whetu Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 I currently have four male and two female cherry barbs in my community tank (I had more originally but this is my remaining stock). I had thought of them as schooling fish, and assumed they would be happier in larger groups, but I read recently that they prefer to be kept just as a male/female pair. The tank is about 200 litres (1200mm long) and reasonably heavily planted (this varies depending on how much pruning I have been doing recently! :lol: ) I have a group of seven gold barbs which all seem to hang around together, in the same general area. The cherry barbs are more active and seem to chase each other around more than swimming together. I have never seen any injuries on any of them, so I don't think it's actually aggression - although the four males do seem to do a lot of 'posing' towards each other. (Which is actually quite pretty because they are a really intense red colour and kind of flare their fins at each other.) Should I: a) Reduce the stock to just one male/female pair b) Boost the numbers, trying to balance out the m/f ratio c) Do nothing Experiences and opinions please. :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VinsonMassif Posted March 6, 2009 Report Share Posted March 6, 2009 Personally I would get more males. They tend to do more interacting and are so much more prettier. I have 16 in my 4' tank and they fill the whole tank up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 7, 2009 Report Share Posted March 7, 2009 They are a schooling fish but mine didn't either in the true 'follow each other everywhere' fashion - they did chase each other a lot though and no damage was ever done to each other :-? I suspect they only school in very large numbers. They do colour up better if they are in a larger group but then I had one lone male at one point who was the brightest red you could imagine. :roll: I don't think they look right as just a pair as they are too small. Either keep the group as is, if they appear happy, or increase the numbers. Have vinson massif said, males are brighter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted March 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 Thanks Caryl and VM. After having read more widely, it seems that they are certainly happier in groups so I will either keep my group as it is, or add a few more. I was a little concerned that some of the males' posing behaviour may turn to aggression, or just stress them too much. Now I think the way mine behave is well within the normal boundaries and since they haven't done each other any harm yet I will just not worry about them. My males are a very bright cherry red so I will take that as an indication they are fairly happy in their current setup. (I also have plenty of plants and places for them to hide, so I will make sure I maintain that in my future tank rearrangements.) I brought some adults back inside today after they had spent their summer holidays outside. I had hoped I would have at least a few fry to boost the numbers in the tank but it was not to be. Never mind, I understand they are a fairly long-lived fish so I will try again next summer! :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted March 8, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 8, 2009 Personally I would get more males. They tend to do more interacting and are so much more prettier. I have 16 in my 4' tank and they fill the whole tank up. Hmmm... 16 in a 4' tank... sounds lovely! *starts planning a whole tank full of cherry barbs* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Caryl wrote: males are brighter Please clarify, you do mean males as in male fishies and their color, right :lol: :lol: :lol: Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 I definitely mean brighter as in colour Caper :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi Whetu, I was worried about my cherry barbs as the males seemed really aggressive, but the other fish seem to cope. If your tank is heavily planted enough then you might get some fry - I had a few cherry barb babies in my tank last year when it was a bit of a jungle. They are so cute! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 Hi Whetu, I was worried about my cherry barbs as the males seemed really aggressive, but the other fish seem to cope. If your tank is heavily planted enough then you might get some fry - I had a few cherry barb babies in my tank last year when it was a bit of a jungle. They are so cute! Oooohhh... that sounds tempting. I might just leave my plants to grow into a jungle and see what happens. I have never had any fry survive in my community tank, though. I think the adults are too good at hunting them down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 yeah mine managed to survive even with a hungry apisto. I only had 3 survive but it was awesome. I was feeding the other fish microworms at the time which might have helped. what other fish do you have in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted March 9, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 ...what other fish do you have in there? Apart from the cherry barbs I also have: 7 gold barbs 5 clown loaches 4 cardinal tetras 3 siamese algae eaters 2 bristlenoses In a planted 4-foot tank. When the plants get out of control they go absolutely wild - I cut back the hygro and ambulia every week or two just so I can see the fish. :lol: I might set up a temporary smaller tank, let the plants go wild in there and use it as a breeding tank for the cherry barbs. A cheap way to boost the numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neon Posted March 9, 2009 Report Share Posted March 9, 2009 sounds nice - you should post a pic! good idea to set up a temporary tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whetu Posted March 10, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 I will post a pic one day... when I work out how to photograph fish! :roll: I have tried many times. If I use the flash I just get a photo of a big reflection on the glass. If I don't use the flash I get a photo of a fuzzy tank (because I don''t have a tripod and haven't learned to hold the camera still) and/or blurs instead of fish. My partner thinks he may have managed to video them on his new phone, but now he has to work out how to download the footage! We're quite a pair, aren't we?! :lol: :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 10, 2009 Report Share Posted March 10, 2009 use the iso mode on your camera and darken the room. it makes for a great effect on my camera. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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