Golden Roseline Shark (Sahyadria denisonii)

When it was first introduced into the aquarium hobby in the 1990s, the Roseline Shark became an instant classic. The species was initially collected heavily from its native habitat, the mountainous upland streams of Southwestern India, but this eventually gave way to its widespread aquaculture. Today, after many generations having been captively bred, a gorgeous variant has added to the legacy of Sahyadria denisonii.

The Golden Roseline Shark is a stunning fish. The wild-type of this species has a typical minnow-like coloration, being a bit dark along the back and lighter along the belly, with characteristic black and red lines that divide the body. But the Golden variant eschews this in favor of a yellowish body, keeping the red line in the forebody, red in the dorsal fin, and yellow accents in the caudal fin. The likely cause here is a lack of melanin, with the end result being a vibrant fish whose colors look as if they belong on some tropical coral reef.

The Roseline Shark (AKA the Torpedo Barb… AKA Denison’s Barb) is not terribly picky in terms of husbandry, and most foods will be eaten with gusto. Note that a diet high in carotenoids like astaxanthin will help to bring out the sumptuous ruddy tones. This can be found in any color-enhancing dry food and also from many frozen crustaceans (krill, copepods, etc).

As a schooling species capable of reaching around 4 inches, it is important to provide a suitably large aquarium (75 gallons or more) to house a group (which should ideally number 6 or more individuals). As they come from cooler mountain waters with high oxygen levels, it’s a good idea to have moderate or high water flow and low nutrient levels, though S. denisonii is generally quite adaptable and seldom shows any real problems in captivity.

This moderately sized and highly active fish will do well with a wide range of tankmates, though it is undoubtedly wise to avoid mixing it with overly timid fishes that could become stressed. Other large barbs, tetras, danios and rasboras make for appropriate choices, as do most of the commonly seen catfishes, loaches, rainbowfishes and cichlids. The sexes are mostly identical and breeding is rare in home aquariums, though it has on occasion occurred spontaneously.