Odessa Barb

Author : Efrain Silva

Their Appearance

The Odessa Barb is uniquely special, and I say that because, not like all other fish, it can actually rival other fishes’ colors. Yes, you read this last sentence correctly. It comes in multiple types of colors, resembling various kinds of saltwater species — how cool is this? But hold on: There’s even more to be said about it. In fact, they come in black, silver, white, rainbow colored,and so much more.

The options are certainly there! I’ve even seen one in brown and silver. When you look online, you can see all sorts of beautiful images of these fish, each neatly arrayed in varied sizes, shapes, and colors alike. What they all mostly have in common physically, though, is that their bodies each tend to be laterally compressed.

How They’re Known

These are known as Pethia padamya, their technical name. They come from Central Myanmar and are fish of the Cyprinid kind. In recent years, they’ve mostly been known to inhabit large reservoirs like the Chindwin River and the Anisakan Falls. Many confuse this fish with the Ticto Barb, which physically looks identical but is considerably less colorful and more plain. That is how you can tell the difference between the two, respectively.

This fish is also known as Ukrainian. Technically, it was first discovered there, amidst several groups of Ukrainian explorers seeking to enrich their culture. That was many years ago, in the 1970’s.

Their Diet

Thankfully, these fish are not picky at all, when it comes to what they eat or need to eat; they’ll basically gobble down on whatever you can throw in the tank, within reason, of course. These fish are omnivorous, by diet.

Good “Roommates” for Them

These fish are generally peaceful, and that’s always good. Ram Cichlids are great roommates for these guys, and you will most often find that there are little to no issues.

To further add, certain Catfish like Corydoras are also great roommates in sharing large personal space, and open tanks with plenty of room for maneuver are ideal in these situations. Tetras are also good roommates to consider. The idea here is to keep peaceful types of fish with other peaceful types of fish ; calm and mild - mannered as they are, on that note, the Odessa Barb will not be the first to engage in a fight.

Other Short Facts to Keep in Mind

This fish moves around quite fast, which stresses once more the importance of having it inside a bigger space with plenty of space to move around in. This is good for its own health and sanity. The Odessa Barb is, by the way, quite the voracious eater ; give it the diet I mentioned earlier, and it’ll chow down like there’s no tomorrow.

And did I mention it can even eat certain flakes and frozen fish food or fruits? Whether it’s yesterday’s leftovers, or a fresh new entree, this fish will dig in — buy one today!