SouthernCross
Fish Addict
Hi everyone,
Was round at a friends and he's offered to give me one of his fish. His tank has pretty much been a disaster and I think he's ready for it to be over but there's still two fish in it. Previously he had loads, but have all died for various reasons I don't think its worth going into. But anyway in there now is a giant goldfish and what I'm 90% sure is an Odessa barb. He had no idea what it was, just that it was a 'tropical' fish. (Yes, he's now aware he shouldn't have mixed the goldfish with tropicals...). Said he used to have 6, and that it often chases the goldfish around. I couldn't ID it at the time, said I'd come home and figure out what it was and whether it would go with what's in my tank...based on searching images I'm pretty sure it is an Odessa, probably male.
I know most barbs should never be kept singly - but the problem is I'm not really on the lookout to add another school to my tank (there's a number of other fish I'm yet to add to my stocking plan, most importantly pearl females) and adding another 5 or so fish will overstock me. I haven't seen these fish at my LFS for a looong time either - I might not be able to get any anyway. But thinking of its welfare, this fish would probably be better off with me than him, but I'm not willing to take it if the rest of my tank (which is very peaceful!) will be compromised for whatever reason - nipping, eating, aggression, attacking, etc. From what I know about barbs (which isn't much at all!) they can be terrors, especially in smaller numbers, so if someone who knows about these fish could advise me I'd really appreciate it.
My tanks (148 litres/39 gal) current inhabitants -
1x Pearl Gourami
3x Platy
10x Cardinal Tetra
4x Cories
- If its relevant I want to add two pearl females, one or two more platy and a couple of otos. Hence my space issues...
Was round at a friends and he's offered to give me one of his fish. His tank has pretty much been a disaster and I think he's ready for it to be over but there's still two fish in it. Previously he had loads, but have all died for various reasons I don't think its worth going into. But anyway in there now is a giant goldfish and what I'm 90% sure is an Odessa barb. He had no idea what it was, just that it was a 'tropical' fish. (Yes, he's now aware he shouldn't have mixed the goldfish with tropicals...). Said he used to have 6, and that it often chases the goldfish around. I couldn't ID it at the time, said I'd come home and figure out what it was and whether it would go with what's in my tank...based on searching images I'm pretty sure it is an Odessa, probably male.
I know most barbs should never be kept singly - but the problem is I'm not really on the lookout to add another school to my tank (there's a number of other fish I'm yet to add to my stocking plan, most importantly pearl females) and adding another 5 or so fish will overstock me. I haven't seen these fish at my LFS for a looong time either - I might not be able to get any anyway. But thinking of its welfare, this fish would probably be better off with me than him, but I'm not willing to take it if the rest of my tank (which is very peaceful!) will be compromised for whatever reason - nipping, eating, aggression, attacking, etc. From what I know about barbs (which isn't much at all!) they can be terrors, especially in smaller numbers, so if someone who knows about these fish could advise me I'd really appreciate it.
My tanks (148 litres/39 gal) current inhabitants -
1x Pearl Gourami
3x Platy
10x Cardinal Tetra
4x Cories
- If its relevant I want to add two pearl females, one or two more platy and a couple of otos. Hence my space issues...
I've tried to read a lot of info out there on the net but I find best advice comes from personal experiences...
