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 = {{cite iucn|author=Abraham, R. |year=2015 |title= Haludaria fasciata |page= e.T172367A70085467 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-1.RLTS.T172367A70085467.en |access-date=25 April 2024}}

| 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 = {{cite WoRMS |author= Bailly, Nicolas|year= 2022|title= Haludaria fasciata (Jerdon, 1849)|id= 1592395|access-date=25 April 2024}}

}}

The melon barb (Haludaria fasciata) is a common species of cyprinid fish that is endemic to rivers in Goa, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu in the Western Ghats of South India. They live in a tropical climate in water that typically has a pH of 6.0—6.5, a water hardness of around 5 dGH, and a temperature range of {{cvt|22–26|C|F}}. It grows to a length of {{convert|6|cm|in}}. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade.{{FishBase |genus= Haludaria|species= fasciata| month = October| year = 2013}}

File:Melon barb - Puntius fasciatus - Vazhakka varayan.jpg

The melon barb is an open water, substrate egg-scatterer, and adults do not guard the eggs. Males in breeding condition flush red and develop fine nuptial tubercles on their snouts, used for bumping and rubbing the females to induce egg release.{{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}}