Odessa Barb

The Odessa barb (Pethia padamya) is a Myanmar species that only reached the hobby properly in the last couple of decades, and it has become a favourite for good reason. Males carry a broad red-copper band down the flank against a silvery body speckled with black, with dark blotching in the dorsal fin. Females are plainer and a little rounder. The band deepens noticeably when a male is displaying, so a group of several males kept together will give you far more colour than a single fish.

Aquarium care

• Reaches around 5 cm.
• Active and generally peaceful, though males posture at one another.
• Keep six or more.
• Adaptable on water chemistry and comfortable at ordinary room-tropical temperatures.
• Swims through the middle and upper levels.
• Omnivorous: flake, small pellets, frozen bloodworm and daphnia.

Suits a lively community with danios, larger tetras, other barbs and bottom-dwelling loaches. Like most barbs it is better away from very long-finned fish.

Stock rotates with each shipment, and livestock is sold for local pickup at our Lethbridge store. See the rest of the current barbs.