Cherry Barb Question

[stingingdragon]

I recently got a cherry barb go into my 20 Gal tank along with my 2 neon tetras and 1 male betta. They all seem to be doing great, except every time i see the barb he is opening and closing his mouth all the time (like chewing). I dont know if he is eating or maybe it is a lack of oxygen in the water? May seem like a dumb question but i just want to make sure hes alright!

 

[fishwatcher]

I'm not sure what he's doing, but you should add a few more... maybe 2 females. And up your group of neons too to 5-6, maybe more depending on how many other fish you plan on stocking. They both like groups and will do much better that way. HTH!

 

[lljdma06]

Actually, the cherry barb is not a shoaling fish and prefers to be either solitary, in a pair, or a trio (1M, 2F). Cherry barbs are not surface dwelling fish, they prefer the middle and lower levels of the tank. Mine spend a lot of time nibbling at my moss and gravel at the lower levels of my tank, opening and closing their mouths. Actually, the more I see cherry barbs, the more they remind me of goldfish and since both species are cyprinids, they share some common characteristics. If your fish is not gasping at the surface, I would venture to say that the behaviour is normal.

A bigger concern for me would be the number of tetras, which do need to shoal and your betta. Some people can keep bettas with tetras, others cannot, claiming that the tetras nipped the betta's fins. I have not kept bettas with tetras and prefer to keep them with peaceful, drab schooling fish from the betta's habitat (harlequin rasboras, etc). I would also increast your tetra size to at least 5-6 and watch your betta for nipped fins.

llj

 

[stingingdragon]

Thanx for the advice guys, but i lost my cherry barb a couple of days ago I am looking into increasing the number of neon thou, it seems the beta is picking on the neons a bit ever since i lost the cherry barb. So maybe if i up the number he will lay off.