Care
In the wild, the Five Banded Barb is found in the calm waters of heavily vegetated ditches, ponds and streams.
The aquarium should emulate these conditions and provide the fish with plenty of plant cover and gentle water circulation. Dark substrate, background and decor choices will help to bring out the fish's stunning colouration. Five Banded Barbs must be maintained in groups of 6 or more due to their shoaling nature. If kept with boisterous fish, they will become very timid, so ensure that they are kept with fish of a similar size and temperament. This species is also an excellent choice for those that like the appearance of the slightly larger and more aggressive Tiger Barb, but without the "nippiness" factor.
Although this is the real Pentazona barb, it's a rare fish in the hobby. Thanks to confusion over identification, most fishes labelled as Pentazona will be the more colourful D. hexazona. To distinguish between the two, look for a dark spot at the base of the dorsal fin in pentazona, as well as much brighter colours in aquarium strains of hexazona.
Feeding
Flake, micropellets, small frozen foods such as mosquito larvae, brineshrimp, daphnia etc.
Breeding
Five Banded Barbs are a moderately difficult species to breed in the home aquarium. A separate peat-filtered softwater breeding aquarium should be set up (pH <6.0, dH< 8) with the temperature set to 28-30 °C. A substrate of sterilised marbles can be used, or else add a good amount of Java moss clumps. The well-conditioned pair should be carefully acclimatised to this aquarium and allowed to settle in to their new surroundings. Once ready to spawn, the female will scatter up to 250 eggs, the male following behind, simultaneously fertilising them. Most of the eggs should fall to the safety of the marbles/moss, but the hungry parents should be removed as soon as spawning has ceased to prevent predation. The eggs should hatch within 24-36 hours and the fry will become free-swimming after a further 4 days or so. Infusoria should be offered as a first food, moving on to newly hatched brineshrimp as they grow. The fry are particularly sensitive to any deterioration in water quality, so excellent conditions must be maintained at all times. Ensure that any (dechlorinated) fresh water used in partial water changes is of the same temperature as the breeding aquarium water, of a similar chemistry, and added very slowly to avoid any unnecessary losses.
