# what's the real deal on Cherry Barbs?



## automatic-hydromatic

I hear Barbs in general are mean little guys and are a bad idea to put in community tanks with other fish that are peaceful and can't really fend for themselves.

I picked up pair of Cherry Barbs and put them in my planted 30 gallon community which already had a Dwarf Gourami (which I'm not worried about because he can handle his own), a pair of Bristlenose Plecos, a male and female Sailfin Molly, a swarm of Guppies (20+... a female just gave birth...), and some Ghost and Cherry Shrimp. I plan on getting about another 3 or so once the LFS gets a shipment of them in since I know they're schooling fish.

These two in the tank now act pretty much oblivious to the fact that there's other fish in the tank. They don't bother anyone. I did some research online, and everything I could find says that the Cherry Barbs are great community fish and they're peaceful. They'll establish a hierarchy in the group of themselves and might chase each other around every once in a while, but otherwise they completely leave other fish alone. But when I mention that I've put them in my community tank to anyone, they're first reaction is "oh those are mean. I wouldn't put those in a community tank, they'll kill everything in there that can't fend for itself." Is this just a first reaction because they're a Barb and the person telling me this just doesn't know that Cherry Barbs are actually peaceful, or will these guys get aggressive as they grow older?

I'm just looking for maybe some words from Cherry Barb owners; someone that's had them themselves and maybe kept them in a community tank. What can I expect; are they going to stay peaceful?


I really like the little guys. Well, the two I have aren't really "guys", they're females. But they're "natural" look I'll call it because there's less color in them, makes the tank look a little more "natural", in my opinion.


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## James0816

Yep...it's the Barb reputation. 

I have always kept cherries in my community tanks. They bring a nice splash of color to them. When in groups, the males will do their own picking at each other which is perfectly normal. I have witnessed them chase other fish from time to time but really nothing that has ever concerned me.


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## mk4gti

I keep cherry barbs in a 20 gallon community tank with smaller tetras and corys. I also keep tiger barbs in my 90 with bala sharks and rainbow fish. The barb reputation is a myth that gains some truth when you dont put them in large enough tanks with hiding space and proper school size.


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## Chillwill007

All comes down to how many you have. You should keep them in odd numbers like 5 or 7 and you should be fine


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## automatic-hydromatic

All good news guys, thanks 

I just have the two females right now, but I plan on getting another female and two males soon, so that will put me at 3 females and 2 males for a total of 5 of them.


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## mattbish

i have 6 tigers in a 'community' tank along with 3 angels a pair of swords, half a dozen guppies and 3 guaramis!!! It shouldn't work but honestly it does. On the first 6 tigers the 2 smallest didn't quite make it through 'natural selection' and I notice the remaining 4 broke the school and started doing their own thing and bothering the others, so a quick trip down the LFS to get another 2 of a similar size to the 4 left and all is well again. In fact the male sword is the one I keep an eye on as he chases the angels. I do have some tall vallis though all along the back of the tank coming out about 5/6" though so that gives plenty of hiding/exploring space to keep everyone occupied lol. 

I'd say if you have 6 or more you shouldn't have a problem IMO


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## automatic-hydromatic

How are your Angels in your community tank? I hear they can be a little aggressive as well. My LFS has some gorgeous smaller Angels, but I've been told to stay away from them...


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## smurfette1175

I have male and female cherry barbs in with danios, pearl gouramis, angels, corys and ottos. They generally seem to like to swim with the danios and also keep to themselves. a ratio of 2 males to 4 or 5 females should be fine.


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## yasai6500

barbs can be aggressive....especially tiger barbs....that's probably what gave barbs a bad rep....I also own some cherry barbs and they are very peaceful so you should be fine


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## mattbish

I ot all 3 at the same time from the same shop, but from seperate tanks. Must have been about 2 1/2" at the time so that they were larger than the barbs at 1 1/2" so that they all knew their place!!! The guaramis were one of the last to go in and were very shy for the 3/4 days but have no problem swimming around now and look really comfortable. 2 of the angles seem to have paired off and spend most of the time out in the open. The other has set up its (sorry can't tell the sex) territory in a section of the vallis.The barbs can swim right past and the male sword sometimes chases it out but apart from that nothing very interesting occurs. 

Forgot to mention I also have 2 plecos, 4 flying fox (i think :S) and a Platy. Best time to notice behaviour is in the morning when I turn the lights on. Every day they are all in their same positions within the tank, giving each othe plenty of room. I feed twice a day and there's never any hassle, even when I put in a frozen block without defrosting it - it's as if they take turns!!! 

BTW, none of the angels have any signs of fin nipping either which even shocks me. I had a spare tank on the ready just in case but never needed it. I did have a Redtail Shark I adopted in there for a short while but he started getting really bad so he went to the LFS


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## automatic-hydromatic

interesting...

I may have to give one a try, that is after all these juvenile Guppies grow a little larger and I can net them and trade them in at the LFS  hey maybe that's what I'll do with the trade-in credit!


