| Java Barb or Silver Barb | |
|---|---|
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Actinopterygii |
| Order: | Cypriniformes |
| Family: | Cyprinidae |
| Genus: | Barbonymus |
| Species: | B. gonionotus |
| Binomial name | |
| Barbonymus gonionotus (Bleeker, 1850) |
|
| Synonyms | |
|
Barbodes gonionotus (Bleeker, 1850) |
|
The Java Barb, more commonly known as Silver Barb in aquaculture, (Barbonymus gonionotus), Thai: ปลาตะเพียน Pla taphian; Lao Pa keng; Indonesian: Tawes, is a species of ray-finned fish in the genus Barbonymus.
The silver barb it is one of the five most important aquacultured freshwater species in Thailand.[1] The silver barb is a short-cycle species that, like Tilapia, can be farmed with low technology and relatively less effort than other species, being thus popular as a farmed fish in Bangladesh, where it is known as Thai Sharputi.[2]
In fish farms, Silver Barbs rarely exceed 40 cm in length and 1.50 kg in weight. However, a 2.80 kg specimen was caught in the Teak Tree Lake in Thailand and a record specimen that reached 13 kg with a length of 90 cm was caught in Malaysia.[3]
It is an important food fish in Thai, Lao and in Cambodian cuisine. In Laos it is commonly used as an ingredient for Lap Pa.[4] In Thailand it is usually either pickled as Pla som (ปลาส้ม)[5] or boiled in Tom yam.