Flying Barb Care Guide - Tank Setup, Diet & Breeding

The Flying Barb is a slender, lively cyprinid with a silvery to golden-brown body and a dark lateral stripe running along its sides. Its streamlined shape and forked tail suit its active swimming style, while the slightly upturned mouth reflects its preference for feeding near the surface. The common name refers to its energetic, darting movements rather than to any ability to fly.

Flying Barbs are native to South Asia, including India, Bangladesh and parts of Nepal and Pakistan. They inhabit slow-moving and still freshwater environments such as shallow streams, ponds, marshes and flooded rice-field habitats.

A group of Flying Barbs should have at least 75 litres, with a tank around 90 cm long by 30 cm wide providing a better swimming area for this active species. Use a secure, tightly fitting lid because they can leap when startled. A fine sand or smooth gravel substrate, open swimming space, hardy plants around the sides and rear, and some shaded areas created by floating vegetation make a suitable layout. Gentle to moderate water movement and good filtration are appropriate, while dense planting should not block the surface.

Flying Barbs grow to about 7 cm (2.8 in) in maximum adult length. Females are usually slightly larger and deeper-bodied than males.

Flying Barbs are omnivores and readily accept quality small flakes, micro-pellets and floating or slowly sinking granules. Their diet should be varied with live or frozen foods such as daphnia, mosquito larvae, brine shrimp and bloodworm, along with occasional vegetable matter or algae-based foods. Small portions offered once or twice daily help match their active, surface-oriented feeding habits.

Flying Barbs are peaceful shoaling fish that suit community aquariums containing similarly sized, active species. Suitable companions include danios, small rasboras, peaceful barbs, larger tetras, white cloud mountain minnows and bottom-dwellers such as Corydoras and kuhli loaches. Avoid very large predatory fish, slow long-finned species that may be stressed by their activity, and aggressive or fin-nipping tankmates.

Flying Barbs are egg-scattering fish that can be bred in a separate spawning aquarium. Condition a group with plenty of live or frozen foods, then provide fine-leaved plants or a spawning mop for the adhesive eggs. Spawning usually occurs among the vegetation, after which the adults should be removed because they may eat the eggs. The eggs generally hatch within a few days, and the tiny fry can be raised on infusoria or commercially prepared fry food before progressing to newly hatched brine shrimp.

Mature females are generally fuller through the abdomen and a little larger, particularly when carrying eggs. Males tend to be slimmer and more streamlined, although the differences can be subtle outside breeding condition.