Burmese Rainbow Barb

About

Occasionally sold in the trade as the Burmese Rainbow Barb, Mystacoleucus argenteus is a schooling cyprinid from the Salween River system of Myanmar and Thailand, where it inhabits clear, flowing tributaries. The coloration described at its original scientific description back in 1888 still holds up nicely: a bright silvery body with lilac and bluish sheens, an olive-yellow tinge along the back, and an orange-scarlet dorsal fin edged in black. With the remaining fins carrying a lemon-yellow wash. It can be distinguished from the closely related M. obtusirostris by the absence of black-edged scales on the flanks. Like all members of the genus, it carries a small forward-pointing spine in front of the dorsal fin that is easy to miss but can tangle badly in a net, so take care when moving fish around. In the aquarium this species does best in groups of six or more, and while it is not aggressive, its boisterous energy, particularly around feeding time, can stress out slower or more timid tankmates. Pairing it with robust, similarly sized cyprinids, loaches, and other riverine species is the way to go. Breeding in captivity has not been recorded. An intermediate-level species, it rewards keepers who do their homework on compatible communities.