[esoxlucius]

The fact that they stay so small while looking beautiful is great, I’m going to be book marking this page for future use. Why not get the group yourself and teach us about them? Be the Viktor of these fish

Due to the fact that i'm a real trailblazing pioneer type of a guy who likes to push boundaries and leap into the unknown , I might just get some and see how it plays out!

Then if the situation goes pear shaped I can blame you lot for dishing out shat advice!

Watch this space.....

 

[james99]

This is the first time I've ever seen them. I wouldn't mind having a group. I've had filament barbs and have mascara barbs now. I like tinfoils and bala sharks, but both get too large for a 125. These would probably still too big, but closer than tinfoils and balas.

 

[esoxlucius]

This is the first time I've ever seen them. I wouldn't mind having a group. I've had filament barbs and have mascara barbs now. I like tinfoils and bala sharks, but both get too large for a 125. These would probably still too big, but closer than tinfoils and balas.

Like you, i'm drawn to "silvery" type fish. I have tinfoils, cigars, balas, chalceus and lemon fins in my big tank and a nice shoal of filaments in my 180.

Further research on these beardless barbs explains why they don't seem to be very common in the hobby. They simply aren't exported in large quantities for some reason, the word they use is "bycatch". So i'm guessing these barbs are occasionally used as a "filler" in orders when there might be some surplus room. It's certainly not because they're endangered or anything because they are an extremely common freshwater fish in the far east.

 

[esoxlucius]

Well, i've done it. I went to pick up five of these mysterious beardless barbs after work. Check out the pictures. Absolutely stunning little fish, only to get more beautiful as they mature. I'll keep this thread updated now and again to report their progress.

 

[james99]

Wow! Yours look just as nice as the first pic you posted. I hope you have good luck with them. I will definitely keep up with this thread to see how they grow.