Red Panda / Melon Barb (Haludaria fasciata)

A vibrantly colored, medium-sized barb found throughout India’s Western Ghats range, the Red Melon or Red Panda Barb is a robust and colorful schooling fish ideal for the medium to large community aquarium. In the wild, it inhabits a wide range of habitat types but most typically can be found in more slow moving waters near aquatic plants or overhanging vegetation. A peaceful species, they are best kept in groups of at least 5-10 and require plenty of swimming space. Although they rarely bother tankmates, they are fast-moving and aggressive eaters so should be kept with similarly sized (or larger) fish.