Should I buy it?
Denisons Barb
Sahyadria denisonii
Typical trade / ID note: Sahyadria denisonii (formerly Puntius denisonii)
Also known as: roseline shark, red-line torpedo barb, miss kerala, Roseline shark, Red-line torpedo barb, Miss Kerala
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
A spectacular cool-water shoaling barb that needs real volume and at least 120 cm of forward run. Beautiful, demanding, conservation-sensitive.
Best for
Large planted tanks 250L or more with a school of six, real current, and an experienced keeper comfortable with medium-hard water.
Avoid if
Your tank is under 150 cm in length, your water is soft and acidic, or you can only find one or two fish.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Common mistakeImpulse buying one or two Denison's barbs for their appearance. A solo fish paces the glass under stress. They school or they don't settle.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Endangered in the wild. Prefer tank-bred sources where available.
- 2.Bought as a juvenile show fish for a 100L. The 5 cm juvenile is a 12 cm adult within two years and the tank fails to hold the shoal.
- 3.Kept at tropical 27 C with discus or angelfish. The colour washes out and the fish become listless inside months.
- 4.Beautiful but big and demanding. A group of six in a 250L with cool, well-oxygenated water and real forward swim length works. Smaller tanks pin the shoal against the glass and the red colour fades within months.
About this species
Denisons barbs are large active shoaling cyprinids from the Western Ghats in India. The body shows a red-and-black lateral line on a silver flank and the species reaches 12 cm in good water. Conservation-restricted in the wild; tank-bred specimens dominate the trade now.
- Denison's / red-line torpedo barb250L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Banded leporinus300L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Giant danio200L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Rainbow / red-tailed black shark200L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Silver dollar300L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Rosy Barb180L min · same group, similar adult size
- Scissortail Rasbora150L min · same group, similar adult size
- Gold / Chinese barb120L min · same fish family
- African freshwater butterflyfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Boesemani Rainbowfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Congo Tetraalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Cuckoo / petricola catfishalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Denison's / red-line torpedo barbalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
- Dojo / weather loachalso intermediate peaceful, similar tank size
No reverse lookups on file yet.
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease22
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit76
- Small-tank fit83
- Hardiness42
- Energy86
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Prioritise 6+ of Denisons Barb in 250L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Tank mate intelligence
Use the "Often compatible" lists as a shortlist, not a stocking plan. Always run the pair tool and check the footprint of your actual tank first. Verify behaviour for Denisons Barb against your own reading before you buy.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Denisons Barb + Bristlenose Pleco
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Denisons Barb is peaceful in mixed company.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper, but individuals can still test fins under stress or in a crowded tank.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Busy at feeding time — expects food to hit the water predictably.
- Shoaling/schooling: most colour and confidence show when the group meets **6+**.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Hanging in high flow or refusing open water — can mean oxygen stress or wrong current.
- Low listed risk — still watch new introductions.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: compatible in most setups. Cherry shrimp and other dwarf species coexist with peaceful small fish, though baby shrimp are food for almost any fish that gets to them.
Six or more in a 250L+. Pairs and trios pace the front glass and never colour up.
Egg scatterers and schoolers still spawn in stable tanks. Have a plan for the fry, or accept that the parents and tank mates will eat them in a community setup.
- A 250L tank with at least 120 cm of forward length.
- Cool, oxygen-rich water (18 to 25 C, strong filtration and surface agitation).
- Six or more from the same source on the same day. Trios pin themselves to the glass.
- Tank mates that match the cool-water preference; skip discus and angels.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 250L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 18–25°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 250L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 1000L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 18–25°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Denisons Barb does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 18–25°C and pH 6.5–7.8:
Profile status: partially verified · Evidence tier: high · 2 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Sahyadria denisonii
Primary: species page on Western Ghats habitat, the cool-water temperature preference (18 to 25 C), and the shoaling-fish requirement for healthy colour.
- Practical Fishkeeping. Denisons Barb Profile
Secondary: editor coverage of conservation status, tank-bred sourcing, and adult-size planning.
Evidence notes
- Sahyadria denisonii is classified as endangered in its native range due to wild collection. The trade is now mostly tank-bred from commercial breeders; ask shops for the source if conservation matters to you.
- Cool water (18 to 23 C) is the surprise factor. Most shop tanks run them at 26 C, which they tolerate but do not thrive in. A drop to 22 C reveals the full red line.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.