FishProfiles.com Message Forums

I got my first two yesterday. They're only half a inch long, a male and female. The male's at least half a centimetre bigger. Anyway, When I initially released them from the bag, the male immediately went amongst the plants to hide which I expected. The female went to the surface straight away and started nipping at several guppy fry that were swimming just under the surface. That completely ceased after a minute or two, a few hours later I was surprised to see her fighting with one of the new neon tetras the way neon tetras do it. They were circling each other in the water, nipping and darting at each other. And after I tapped my finger on the glass, gently, to stop them fighting. It worked, both of them darted off in opposite directions. I decided to stay and keep an eye on them for a while in case they started to fight again, or the neon came back with his whole shoal, numbering seven, for support in fighting the little cherry. Again, a few minutes later, she was fighting again, this time with a adult male guppy. Apparently, she was browsing the gravel for pieces of food, and the guppy saw one of the pieces as the same time as her, and both of them darted toward it, but the guppy got to it first and swallowed it.
She darted toward the male's tale and nipped it. Which led to him nipping her back and so on. The guppy was at least twice her size. The neon was, roughly, the same size as her.

Are cherry barbs normally this aggressive? The male cherry has been no problem whatsoever. He's been swimming all over the tank exploring amongst the other fish, guppies, neons, cories, and the troublesome female cherry.

R_Boy1

Hello Rookie !!

Seems that female is a bit of rough-neck, but not really all that surprising. Compared to their cousin, the tiger barb, cherries are usually fairly peaceful. What I would suggest, if your tank can handle the load, get a few more cherries ,they as like the neons, are a schooling fish best kept in numbers of 6 or more, that usually is enough to diffuse any real problems with aggression between the species and within the community its self.
If that many fins are getting nipped, keep a close eye out for secondary bacterial or fungal infections.

good luck !!

J.

I read that cherry barbs are solitary not shoaling?
I would like to get at least three more, since the two I have are often lost in the jungle of vegation and large ornaments that I have in my tank, so I don't see them often. Probably another male and two females. But not if cherry barbs are solitary and only like to be house in small numbers.. that's the reason I only got a pair. I'll wait until I get other comments from other people here. It's not that I don't trust what you have to say, it's just that I'd prefer other people's opinions as well.

Thanks J.

R_Boy1

They can be kept in pairs, trios, or schools. Mine seem to do better in schools, the females kept picking on my lone male, so I got 2 more males and they get along fine. They are always colored up and look stunning in a school.

Alright! Thanks truestar!! So I'll probably get another male and two more females next time I go to the LFS where I got them. Which will probably be next week. I'm already really liking the pair I have. I've only had them for a day and half or so. They are confident little souls, unfraid to go after other fish more than twice their size. Guess what? at feeding time, this morning, the same guppy that the female fought stole a piece of flake that the female was swimming madly after and she just turned and darted after another sinking flake nearby.



R_Boy1

I never had a problem when I kept them in a pair. But every fishes attitude is different. I would say if you have the room get a male to female ratio of 1:2. But thats just me

I had some a while ago with Cardinal Tetras and there was never a problem. That does not mean that they are all passive there is always one unpredictable fish.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW