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Tinfoil BarbGoldfoil Barb ~ Schwanefeld's Barb ~ Red-tail Tinfoil Barb

Family: Cyprinidae

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Barbonymus schwanenfeldiiPhoto © 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.

     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

Distribution:      The Tinfoil Barb, Schwanefeld's Barb, or Goldfoil Barb was originally described by Pieter Bleeker in 1853 as Barbus schwanenfeldii but is now described as Barbonymus schwanenfeldii. They are found in Southeast Asia; Thailand, Malayan Peninsula, Sumatra, and Borneo. They inhabit large waterways; rivers, streams, canals, ditches and will enter flooded fields.

Status:      These fish are not listed on the IUCN Red List.

Description:      In its natural coloration a large adult Tinfoil Barb has a silvery or golden yellow body. The dorsal fin is red and has a black marking or blotch along the tip. The pectoral, pelvic and anal fins are also red. The caudal fin is orange or a deep red and has black lines submarginally on the upper and lower portions of each lob.

Tinfoil Barb - Juvenile

     You can see the color difference in the juvenile in the picture to the left. The juvenile is a rather drab young barb with a basic silver or tin plated look to the scales, thus the common name "Tinfoil Barb". As they get older they develop red pelvic and anal fins, along with a shaded tail and dorsal fin; shading from red to black often with a white tip on the dorsal fin.

     The Tinfoil Barb is imported in several varieties. These include the familiar Albino Tinfoil Barb and Golden Tinfoil Barb along with a glass variety. There are also blue, pink, purple, and orange color forms. Sometimes a specimen may be further destinguished as having a red or yellow tail, having black eyes, or a combination of these traits.

Size - Weight:      These fish get up to almost 14 inches (35 cm).

Care and feeding:      Since they are omnivorous, the Tinfoil Barb, Schwanefeld's Barb, or Goldfoil Barb will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food everyday. Even though they like proteins, they need lots of vegetable foods. Vegetable substitutes suggested for these fish in the aquarium are cooked lettuce, spinach, or oatmeal.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:     These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:      Hardness: 2 - 10 ° dGH
     Ph: 6.5 to 7.5
     Temp: 72 - 77 ° F (22 - 25 ° C)

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

Social Behaviors:      Although they are can be good community fish they will prey upon smaller fish. Lively and fun to watch. One of the few fishes that can be kept with cichlids.

Sexual Differences:      No external differences.

Breeding/Reproduction:      The Tinfoil Barb, Schwanefeld's Barb, or Goldfoil Barb has been bred commercially and a variety of color forms have been developed.

Availability:      The Tinfoil Barb, Schwanefeld's Barb, or Goldfoil Barb is readily available. Prices range from about $2.50 - $10.00 USD per individual, depending on size.

Author: David Brough. CFS.

• Tinfoil Barb: $4.99
• Tinfoil Barb: $2.99

Barbonymus Schwanenfeldii Tinfoil Barb Medium Offered By: That Pet Place Price: $4.99

Barbonymus Schwanenfeldii Tinfoil Barb Small Offered By: That Pet Place Price: $2.99

Comments
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Latest Comments
I love to keep these cute little Tinfoil Barbs. I have 5 of them and I feed powder baby fish food. I mix them with Ghost Shrimp. Sometimes they try to eat one of the Ghost Shrimp but it's mouth is very small. I love to watch themto swimming around and I hope they grow and grow in adulthood. Replies (1) Reply Abi Sufian 2009-02-01
A lovely fish. Very entertaining and very mini-pacu like! Reply sven 2009-01-22
I have had my 3 tinfoil barbs for about 3 yrs now and I love them. They are about 6 to 8 inches long. they live with 4 silvers dollars and 2 angel fish. Everyone gets along good. I have them in a 55 gallon tank. I didn't realize how much you can feed them until reading some of the posts here, so I am going to try some of the new things I read. One thing I do give mine that they love is frozen brine shrimp. Mine also jump and splash you while feeding. Reply Amy 2008-12-23
I have had my Tin Foil Barb, Cosmo for a little over a month and it has grown really fast and bites my Spotted Silver dollar, but hes still alive. My Red Platy is dying, I think because of my tin foil barb. The red platy's tail is all messed up. I recommend this fish for a big tank like 30 or 40 gallons. Cosmo is fun to watch, especially when he eats. Sometimes he'll splash me. But, I'm gonna get rid of him this week. Any suggestions... Reply Fish_Lova12 2008-10-19
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Some of the coolest comments - here's the beef!
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. Reply Jack 2005-04-11
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 Reply chris 2004-11-10
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Questions - Answers
I have had a tinfoil barb for about a year now, it all started as a one gallon tank for my son. This fish has been through a lot and he survived. So in light of that I decided to take this on as a hobby, I bought a tiger oscar and a 15 gallon tank. Everything was fine as soon as the oscar established dominance,lol. But heres my problem, recently I decided to add a sucker fish to help me maintain the tank. A day or two after introducing the sucker fish to the tank (I kept a close eye on the tank because of the nature of the oscar) I noticed that the tinfoil barb was badly beating and biting the sucker fish (which is bigger than him). I guess my question is what do I do? My email is emoneysboy@yahoo.com. If you have any info you might think to be helpful, I would be so grateful. thanks Mike Replies (1) Reply Mike Fitz 2008-09-16
I bought my first barb fish last night. I bought one tinfoil barb. He seems to stick to the bottom of the aquarium and isn't as social as my other two (green tiger barb and tiger barb) fish. Should I be worried about him? I've been really protective over him since I noticed. Replies (1) Reply Laur 2009-01-04
I've had my tinfoil barbs for at least 3 years... I have 2 of them. One of them is 8in. long. The other is 7in. They have always scraped up against the bottom of the tank... I always thought they were just dumb as a door nob... A week ago the smaller one started to swim straight up in one place. It has bloody gills, a chewed up lip, and some white stuff on its tail. The medicine to cure it would cost $40. 1 dose each day for 4 days.(we have a 75 gallon tank) I don't want to spend the money to cure it. I also don't want the disease to spread throughout the tank and kill the rest of the fish...(killing it is not an option!) Is there a cure for this that might cost less? Replies (1) Reply zack 2010-02-26
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