The Indian flying barb (''Esomus danrica''), historically flying barb, is one of the

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

known in the group flying barbs owing to their extremely long barbels. It was discovered as long ago as 1822 by Hamilton. However, it is rarely seen in aquaria. It is found in

Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...

Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, it is found in many of the same localities as ''

Danio rerio The zebrafish (''Danio rerio'') is a freshwater fish belonging to the minnow family (Cyprinidae) of the order Cypriniformes. Native to South Asia, it is a popular aquarium fish, frequently sold under the trade name zebra danio (and thus often ...

'' and '' Danio dangila'', an example being the Jorai Rivulet, a tributary of the Sankosh river in Coochbehar district, West Bengal, India. The rare fish Borellius spp. is locally named "Boirali maach".

Description

This fish reaches a maximum length of 6 in (15 cm). The Indian flying barb is a silver fish with a black line on an elongated body and gold fins. Barbels reach almost to the anal fin.

Behaviour

This fish has an exceptional ability for jumping, hence its name. Research in 2001 by

Fang Fang Fang Fang (), pen name of Wang Fang (; born 11 May 1955), is a Chinese writer, known for her literary depictions of the working poor. She won the Lu Xun Literary Prize in 2010. Born in Nanjing, she attended Wuhan University in 1978 to study Chin ...

suggests that ''

Esomus ''Esomus'', or flying barbs, are freshwater fish native to South Asia, South and Mainland Southeast Asia. They are closely related to the genus ''Danio'' and are distinctive for their extremely long barbels. Species * ''Esomus ahli'' Sunder La ...

'' is the genus most closely related to ''

Danio ''Danio'' is a genus of small freshwater fish in the family Cyprinidae found in South and Southeast Asia, commonly kept in aquaria. They are generally characterised by a pattern of horizontal stripes, rows of spots or vertical bars. Some species ...

'', closer even than ''

Devario ''Devario'' is a genus of fish in the family Cyprinidae native to the rivers and streams of South and Southeast Asia. These fishes have short barbels and many species having vertical or horizontal stripes. These species consume various small, aqu ...

''. * Temperature preference: 20-25 Celsius * pH preference: 7.6 * Hardness preference: Soft to medium * Salinity preference: Zero * Compatibility: Good but fast like most danios, a largeish fish, needs plenty of space * Life span: Typically 3 to 5 years * Ease of keeping: Moderate * Ease of breeding: Moderate to hard * A tank with a tight fitting lid with no gaps is recommended.

References

*]
Abstract of Fang, F., 2003. Phylogenetic analysis of the Asian cyprinid genus Danio (telesotei, Cyprinidae).. Copeia (4):714-728.

External links

Esomus danricus''Esomus danricus''

BdFISH Bangladesh Fisheries Information Share Home (BdFISH) is a global online database of information about fish species of Bangladesh. It is the largest and most extensively accessed online database on fishes of Bangladesh on the web. Over time it has ...

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2800348 Indian flying barb Fish of Bangladesh Freshwater fish of India Indian flying barb Indian flying barb