Melon barb

{{Short description|Species of fish}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2023}} {{Speciesbox | image= Pandabarben.jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=IUCN>{{cite iucn|author=Abraham, R. |year=2015 |title= ''Haludaria fasciata'' |article-number= e.T172367A70085467 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-1.RLTS.T172367A70085467.en |access-date=25 April 2024}}</ref> | taxon = Haludaria fasciata | display_parents = 3 | authority = (Jerdon, 1849) | synonyms = {{species list |Barbus fasciatus |(Jerdon, 1849) |Cirrhinus fasciatus |Jerdon, 1849 |Dravidia fasciata |(Jerdon, 1849) |Puntius fasciatus |(Jerdon, 1849) |Puntius fasciatus fasciatus |(Jerdon, 1849) |Puntius fasciatus pradhani |Tilak, 1973 |Puntius melanampyx pradhani |Tilak, 1973}} | synonyms_ref = <ref>{{cite WoRMS |author= Bailly, Nicolas|year= 2022|title= ''Haludaria fasciata'' (Jerdon, 1849)|id= 1592395|access-date=25 April 2024}}</ref> }}

The '''melon barb''' ('''''Haludaria fasciata''''') is a common species of cyprinid fish endemic to rivers of the states of Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the Western Ghats of South India.<ref name=IUCN/> They live in a tropical climate, and water that they are found in typically has a pH of 6.0—6.5, a hardness of around 5 dGH, and a temperature range of {{cvt|22–26|C|F}}. The melon barb can grow to a length of {{convert|6|cm|in}}, and may be found in the aquarium trade.<ref name=fishbase>{{FishBase |genus= Haludaria|species= fasciata| month = October| year = 2013}}</ref> thumb|left|Typical spawning site

The melon barb is a substrate egg-scatterer, and adults do not guard the eggs.<ref name=fishbase/> Males in breeding condition flush red and develop fine nuptial tubercles on their snouts, which are used for bumping and rubbing the females to induce egg release.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Sexual dimorphism in structures, size and shape of the cyprinid Nilgiri melon barb, ''Haludaria fasciata'' |date=September 2022|journal=Fisheries & Aquatic Life|volume=30|issue=3|page=138–148|doi=10.2478/aopf-2022-0013|author=Judine John Chacko|author2=N Mini Sekharan|doi-access=free}}</ref>

== References == {{Commonscat}} {{Reflist}}

melon barb Category:Freshwater fish of India Category:Endemic fauna of the Western Ghats Category:Fauna of South India melon barb Category:Taxa named by Thomas C. Jerdon