🐟 Five Band Barb (Desmopuntius pentazona, formerly Puntius pentazona)
Freshwater Peaceful Schooling Barb • Five Black Bands on a Golden-Bronze Body • Soft, Acidic Water • Often Confused With the Six-Band Barb
 
📋 The Five Band Barb is a small, peaceful schooling barb from the acidic blackwater streams and peat swamps of Borneo. It has five black vertical bands on a golden-bronze to orange body and reddish fins. It looks a lot like a tiger barb but is smaller, calmer and not prone to nipping fins.
It is peaceful and can be a little shy, so keep at least six to eight, in a planted tank with driftwood, subdued lighting and soft, acidic water. It suits calm companions such as small tetras, rasboras, Corydoras, honey gouramis and even angelfish, and it is a much better tank mate for them than the tiger barb.
A note on identification: the true Desmopuntius pentazona is restricted to northwestern Borneo, and the fish sold as the Five Band Barb in the trade is frequently the very similar Six-Band Barb (D. hexazona). The two are almost identical and have the same care needs. The reliable way to tell them apart is a small dark spot at the rear base of the dorsal fin, which pentazona has and hexazona lacks.
 
💡 Highlights
✨ Five Black Bands: Bold banding on a golden-bronze body with reddish fins
⚪ Peaceful: Not prone to fin-nipping, unlike the tiger barb
📏 Small: About 5cm
👥 Schooling Fish: Six to eight or more
💧 Likes Soft, Acidic Water: Dark substrate and driftwood help them settle