This species may be confused with: golden barb (P. gelius) or gold-finned barb (P. sachsii).

Barbodes semifasciolatus, the Chinese barb, is a species of cyprinid fish native to the Red River basin in southeast Asia where they occur in fresh waters at depths of 5 metres (16 ft) or less. This species can also be found in the aquarium trade where it is an extremely popular fish. How this fish can be confused with (P. gelius) is mysterious, as they are so different.