bert2001

We currently have 6 Black Ruby Barbs in our 70 Gallon Community tank. I noticed recently that a couple of them turned really red and now one of them is really fat. It has been this way for a week or so now. I don't know if it is pregnant or just fat. I am attaching a couple of pictures of the fish in question. Any help would be appreciated and if it is pregnant what do I do?

Thanks!

Attached Images

	Pregnant Ruby Barb.jpg (129.7 KB, 7 views)
	pregnant ruby barb 2.jpg (124.0 KB, 4 views)

Chief_waterchanger

Barbs are eggscatterers, so the correct term is gravid, but yes, she appears to be. The fry will 99.99999% surely be eatten by the fish in the tank, so don't expect to see fry unless you choose to house 2-3 females with a male in a seperate tank for a couple of days to give her time to drop then move them back.

Jacko

Looks like she is egg-laden! Very nice if you do get any fry out of it! I remember once in my mom's community 55 gallon when we took it down to move it we found a 1 inch ruby barb under the UG, our guess was it fell inbetween the uplift tubes and plate.

Good luck!

bert2001

I took her out and put her in a breeder box. Looks like she poped out a couple of eggs while I had her in there. I didn't want to leave her in there any longer as I could tell that she was getting very stressed out. She is used to swimming freely in a 48" long tank. Hopefully I get some fry out of it. That would be awesome.

Chief_waterchanger

Um.. you won't get fry unless you have a male with her when she lays the eggs... he has to fertilize them after she lays them inorder to get any fry.

bert2001

I had a male in there with 2 females, the fat one and another that he was chasing around. We shall see but I'm not holding my breath.

neverendingninja

I don't think you caught what Chief was saying.

When barbs lay eggs, its very similar to say, salmon. The female releases eggs, and then the male releases sperm. The two mix in the water, hopefully fertilizing the eggs. Fish aren't like chickens, the egg is not fertilized inside the mother.

So, you won't get any fry from the breeder box eggs. Go ahead and pitch them.

bert2001

Thanks for the info guys. I saw a few eggs hanging in the plants yesterday, and followed the female around and saw her drop a couple that got caught on some leaves. After watching for a while I say my Angel come eat all of them. Oh well.