🐟 Silver Tinfoil Barb (Barbonymus schwanenfeldii)
Large Schooling Barb • Brilliant Silver Body With Red-Tipped Fins • A Showpiece School for Big Tanks
 
📋 The Silver Tinfoil Barb is a large, active schooling fish from the Mekong, Chao Phraya, and Malay Peninsula river systems of Southeast Asia, recognised for large, reflective silver scales, red-tipped fins, and a black stripe along the edges of the tail fin. A school of Tinfoils flashing through a big tank is an impressive sight.
Tinfoil barbs are sold as small juveniles but grow fast, so the secret to enjoying one is planning the tank first: a school of at least six, in a tank of roughly 500L (130 gallons) or more, with 600-800L better for a school of adults. In return you get a fast, shimmering, hardy school that's easy to feed and that gets on well with fish of a similar size. It eats soft plants, jumps readily, and can harass or eat much smaller tankmates, so give it a tight lid, robust or artificial plants, and larger companions.
 
💡 Highlights
✨ Brilliant Silver Body: Reflective scales with red-tipped fins
📏 Grows Large: 30-35cm as an adult, so plan the tank first
👥 A Schooling Fish: Keep at least six
🌿 Eats Soft Plants: Robust or artificial plants suit it best
🏠 Loves Space and a Lid: A strong swimmer and a jumper