Tavel

I have a fairly stocked 75 gallon freshwater (see my profile for details) and was wondering if getting some Long-Finned Rosy Red Barbs would be alright. I think they're pretty and could add a lot to the tank.

I already have some semi-aggressive fish like the Buenos Aires tetras that do just fine. (Red-tailed Tinfoil Barbs are quite docile, unlike their bigger cousins.) Do the Rosy Barbs have the same temperament as the tetras? would the tetras hound them too much? (I've had to remove some fish before because of my "enthusiastic" tetras...)

How many should I get? I was thinking two or three. I've read that a school of 5 or more is required to inhibit aggressive behavior?

Also, should I get more fish at all? I have 65 inches of fish right now, I could theoretically easily get another 10 inches based on the One inch per gallon rule (which would accommodate 3 rosy barbs).

But then if you flip over to the metric side, you get 1cm per liter...it works out to be 1.2 inches per gallon, in which case I could go all the way up to 90 inches of fish.

So yeah, what should I do? haha

capekate

Hi Tavel,
I had rosy barbs in my tank before and they were pretty docile fish considering how mean their cousins the tiger barbs can be.. uggh. If you were not sure, you can always add a few more buenos aires tetras to your 2 that you already have in the tank?
~ kate

Tavel

thanks kate. I was afraid they'd be as aggressive as tiger barbs, but it sounds like they're similar to buenos aires tetras.

I would add more tetras, but I wanted to make this a south asia themed tank whenever the tetras give up the ghost...they're like 4-5 years old already, haha. Plus, my fiance likes the long finned rosy red barbs so I really have no recourse!

Tavel

Update: I made the purchase, but we decided against Rosy Barbs on advice from the fish store. They said they were equally aggressive as Tiger Barbs and would likely become a menace to several of my slower fish, particularly the guarami.

So we decided to gamble on a pair of Congo Tetras and they're working out very well! They're very pretty and the Buenos Aires tetras ignore them. the Giant Danios will give them a run-around every once in a while because they're similar size and shape, but danios don't nip and I'm not concerned.

I think we'll go pick up two more next weekend. I don't know if the 50% sale runs that long, but we'll see. I never thought I'd be spending $8 a fish...but Congos are worth it!

Blub