Redfin Two-banded Carplet

About

The redfin two-banded carplet (Pethia reval) is a small, peaceful cyprinid native to Sri Lanka, where it was long treated as just a color form of the closely related Pethia cumingii before being recognized as a distinct species. It shares the same basic body plan as its relative, a compact, silvery frame marked by two bold vertical black bars, one just behind the gill cover and another near the tail, but sets itself apart with distinctly red dorsal, anal, and pelvic fins, rather than the yellow tones of cumingii. At under an inch and a half fully grown, it stays genuinely small, which makes a proper-sized school practical even in a modest aquarium. Keep at least six to ten together; in smaller numbers these fish tend to be nervous and washed out, but a decent-sized group produces noticeably bolder behavior and better color in the males as they posture against one another. It's a forgiving choice for newer keepers, as it tolerates a fairly wide range of water conditions and mixes well with other small, peaceful tankmates. Tetras, livebearers, small catfish, loaches, and similarly scaled cyprinids all work well. Aquascaped community setups with planted areas and open swimming space suit this species particularly well.