Butters

Well, my little cousin came over today, and wanted to go to the pet store. so my mom, my aunt, my cousin and I went to the pet store. I know that my tank is probably not cycled, (I do 10-25% water changes every other day) but i ended up buying 4 cherry barbs becuase they looked really neat. I end up with 2 males and 2 females (2 red 2 kind of orangish)
when I got them into the tank after the acclimation, i saw that one of the females...is really **** fat... crap. I got a pregnant cherry barb and i didnt even know it. will she lay her eggs on fake plants? or will she just hold them for ever? What will I do with the babys? I want to get 2 more, i know it might be overstocked a little but i want them to be comfy, so should i get two more females to put it at 1:2 ratio? or should i get 1 more guy and another female? thanks for all the help!

TFA101

unlike livebearers, from what I've read, Cherry Barbs do not have the male agression as severe as guppies and other livebearers, and they are more mellow when it comes to that situation, so purchasing more cherry barbs is unnecessary unles you purchase only one more female to top off your tank at a perfect 10" worth of fish.

As for the eggs, the parents will probaly eat them unless you provide adequate cover with plants (fake or live) and/or decor. Otherwise, another tank is in order to rear the young if your female does spawn.

Also, I've purchased fish that appear relatively... ummm... hefty, and it turns out they're either just fat or constipated. Trust me, thats why when I purchase a fat fish one day, I end up seeing a slimmer fish (and a giant turd in the corner) the day after that.

Barbrella

I would get another female. The males are quite hard on them, so you need more f. than m. THe males may spar a bit with each other but do no damage.

The bloated female may be carrying eggs or she may not. I've had females bloat before and die.

I wouldn't worry about having babies. The adults will eat all the eggs. They will spawn on fake plants, but do prefer a lot of live plants in their tanks both for spawning and hiding since they are rather timid.

Cherry barbs can survive a cycling tank, but I would do as TFA101 says and keep up the partial water changes.

Butters

thanks for the help guys. i usually do good with my water changes every other day or so. and just getting 1 more female sounds like a good idea. thanks again!

Fishies-for-me

I have both guppies and cherry barbs( in seperate tanks) I have never seen male aggression in my guppies . The babies fight more than the males do and even the females will take a poke at each other every now and then ...but males are so busy...getting busy...lol they rarely bother each other. They will however wear the females out pestering them!! My 3 cherry barbs are the survivors of a school of ten. Lost the others in a bad ich attack. The remaining male has not gotten territorial again YET, but before he was sick he kept all 19 other tanks mates in one corner of the tank. He only let the female he was interested in at the time go around the tank...lol.

TFA101

Yeah, the wearing out the female thing is, apparently, considered in the hobby as aggression

Fishies-for-me

Ohhhh...ok ..you learn something new every day...lol

TFA101

lol