This is how true mad barb looks like, common "cigar barb" or "mad barb" in the hobby are Leptobarbus rubripinna. Mad Barbs have long fins, white colored. But juveniles do looks like rubripinna
True Mad Barb @ Leptobarbus hoevenii
- Thread starter GiantFishKeeper101
- Start date
I have three of the leptobarbus rubiprinna in my 360g. I much prefer them to their drab looking cousins. For many decades they were referred to as the same fish as they look so much alike at varying stages through their development. They're both from the same area, attain similar sizes, they even share the same common names such as "mad barb", "sultan barb" and "hovens carp", though obviously it is now known that they are completely different species.
Being an angler from the uk one of my favourite coarse fish is the European chub, and the rubiprinna is the spitting image of the chub. Check out Google!
It's interesting how they get their "mad barb" nickname. Apparently during certain times of the year they both eat fallen berries which drop into the rivers they inhabit. The berries from this particular tree contain "substances" which make the fish disorientated, and they swim in a haphazard manner, giving them their "mad" appearance.
My biggest is close to 15" now. I didn't realise when I got them that they can get as big as a metre in length. I'd have reconsidered my options if i'd have known, lol.
Being an angler from the uk one of my favourite coarse fish is the European chub, and the rubiprinna is the spitting image of the chub. Check out Google!
It's interesting how they get their "mad barb" nickname. Apparently during certain times of the year they both eat fallen berries which drop into the rivers they inhabit. The berries from this particular tree contain "substances" which make the fish disorientated, and they swim in a haphazard manner, giving them their "mad" appearance.
My biggest is close to 15" now. I didn't realise when I got them that they can get as big as a metre in length. I'd have reconsidered my options if i'd have known, lol.
