Barb fish are lively, hardy and colorful fish belonging to the family Cyprinidae. This species is ideal for sport fishing and aquariums, due to its spectacular color. 

A barb is one of various ray-finned fish species in a non-phylogenetic group, with members in the family Cyprinidae, and especially the genera Barbus and Puntius, but many others also.

They were formerly united with the barbels in the subfamily Barbinae but that group is paraphyletic with the Cyprininae.

If the Labeoninae are recognized as distinct, many small African “barbs” would probably, however, warrant recognition as a new subfamily.