Barilius spp. are near-exclusive surface-feeders preying mostly on flying insects in nature with some small fishes and benthic invertebrates probably taken as well but in the aquarium they’re largely unfussy and will accept most foods.

Like many fishes that naturally inhabit running waters it’s intolerant to the accumulation of organic wastes and requires spotless water at all times in order to thrive. It also does best if there is a high proportion of dissolved oxygen and moderate degree of water movement so external filters, powerheads, airstones, etc., should be employed as necessary.

This species is feisty and largely unsuitable for the general community aquarium. This is not to say it must be kept alone, rather that tankmates must be selected with care and proper research.

Slow-moving or long-finned species should certainly be omitted because they’re likely to struggle with the necessary level of water movement and may end up with nipped fins.

This species has been widely regarded as a member of the genus Nemacheilus since the late 1970s with the vast majority of subsequent authors considering it as such, although in the aquarium hobby it’s more commonly referred to Schistura.

Probably a micropredator feeding on small insects, worms, crustaceans and other zooplankton in nature. In the aquarium it should accept dried foods of a suitable size but should not be fed these exclusively.

Daily meals of small live and frozen fare such as Daphnia, Artemia, Moina, etc., along with good quality flakes and granules will result in the best colouration and encourage the fish to come into breeding condition.

This species is traded very occasionally, sometimes under the alternative vernacular names of ‘river baril, ‘river carp-baril’, or ‘striated hill trout’.

It can be told apart from congeners by the following combination of characters: 1 pair of minute rostra…

Described from ‘Etok stream near Chanderkhong, southern watershed of the Naga Hills, Manipur, Assam’, located within the Chindwin River basin in northern India.

The Chindwin is the major tributary of the Ayeyarwady/Irrawaddy River and most of it flows within Myanmar although two of its own tributaries, the Manipur and Yu rivers, originate in the Indian states of Manipur and Nagaland.

Type locality is ‘Canara, southern India’, which corresponds to a coastal region of approximately 300 km in length covering several districts of Karnataka and Kerala states, southwestern India.

Rivers in this area drain the Western Gha…

Type locality is given as ‘Cedawáti [Vedawati] stream, headwaters of Krishna River near Heriuru, Mysore, India’, with the species currently considered to occur throughout India, Bangladesh, Nepal, and probably Bhutan.

It’s also been recorded in Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand and Sri Lanka although some or all of these reports may refer to other species.

This species occasionally appears in the ornamental trade, usually as ‘striped hill trout’ or ‘banded hill trout’.

It can be distinguished from congeners by the following combination of characters: lateral line complete with 40-42 scales; barbels absent; 10-13 anal-fin rays; body with 9-11 dark blue vertical bars; last dorsal-fin ray extending to caudal-fin base.