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HI all! So today I was in my LFS and wanted to buy a few cheap fish to put in a tank I plan on using as a fry tank. While looking I saw Cherry Barbs! I am in love! I bought 3. I thought I told the guy 2 fems and 1 male but Ive realized after getting them in my tank and looking at photos that I have 2 males and one fem. I Didnt know anything about them and Ive read up on them since I got home and the more I read the more excited I get about them. Here are my questions
1-Does it matter that I have 2 m and 1 f?
2-She stays by herself and the males stay together. This is normal, right?
3-You all know I want to try breeding them. In the profiles it says just put a male and fem together in a heavily planted tank. I just read where someone ask a question about putting several together. Now that I have them in this tank, Ive read that Ill have to move them out once eggs are laid. If there is livebearer fry in there, will they bother the eggs?
4-I dont think Ill ever get successful with all this if I have to move fish around all the time!
5-What goes on before breeding happens? What happens during. How will I know?
6-Do the plants have to be real or is artificial okay?
7-Im having a problem with a new heater in their tank. The temps up to 80 even though I keep turning it down. Where should I keep the temp and how do I get it there?

Your ratio male to female is backwards if you really want to breed, go for more females than males. One or both of the males could be harrassing your lone female a bit too much which may be why she's sticking to herself.

Livebearers may consume the eggs just like any other fish. The better fed they are the better your chances will be that they wont be consumed, but seperate tanks for fry and eggs is best.

Artificial is okay, live is almost always better. Java moss is great for breeding purposes and is usually rather cheap and quite low maintence.

As for the heater. You need to get that set correctly. Ajust it once and leave it alone for 24 hours. If it's got a dial on it turn only 1/4 turn of the dial at a time then leave it for another 24 hours before ajusting. Make sure your thermometer is accurate. If it's one of the stick on the side of the tank kinds with the different colored blocks that's not going to give you an accurate tank temperature. If your heater is a submersible one with specific temperatures to set it to then make sure you've followed the directions for installing. Some require being in the tank 15 minutes before being plugged in.

^_^[hr width='40%']"in any case, chocolate is hardly a rare comodity." said Chaos. "There are planets covered in the stuff"
REALLY?
"Indeed."
IT MIGHT BE BEST, said Death, IF NEWS LIKE THAT DID NOT GET ABOUT. ~ Theif of Time [link=Terry Pratchett]http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link]

I dont think you can buy Java moss where I live and my hood lights dont work. So, live plants are out since they need the light to live. Every time I try to do something it always ends up being something that will cost me ore money which I dont have and shouldnt be spending anyway.

Ladie,
if you have those incandescent bulbs in your hood,
they are easily replaced with small spiral flourescents,
which are relatively inexpensive.
Any walmart, kmart, target, home depot, etc will have them,
usually you can buy a 5 pack of them for around 10 dollars.
I use 2- 23 watt spirals over my 10g tank.
They look like this:


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Sneaky's got the answer for lights . Check around though, and get the best price you can. Not just any light will work though you'll want ones that are "daylight" bulbs and for best results ones with a 6500K rating on them. The only ones I've found are sold by home depot.

Most places sell java moss as it's so prolific. In fact a small piece of java moss that you then grow into a large tank invading mass ( ) will be much cheaper than buying fake plants .

If money is a concern, just enjoy the fish and dont bother with trying to breed. Breeding is expensive , and it's really rare for it to acutally pay for the hobby.

^_^[hr width='40%']"in any case, chocolate is hardly a rare comodity." said Chaos. "There are planets covered in the stuff"
REALLY?
"Indeed."
IT MIGHT BE BEST, said Death, IF NEWS LIKE THAT DID NOT GET ABOUT. ~ Theif of Time [link=Terry Pratchett]http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link]

I found Java moss today and got a bunch for just $4. More than I will use. I didnt put but 3 small bunches in because I dont want it to over take my tank. My tank looks sooooo pretty. Its my fave tank Iver ever had. It looks so peaceful and it super clean. I mean, these Cherry Barbs are cleannnn fish! My light fixtures dont work so I am going to see if my dad can fix them.

Oh and I now have 2 males and two females. From what I have saw, they all stay together.
However, I have fed them flakes and frozen blood worm (mosquito larve) thawed out and they didnt go after it either.

Last edited by ladiejl at 27-Oct-2005 01:57