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Balantiocheilus melanopterus, Bleeker, 1851
Origin: Widespread throughout Southeast asia, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesis; Borneo and Sumatra.Here the fish occur in standing and floating water.
Etymology: Unk
Synonyms: Barbus melanopterus, Puntius melanopterus, Systomus melanopterus
First European import: Germany, 1955, by the firm Tropicarium.
Description: See picture, depending on the origin of the fish the fins can be silver to yellowish white, yellow, and even orange as shown above. The body is covered with large silver scales from which it derives its common name Silver shark.
Care:Balantiocheilus melanopterus is a peacefull fish, and will fit in well with other community fish, even small fish, if not full grown. It should be kept in large aquaria, at least 1.5 meter long when full grown due to its large size. The juvenile fish are best kept in small groups of 3 animals minimum, older and larger animals are often quite solitary. Balantiocheilus melanopterus requires lots of free swimming space since they are active and fast swimmers, and preferably a bit of sunlight during the day. The back and the sides of the tank are best well planted, and possibly some floating plants or otherwise shaded areas for the fish to retire to. Waterconditions; soft and slighly acidic water is recommended, although the fish also do well in medium hard neutral water, as long as regular waterchanges are conducted. The aquarium should be covered well, since Balantiocheilus melanopterus can jump high and far.
Temperature:22-27 degrees.
Feeding:Omnivore, some additional vegetables like salat and spinach
Size: Up to 35 cm
pH: 6.0-7.0
Breeding: Egg scatterer, hasn't been bred very often.
Sexual dimorphism: Females are thicker.
Prices:Unk
Additional: Larger specimens can become carnivorous towards small fish, and if that happens Balantiocheilus melanopterus turns out to be a skillfull predator. The fish have been known to produce noises.
Picture references:Picture 1: E. Naus
References:Lambert, Derek J.(1997): Identifying freshwater aquarium fish. Chartwell books inc, New Jersey, USA.Baensch, H. A., Riehl, R.(1982): Aquarien Atlas I. Mergus Verlag, Melle, Germany.(click on the link to buy this book)Sterba, G.(1979): Aquariumvissen. Elsevier Nederland B. V., Amsterdam, The Netherlands.