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## PolymerTim

I've got Gold barbs in my 29g community tank and they are just fine. I got six (since I heard that was a good minimum) and by chance they turned out to be 2 males and 4 females, which I've heard is a good mix. I've got them in with 7 cory cats and (until recently) a couple of dwarf gouramis as well as a dwarf frog. They never bothered any of the other fish, although they did try to snack on my gold apple snails antennae. Gold barbs are voracious eaters


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## AliceInDallas

automatic-hydromatic said:


> How are your Angels in your community tank? I hear they can be a little aggressive as well. My LFS has some gorgeous smaller Angels, but I've been told to stay away from them...


Re your cherry barb question .... I agree with those who say that they are fine in a community tank. Re your question about angels: Angels are so tempting when they are small .... especially since they are now being offered with much more striking colors than in previous years. But I have resisted this time around (after being out of the hobby for a few years) for this one reason: If you have a healthy tank, they will GROW ..... and can get really big (e.g., 3 inches from top to bottom or more) .... and when this happens you will begin to lose smaller fish which can be gobbled up by large angels. Large angels in my freshwater tanks started to STALK smaller fish at night just like lion fish did in my saltwater tanks ... they'd back them into corners and the rest was history. 

Obviously if you don't plan to have smaller fish in your tanks, this would not be an issue. Angels in my tanks actually did away with small barbs, certainly neons, and a variety of other smaller fish. Amazing how good they are at this. So I resist those adorable beautiful baby angels and just move right on to another tank at the LFS!


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## jrman83

I have 4 Angels with cardinals and neons and they leave them alone. It's a 125g tank, but the Angel doesn't really have any territory staked off or anything. Could be different in a smaller tank.


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## AliceInDallas

*Re: what's the real deal on Cherry Barbs - and Angels?*



jrman83 said:


> I have 4 Angels with cardinals and neons and they leave them alone. It's a 125g tank, but the Angel doesn't really have any territory staked off or anything. Could be different in a smaller tank.


Re the 'angels in the community tank' question .... you could certainly be right that a larger tank (like your 125) may eliminate the problem of really large angels stalking and eating smaller fish at night. My tank was a 75, back when this was happening. And then too, I suppose that some angel species grow larger than others or show more predator instincts after maturation.

Looking at the angels from the side in a single dimension, the body size on these predatory angels (excluding the fins) was as tall and wide as a small orange or very large lemon. Prior to attaining such imposing size, they were quite docile in the tank. And in fact, even when they were really huge, they didn't bully or chase the small fish during the day. It was after the lights were turned off in the tank that they turned into sharks. (I am sure that angel enthusiasts reading this may find my analogy to be in very bad taste! My apologies.) But again, if you don't have small fish, there may never be a problem. And they are so very beautiful to watch, especially in a well planted tank.


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## thenewseverum

I have an angel in my community tank, for the most part he doesn't bother anyone, he just sits there by himself like an emo fish.


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## automatic-hydromatic

thenewseverum said:


> I have an angel in my community tank, for the most part he doesn't bother anyone, he just sits there by himself like an emo fish.


LOL, nice behavior description *r2


The smallest fish in the tank are guppies at about 2" long for both of the females, and the smallest of which being the male and he's about 1 1/2" long. There's a couple Cherry Shrimp and Ghost Shrimp as well. I wouldn't worry as much about the Ghost Shrimp since they're enormous (for a Ghost Shrimp), but the Cherry Shrimp are pretty small, maybe 1" long... I suppose I could put them in my 10 gallon after I set it up to put a few plants in.


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## thenewseverum

automatic-hydromatic said:


> LOL, nice behavior description *r2


Its true! Maybe hes lonely, Maybe Ill get another one when I get a new job.


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## mk4gti

I go for all males, IMO unless your trying to breed them the males are much brighter and stay a little smaller.


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## JRMunroe

Just FYI:
I have a 215 gal planted tank w/7 mature angels, 30+ tiger barbs (incl some juveniles), a half dozen zebra danios (some very small new ones) and a small 2" discus.

No issues at all in about 5 years.


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## Galvatron898

We have Cherries and Golden Barbs in our 60Gal tank and they have been very peaceful. Very pretty fish


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## automatic-hydromatic

they've been in the tank for a while now and everyone's getting along fine 

they're fun to watch. the males routinely chase each other around the tank, swimming in and around the plants


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## syddriver

I have 2 Koi angels in with a parrot, tiger barbs and albino barbs with no issues. The angels stay in the front and do not seem concerned with the other fish at all. They are fairly good size about 3 inches. The barbs are in a school of 7 and chase and play all day long.


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## ReStart

I've had Cherry's in community tanks with no problems. Funny story about angels. 12 years ago, I bought three small angels and put them in my 10g which was doing well. They grew and one of the angels started attacking the other two, over and over. I gave the odd angel to a friend and the old pair were so happy and just loved all over each other all the time.

When I moved, I gave the pair to a friend at work who had a planted 120g. That couple had spawn after spawn and my friend was giving the juveniles away by the dozens.

Sad ending though. Dude killed his wife and went to prison. I don't know what happened to the tank.


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