# Puntius denisonii, Erpetoichthys calabaricus, and Balantiocheilos melanopterus



## Aquariuman

Does anyone know where these fish are from? What they eat in the wild and in aquaria? If you know which river/lake they come from that would be much appreciated. How do you care for them properly? What kind of setup would be best for them and which kind of setup would they look best in? I would like to stick to as much a natural setup/diet as possible. Also, if I wanted to do a biotope tank what kind of tank-mates would be appropriate for each of the three fish mentioned? Any information would be appreciated!*c/p*


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## AquariumHydrosphere

Ok, you have a lot of questions, so I'll do my best, one by one!

Puntius denisonii's two most common names are Denison's Barb or the Redline Torpedo Barb. They come from fast flowing (with a lot of oxygen) hill streams in Western India. These are cooler streams with a water temperature of 60-75°F. One of the rivers they are found in is the Achankovil River I found some good footage of it on YouTube: River descent project - Achankovil Area - YouTube . 
They are opportunistic omnivores in the wild feeding mostly on small invertebrates, insects, and plant matter. You can feed them whatever you want and they will probably take it! Examples of tank mates from this area of the world would be Danio's, Rasboras, and Hillside Loaches. I would think these fish would look best in a large school in an aquarium that is sparsely planted with lots of rocks and gravel. Here are some places to look for more information :
Red-line Torpedo Barb (Puntius denisonii) - Seriously Fish
Denison's Barb - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
FishProfiles.com - Puntius denisonii


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## AquariumHydrosphere

Erpetoichthys calabaricus - The Ropefish or Reedfish is from slow moving waters in West Africa (Nigeria to the Congo). It eats live and dead fish, worms, and snails. Basically, its a predator, so you don't want to put it with any fish it could swallow. I imagine this fish in a heavily planted tank, with maybe an African Butterflyfish (Pantodon buchholzi) on the surface and an Elephant Nose fish (Gnathonemus petersii) swimming in the mid water. I found this Reedfish looking totally at home in this tank Reed fish 2 - YouTube . For more references on it's natural habitat Google West African Rivers or Lakes, then hit the images tab. You will see a lot of muddy, slow moving water...


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## Aquariuman

Does anyone have any information to answer my above questions on Balantiocheilos melanopterus?


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## susankat

Silver shark
Borneo, Sumatra rivers and some lakes
14 inches, minimum tank size suggested 6ft, and be kept in groups. Needs plenty of open swimming space.
Live or frozen bloodworms, daphena, a good quality flake food and granuales Also needs fresh veggies, like zuchinni, spinache and peas. as they get older will also eat chopped earthworms, prawns and mussels.


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## Aquariuman

What are some appropriate tank mates if I wanted to build a biotope tank for the silver shark (Balantiocheilos melanopterus)?


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