How many Cherry Barb

[FuelPimp]

I'm looking into buying cherry barbs, I have an 18G tank, how big do they grow and how easy are they to keep? What would you recommend a good number would be?

 

[freddyk]

Couple of inches max. The number depends on the stocking of the rest of the tank, but A shoal of at least 6 is perfectly feasable, and best both for the fish and owner.

 

[Lateral Line]

Actually, Cherry Barbs are not a naturally schooling/shoaling fish, they do not shoal in the wild. They are best kept as a true pair, or trio, one male two females. Two males together, especially in a small tank like that may fight.

The thing is, most small fish suitable for a tank that size are shoaling fish, so by adding Cherry Barbs, you are reducing your options for anything else for the tank.

 

[BigC]

Lateral Line is correct Cherry Barbs are a non shoaling fish and do not tolerate each other very well, especially the males.
You might be better of choosing the Checkered Barb (Barbus oligolepis) which is a schooling fish of around 4cms in the aquarium.

The male is the bottom fish with the female above.

 

[ccg]

I keep 6 males together and I have never once seen them fight. Maybe this is only a problem if there are two, although when I started I kept 3 males together and they never fought.

If you really like them I would suggest that you get 6-10 males. I am positive they will all get a long fine, even if they are all males. I have been keeping them for years and never once owned a female, as I don't like the looks of them as much.

My males are a couple years old and are 1.5 inches, they have not done any growing in sometime so I dont think they will be getting any bigger. Good luck with your new fish!

 

[FuelPimp]

Thanks guys, but the input you have given still leaves me at the start, I just need t know if they are shoaling fish and ccq is an exception, or ccq is right and in all cases they can be kept together.

 

[The-Wolf]

not a schoaling fish at all, it would seem ccq has the exception that proves the rule
http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cherry_Barb

 

[ccg]

My fish do not do any schoaling, they do not fight though.