Common Barbel

Overview

Everything you need to know about Common Barbel, at a glance:

• Common Names: -
• Scientific Name: Barbel barbus
• Max Size: ~100cm
• Temperature Range: 10-20°C, though can survive temperatures close to freezing
• pH Range: 6.0-8.0
• Compatibility: Generally peaceful towards similarly sized fish
• Area Of Origin: Northern and Eastern Europe
• Suitable Foods: Variety of sticks, pellets, and flakes.
• Special Requirements: Grow very quickly and need to be kept in large ponds.

What is a Common Barbel?

Common Barbel are a species of freshwater fish that belong to the wider Carp family. They’re named after the long and distinct barbels that stick out of their upper and lower jaws. Common Barbel have four of these barbels and they use them to sift through mud in search of food.

Like other types of Carp, Common Barbel grow large, sometimes exceeding a metre in length! They can live for a long time too, often more than two decades if given the proper care and housed in a suitable, well-filtered and well-oxygenated environment.

Most Common Barbel are bronze or olive-green in colour, with small scales and orangey-red fins. Their bodies are rounded, like other Carp, but they tend to have longer and more pointed heads. Their barbels are longer than those of other types of Carp, and in some individuals can grow half as long as their bodies!

How do I care for Common Barbel?

Like other types of Carp, Common Barbel are renowned for their hardiness and can be kept in a wide range of aquatic settings. They do require a degree of specialist care, though as long as you’re ready to provide this then they’re a great choice of fish for a garden pond – even if you’re a first-time pond keeper!

An important thing to consider if you’re planning on keeping Common Barbel is space. As youngsters they may not need quite as much space, but as adults they need a pond that can hold thousands of litres of water. As a rule of thumb, aim to keep one Common Barbel for every 1,000L of water.

Another important thing to consider is filtration. Common Barbel eat a lot of food and, as a result, produce a lot of waste. To process this waste and make sure your pond is kept healthy, you’ll need a large pond filter. We stock a wide range of pond filters, but the best for these kinds of fish are Koi pond filters. For more information about Koi pond filters and how they work, check out our help guide here.

In the wild, Common Barbel live in rivers/streams with fast-flowing currents and lots of dissolved oxygen. To simulate this kind of environment in your pond, set up apond pump with a high flow rate, install a waterfall and/or pond fountain, and run a powerful air pump air pump. All of these methods will simulate natural-like conditions for your Common Barbel, keeping them healthy and happy.

When it comes to food, Common Barbel will eat almost anything and readily accept a variety of pond fish food. Common Barbel are foragers by nature and will constantly scour your pond’s substrate in search of food. Their mouths are adapted to feeding from gravel and rock-bottomed riverbeds, so it’s recommended that you try to recreate this kind of environment in your pond.

As substrate foragers, there is a chance that your Common Barbel may uproot delicately rooted pond plants. If you’d like to keep Common Barbel and pond plants, consider planting your pond plants alongside the shallow margins of your pond where they’re less likely to be disturbed.

How is this Common Barbel delivered?

All of our aquatic animals are dispatched from our livestock distributor and delivered directly to your doorstep. Our distributor dispatches and delivers livestock packages Tuesday through Friday to avoid animals being in transit over the weekend. To further minimise time spent travelling, all livestock deliveries are made before 1pm on the day of delivery.

After placing your livestock order, you’ll receive all the information needed to track your livestock order via email. If you have any problems regarding delivery, or concerns about the health/wellbeing of your animal(s) upon arrival, please contact us, Swell UK Ltd, immediately, or at least within 48 hours of receiving your livestock order.

Any other, non-livestock items that you purchase alongside livestock will be sent via standard or express delivery and arrive at your delivery address in a different package. This means that, depending on when you place your order, you may receive your non-livestock items before or after your livestock package.

For a detailed breakdown of when you can expect to receive your livestock package depending on the day you placed your order, be sure to check the delivery details in the specifications below.

How do you acclimate a Common Barbel to a pond?

It’s very important that you acclimatise new fish to your pond. This is the process of gradually adjusting an animal to its new environment and it’s especially important in an aquatic setting where sudden changes in water temperature, pH, and nitrates can cause stress, illness and, in some cases, even death.

To acclimatise your Common Barbel, add it to a large, dimly lit container and add a small amount of pond water every few minutes. Do this until water temperatures in this container match water temperatures in your pond, and for at least 20 minutes. If you don’t have a large container to hand, you can float the bag containing your fish in your pond instead.

You should always set up your pond and make sure it’s ready for fish prior to purchasing any. It’s also a good idea to let your pond filter mature for a few months before adding Common Barbel. A single Common Barbel can produce a lot of mess; your pond filter needs to be able to handle this if it’s to maintain a healthy environment.

Above photos are for illustration purposes only; livestock received may not exactly match those photographed.