It is a native of the upper Mekong, Salwen, Irrawaddy, Meklong and upper Charo Phraya basins in the countries of Nepal, India, Pakistan, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Thailand, and Sri Lanka.

[2][3] It has frequently been confused with the Odessa barb in the aquarium trade, but in that species the male is reddish-orange (lacking in P.

[4][5] The ticto barb is silver and gold with two black spots; one just before the pectoral fin and one near the back tail.

[3] It is natively found in still, shallow, marginal waters of lakes and rivers, usually with muddy bottoms.

They prefer a well planted environment that is similar to the still and shallow waters with mud bottoms of their native habitat.