Which Are They?

[dudeboy2k6]

How do i tell what sex the barbs are??

any help please...

 

[Lateral Line]

Difficult with such a large and diverse group of fish. So, generally, (there are exceptions)...

Female barbs are larger then males, noticeably deeper in the body when viewed from the side, and wider when viewed from above or front.

Most male barbs are more colourful then their females.

Many male barbs, (particularly Asian species), have extensions to fins females do not have.

--- I could go on. There are hundreds of barbs. Care to narrow it down a little?

 

[dudeboy2k6]

I was looking at tiger barbs how do u tell what sex??

 

[Biulu]

When mature, male tiger barbs will show bright red noses, his dorsal fin will have a red line above the mainly black fin and his ventral fins will turn bright red. When in spawning condition or fighting for a higher “rankâ€￾ in the shoal, the males stripes turn a slight metallic green colour. And the tips to his upper body scales turn almost black and shine bright orange in certain light.
The females however, keep their pale yellow noses (may turn slightly pale red at times, which makes it tricky to determine their sex in store). They only show a small area of red at the tip of the dorsal fins, and ventral fins will stay pale red. In females, their stripes stay black.

Taken from this site

 

[Lateral Line]

Okay, TB's. The first two points I made above apply still, although this species does not have the extensions I referred to. The red nose of the males is a dead giveaway though. All the colour varieties, (not a true albino, but then few "albino TB's are true albinos), show that colouration. If all elase fails, the body form is equally obvious.