# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Cyprinids >  Systomus hexazona: six-banded barb

## CK Yeo

Picked up this thing from the LFS just now. 
All I can say is WOW! Colours no lose to Harlequin rasbora and they are only 3hrs in the tank.

Look at the male! Colours are _au natural_! Asian fishes themed tank anyone?



ck

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## trident

CK,
Wow, very nice. color's solid.
I see, playing with your new lens.............. :Grin:

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## hwchoy

CK, _Systomus pentazona_ (I prefer Systomus for this group for small southeast asian barbs) has a black spot under dorsal fin (at the posterior attachment). I would have called this _S. hexazona_ if not for the partial bar (I have never seen any like that) and also the bar placement seem wrong.

I got a bad feeling some one has been hybridising them.

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## CK Yeo

The other side has 5 bands.  :Grin:  Let me take a pic of its other side and see.
The rest of its friends look like they have normal 5 bands, so I would think this is banding variation? 

I don't deny the possibility of hybridization but are they easy to spawn like tiger barbs in the first place?

ck

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## hwchoy

depends on how you count the bands. there should be only 5 prominent bands (1) across the eye, (2) between the eye and dorsal fin, (3) under the dorsal fin spine, (4) end of dorsal fin, (5) on the caudal peduncle, and (6) a very faint band right on the caudal base.

both _S. pentazona_ and _S. hexazona_ have similar bands except that _S. pentazona_ have a black spot under the dorsal fin just before band (4). sometimes however this spot can get so small as to be invisible.

I notice empirically that shoal of hexazona tend to be fairly docile while pentazona are much more boisterous.

where did you get them and any info on their collection?

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## hwchoy

here's a movie of _Systomus hexazona_ from Singapore. tonight I will post what a _Systomus pentazona_ from Johor should look like.

* note the movie says _Systomus johorensis_, this is a error propagated by the Science Centre book which wrongly label the hexazona as johorensis.

http://www.hexazona.com/images/misce...azona%2001.mpg

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## CK Yeo

Collection location: Biotope Aquarium :Grin: 

ck

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## benny

Excellent picture! Looks like you have no trouble with the new gear.

Cheers,

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## hwchoy

> Collection location: Biotope Aquarium
> 
> ck


I must go and grab  :Grin:

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## CK Yeo

Same fish, the other side. So confirm S. hexazona?



ck

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## hwchoy

yes, see the video. there seem to be two kinds of _S. hexazona_, one appear to be smaller and slimmer while the other like yours, is thicker bodied (like _S. pentazona_) and has some sparkle to the scales.

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## CK Yeo

er... Uncle Choy, your video not very clear. Show picture la!

ck

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## hwchoy

boh picture lah I waiting for you to contribute 

you see the big fat _Trigonostigma heteromorpha_?

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## CK Yeo

??!! You purposely make me watch your video 3 times right?  :Exasperated:  They look the same.  :Evil: 

I thought you say you will show picture of real Systomus pentazona?

ck

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## hwchoy

what you mean they look the same? all of them are _Systomus hexazona_ just like yours mah.

here you can watch the big fat _Trigonostigma heteromorpha_  :Grin:  while I edit the pentazona pix. problem is I cannot recall who gave me the pix already so got problem with proper photo credit!

http://www.hexazona.com/images/misce...orpha%2001.mpg

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## hwchoy

OK, here are wild specimens of _Systomus pentazona_ from Mersing. Note the black spot just under the dorsal posterior.

In particular I suggest you read the paper *The Identity Of Barbus johorensis Duncker, 1904 (Teleostei: Cyprinidae)* - Maurice Kottelat
_Raffles Bulletin of Zoology_ 1992 40 (2): 187-192

in which Kottelat states that the two taxon may or may not be one species. I would add that I have personal observation of the dorsal spot being so variable as to be sometimes almost invisible in a population of "pentazona".

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## CK Yeo

:Knockout: 
I think the whole world is confused as well. When I do a google search, pictures of S. hexazona comes out.

Colour doesn't mean anything, does it? Both species are the same except for the slight banding differences?

ck

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## hwchoy

frankly we probably know quite a bit more than most outside the professional taxonomy circles, and even they got confused by the kiam hee (i.e. preserved) records which was why the confusion with _P. johorensis_. you really should go and get that Kottelat paper, explains a lot.

I have a separate suspicion that of the two _S. hexazona_ "types", one is actually an "extension" of _S. pentazona_ that has no dorsal spot, while the other one could be a separate species that looks VERY similar but I note their behavourial differences. Of course the second "type" could be just sub-adults of the nominal _S. hexazona_.

and you should know better to be very critical with pictures that you google off the net, especially for such esoteric species.

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## CK Yeo

Hahhaa. Orh. You have the pdf? I will be happy if the rest of the world does not call it tiger barb.  :Opps: 

If uncommon species, I will be careful since the number of pictures that pop up will be limited and sometimes show totally different fishes. However, this one popped up 10+ pages showing the same fish...  :Exasperated: 

It's a shame that SEA fishes with nice natural colours/shine get passed up in the LFS. They don't get much attention and has been sitting in their tanks for weeks.

ck

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## johannes

wow... S. hexazona... my favourite barb! :Smile:

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## hwchoy

> Hahhaa. Orh. You have the pdf? I will be happy if the rest of the world does not call it tiger barb. 
> 
> If uncommon species, I will be careful since the number of pictures that pop up will be limited and sometimes show totally different fishes. However, this one popped up 10+ pages showing the same fish... 
> 
> It's a shame that SEA fishes with nice natural colours/shine get passed up in the LFS. They don't get much attention and has been sitting in their tanks for weeks.
> 
> ck


I do have the PDF but I am on the road till the weekend. you can download at RMBR's website (google lah). this fish is rare in the shops but of course easily confused with the tiger barb.




> wow... S. hexazona... my favourite barb!


not to mention it is one of our very own, and if you look at the URL of my pix and links, you know who my domain www.hexazona.com is named after 

in fact look at the logo of my pix  :Wink:

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## CK Yeo

In case anyone else interested in the paper from RMBR, you can get it from the link here.
http://rmbr.nus.edu.sg/rbz/biblio/40/40rbz187-192.pdf

ck

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## johannes

used to visit your domain before, but after a while, couldn't find it anymore.... sigh, nice website actually, love it...

caught some during fish-catching trip in m'sia and sg, , i suppose should be them, but didnt take as no planted tank at the moment... :Smile: 

definitely must keep next time!! :Laughing:

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## hwchoy

> used to visit your domain before, but after a while, couldn't find it anymore.... sigh, nice website actually, love it...



looks like I have to junk half my pix from the early days, now looking at them all cannot make it already  :Crying: 

planning to restart the site actually.

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## johannes

looking forward to it bro... :Laughing:

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## budak

according to the chao ah beng who stopped by while I was looking at some S. hexazona by a boardwalk, these are archtypal 'long kang hrrrr kia'....

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## hwchoy

then you tell him "si loh, liak also boh yong. liak luohan better."  :Grin:

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## CK Yeo

what if he says "Idea hor? liak to feed louhan!"  :Knockout: 

But seriously, this fish still exist in our nature reserve? That's good to know.

ck

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