Pentazona Barbs - All Male Group?

[blueliz]

I've got 5 pentazona barbs, and 5 zebra danios I know these type of barbs can be pretty shy but two of them seem a lot tamer than the others but yet mostly they just swim backwards and forwards along the back of the tank. its planted and there are plenty of hiding places.

from looking at pictures i'm pretty sure that they are all males, so was wondering if there is any benefit to adding a couple of females and if this will get them out and about a bit more? occasionally they have a bit of a race about but then revert to swimming at the back again, perhaps 5 of them is too few? they seem to get on very well with the Danios, and i know i can't expect them to be quite as active as them but even still they are wosses! lol

 

[RushingChamp28]

I've got 5 pentazona barbs, and 5 zebra danios I know these type of barbs can be pretty shy but two of them seem a lot tamer than the others but yet mostly they just swim backwards and forwards along the back of the tank. its planted and there are plenty of hiding places.

from looking at pictures i'm pretty sure that they are all males, so was wondering if there is any benefit to adding a couple of females and if this will get them out and about a bit more? occasionally they have a bit of a race about but then revert to swimming at the back again, perhaps 5 of them is too few? they seem to get on very well with the Danios, and i know i can't expect them to be quite as active as them but even still they are wosses! lol

If the fish are indeed shy, a larger group can help them liven up a little in most cases. On top of that, keeping water conditions excellent for more tempermental fish can help bring out the best colors and liveliest behaviors.

One thing to keep in mind - if there are too many males compared to one or two females, be careful that the females are not getting stressed/harassed by being the focus of the attention for all the males in the tank. Too much and the fish can eventually die. In general it is good to keep the the male:female ratio relatively balanced, or at least a handful of females to spread out the interest of the males.

 

[stang1]

I keep 12 Pentazona Barbs and only 4 of them are females with no problems.
As RushingChamp suggested, it may be worth upping the numbers as they are a little more shy than other Barbs.