Long Fin Odessa Barb (Pethia padamya)

The Long Fin Odessa Barb (Pethia padamya) takes one of the most underrated freshwater fish and adds flowing, extended fins. Males wear a neon red racing stripe down a dark, checkerboard-scaled body, and a school of them in a planted tank looks like traffic at night. These are our medium males, already showing color. Browse the rest of our freshwater livestock while you are here.

Care Guide

Odessa barbs are hardy, active, and far better behaved than their tiger barb cousins. Give them numbers and swimming room and they do the rest.

• Tank size: 20 gallons or larger, longer is better. These are busy swimmers that use the whole tank.
• School size: Keep 6 or more. In a proper school the males spar harmlessly with each other and leave tankmates alone, and their color gets dramatically better.
• Water: 70 to 79°F, pH 6.5 to 7.5, soft to moderate hardness. They tolerate unheated room-temperature tanks better than most tropicals.
• Setup: Planted edges with an open swimming lane up the middle. A dark substrate makes the red stripe glow.
• Diet: An easy omnivore. Quality flakes or small pellets as the staple, plus frozen bloodworms, brine shrimp, and daphnia to sharpen color.

Specifications

Tank Mates & Compatibility

In a school of six or more, Odessa barbs are solid community citizens alongside rasboras, danios, larger tetras, corydoras, plecos, and nerite snails. Their sparring stays inside the school. Skip slow, long-finned showpieces like bettas and fancy guppies, since an under-schooled barb may nip trailing fins, and avoid dwarf shrimp, which are snack-sized.

Recommended Foods & Supplies

• Xtreme small floating pellets, a krill-first staple that fits their mouths
• Frozen bloodworms and brine shrimp from our freezer for color conditioning
• Seachem Flourish Tabs for the planted tank they look best in
• Browse all freshwater livestock and supplies

FAQ

How many should I get?
Six is the working minimum, eight to ten is better. The school is what keeps them peaceful and what makes the males show their best red.

Will the long fins get nipped?
Not by their own school in proper numbers. Their sparring is display, not damage. Just do not house them with notorious nippers like tiger barbs.

Are these males or females?
These are males, which carry the signature red stripe. Females are rounder and silvery-bronze; ask if you want females for a breeding group.

Do they need a heater?
Usually not in a normal Georgia living room. They are comfortable from 70°F up, one of the reasons they are such an easy, underrated fish.