Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Cyprinids > Tinfoil Barb

Tinfoil Barb

Goldfoil Barb ~ Schwanefeld's Barb ~ Red-tail Tinfoil Barb Family: Cyprinidae

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Barbonymus schwanenfeldii Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Pavaphon Supanantananont

   Adult Tinfoil Barbs, in a very large aquarium, make an impressive and beautiful display!

   The Tinfoil Barb, Schwanefeld's Barb, or Goldfoil Barb is easy to keep but will grow rapidly. It will reach an intimidating size, up to 14 inches (35 cm) in length and is considered too large for most aquariums. Though they are generally peaceful they will eat smaller fish, so are not always suitable for a community aquarium. They can be kept with cichlids. An aquarium best suited to this fish would be large and roomy, with a fine gravel bottom, and dense plantings along the edges. They like to burrow so be sure to use hardy plants.

Red-tail Tinfoil Barb Barbonymus altus Photo © Animal-World:

   The Tinfoil Barb can be confused with other members of its genus, especially the Red-tail Tinfoil Barb Barbonymus altus. Though both these tinfoil barbs have a black marking on their dorsal fin, the Red-tail Tinfoil Barb lacks the red, and it also lacks the black submarginal lines on the caudal fin.

  There are also several color varieties of this fish being imported, with the most familiar being the Albino Tinfoil Barb and the Golden Tinfoil Barb. Other varieties include glass, blue, pink, purple, and orange and then there are some that are further distinguished by varying fin or eye colors.

For more Information on keeping this fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Dream Aquarium Build your own aquarium The Coolest and Funnest Screensaver in the World.

Comments from people who have kept this fish:

I have had a tinfoil barb for nine years now. He is now about 20cm. It live with my blood red parrot cichlid which I have also have for nine years. Recently I have placed four bristle nose catfish and a sailfin pleco with them and they are all one big happy family. One month ago I intergrated a new albino tinfoil which is 7cm with no problem what so ever. They are my pride and joy.

I have four tinfoil barbs and a red tail catfish in a 140 US gallon aquarium, It's a good idea to keep them in a large tank because they are shoaling fish and do best in groups of at least 4 fish. They are entertaining eaters but very messy. To keep a good diet try feeding them frozen lettuce, when it melts it becomes limp and easy for them to digest.

I have a 15 gal display tank that is tall and I wanted an impressive fish that was active and fun to look at. It did not take long for me to find out that this Tinfoil Barb will jump and scare the crap out of you as you walk by your fish tank. I hated him for the longest time, but now; what a fish to watch; always moving and fun. All my friends comment on this fish and watch him. Now I have to upgrade to a 55 gal tank just to keep this fish happy and room to move. I had no idea how much they love to eat and all the things you can feed them.

I have 3 tinfoils, 4 tigers, 3 albino tigers, 3 green barbs, 3 pepper corys, 2 pleco, 2 african dwarf frogs, 1 columbian shark, and 2 iridescent sharks... all in at 30 gallon tank. the tinfoils jump when i feed them. I feed them flake, pellet and bloodworms, they LOVE the bloodworms. they are a hearty fish. i like them, they all school together and they all leave my frogs alone. i recommend them.

I bought 2 Tinfoil barbs when I was a child. They were VERY easy to care for. They lived well with large Angel fish for a time. They didn't seem to mind a high PH, or change in temperature. I enjoyed watching them make a big splash coming up for food. The female lived for over 21 years. The male was alone after that, and is still going strong at 34+ years of age. I don't know if this is a record or not, but I'm afraid he will outlive me now!!

I wish I had done more research before getting mine - the pet store just told me they were great fish but nothing about how fast or large they get. Lately I notice my zebra fish slowly disappearing. I think I might end up putting them in their own tank to avoid any more problems.

I have had my tinfoil barbs for about a year now and they have quickly grown out of my three foot tank to my bigger four foot tank with a big pleco, angelic catfish, a big leprinus, black ghost knife fish, a large polypterus, a lemon-fin barb and a silver shark. both of my tinfoil barbs get on well with my other fish Except for feeding time, when they all get alittle bit tense over getting all of the food for them self. I feed my tinfoil barbs flake, bloodworm and cokkles with some live food every now and then. I dont tend to put plants in any more because every time I do they rip them out and eat them. so I just stick with bogwood and rocks. You have to be carful when you have the lid off of your tank because the tinfoil barbs jump, which I have experienced a few times before. I will be getting another tinfoil barb soon because you really need to keep them in a school rather then singly.

I have had my 4 Tin Foil Barbs for 6 months or so, and they have grown almost 6 inches! They are very hardy fish, good eaters, and fun tank mates. I currently have the barbs, 15 diamond tetras, a ropefish, 2 clown loaches, fiddler crab, and a pictus catfish in a 75 gallon tank. One additional note: these guys eat so much you have to be creative with their food to keep form going broke. I have a planted tank, and instead of throwing away plants that get too big, or any clippings i take from them, I feed them to the barbs. Also they love liver, which is really cheap at the supermarket. Cut up a beef liver into small squares, and throw them in the freezer. The barbs will love these. Chris

Back to Cyprinids

Author: David Brough. CFS.

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