ZippyTheGrunt

I got two cherry barbs, both male (they only sell males for some reason at this pet store).

I'm just going to use the names we gave them so as not to get confused.

Otto is slightly bigger and was always chasing Ken one around. So we decided to add another fish before taking anyone back. We decided to add a different species, fearing that he would just bully them both, so we added a gold barb. Everything was fine for about a day.

Now Otto will chase them both sometimes. I would not mind chasing but he seems to be going for their fins. I'm at a loss and am going to take Otto back to the pet store.

Question: Should I try to get another cherry barb to replace him? Or will this happen no matter which 2 cherry barbs I have?

The smaller cherry barb (Ken) never chases the gold barb, but will that change if they are the only two?

Just looking for advice from anyone with a similar experience.

Karma_Sea

You might want to think about adding a few more barbs to the tank. They will nip each other but if you have a shoal (4-6) it should ballence out. If it doesn't then Otto might have to go back. Some times you get one that just likes to nip more than it should!

susitna-flower

I agree more of the same kind should help, just remember to watch your water quality. A 10 gallon tank can support 10 adult inches of fish, if you go any higher than this, you will have to up your water change schedule and test regularly to keep the tank healthy.