Cyprinidae: Barbus Tetrazona (Green)

Thursday, 12 July 2012

Barbus Tetrazona (Green)

The tiger barb is one of over 70 species of barb with commercial importance in the aquarium trade. Of the total ornamental fish species imported into the United States in 1992, only 20 species account for more than 60% of the total number of specimens reported, with tiger barbs falling at tenth on the list, with 2.6 million individuals imported. (Chapman et al. 1994). Barbs that have been selectively bred to emphasize bright color combinations have grown in popularity and production over the last 20 years. Examples of colour morphs (not hybrids) of tiger barb include highly melanistic green tiger barbs that reflect green over their black because of theTyndall effect, gold tiger barbs and albino tiger barbs we are left with three generic classifications, Barbodes, Capoeta, and Puntius, all of which appear in the literature when referring to tiger barbs and other barb species