Care
The Red-tailed Tinfoil Barb is known from large river channels and their surrounding floodplains. During the rainy season, they migrate into flooded forested areas to spawn, returning to the river as the waters recede.
This is a sizeable, but peaceful species which is suitable for the larger aquarium. Juveniles grow very quickly, so ample space must be provided from the outset. Red-tailed Tinfoil Barbs are a shoaling species and should be maintained in groups of six or more fish. Due to their size and feeding habits, a decent amount of external filtration should be provided, along with very regular partial water changes. The aquarium must be well-oxygenated. These fish appreciate a good amount of greenfood in the diet, and as such, aquatic plants will be seen as food - many aquarists choose to aquascape the aquarium either without plants or instead with plastic varieties. Red-tailed Tinfoil Barbs are not aggressive and mix well with other medium-large sized fish of similar temperament. However, due to their adult size, tankmates should be chosen with care as large Red-tailed Tinfoil Barbs are more than capable of taking small fish. The aquarium must be well-covered with a sturdy hood or coverslides as these fish can jump, and an adult fish can be pretty weighty. Similar in appearance to the Tinfoil Barb (B. schwanenfeldii) but lacks the black markings along the lobes of the caudal fin and does not attain quite as large a size.
Feeding
Smaller specimens will take flake, green flake, small sinking pellets, and small frozen foods such as mosquito larvae, brineshrimp and daphnia. Larger fish will enjoy bigger frozen foods such as krill, Mysis shrimp, and chopped prawns/cockle. Fish of all sizes will eat aquatic plants, lettuce, spinach, shelled peas etc. Greenfoods should be provided on a regular basis.
Breeding
This species has not been bred in the home aquarium.
