Care
The Lined Barb is known from small, blackwater rainforest streams and peat swamps with dense riparian vegetation. The water is stained a tea colour from the tannins released from decaying organic material, the silty substrate often littered with twigs/fallen leaves, and punctuated with submerged tree roots. The Lined Barb is a peaceful shoaling species that should be maintained in good-sized groups; 6 would be considered the minimum, 10 or more would be better. A mature, heavily planted tank (use robust species) would be ideal to showcase these barbs, as their colours intensify when settled into a well planted environment. Dark substrate and background choices, along with some spindly driftwood and shady caves will also help them to settle in. Filtration should be efficient, but water movement not too vigorous. Tankmates should be of similar size and temperament and enjoy the same soft, acidic conditions; good examples include other small barbs or rasborines, pencilfish, panchax, and kuhli loaches. The Lined Barb (D. johorensis) is of very similar appearance to its horizontally striped congeners D. trifasciatus (which is known from western and southern Borneo), D. gemellus (southern Sumatra, Bangka, and southern Borneo) and also Striuntius lineatus (Peninsular Malaysia, Sumatra, and western Borneo).
Feeding
Flake, green flake, micropellets, small frozen foods such as mosquito larvae, brineshrimp, daphnia etc.
Breeding
Lined 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 25 °C. A substrate of sterilised marbles can be used, or else add a good amount of Java moss clumps. Lighting should be dim. The well-conditioned pair should be carefully acclimatised to this aquarium and allowed to settle in to their new surroundings. Once ready to spawn (usually the following morning), the female will scatter her 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 3-4 days. 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. Interestingly, the fry start out with a pattern of vertical stripes, which slowly change to horizontal as they mature.
