Black Ruby Barb Experiences?

Hey all,

I was curious if anyone has positive experiences keeping black ruby barbs or other barbs in a peaceful community tank? I am considering adding some to my 75G with silver dollars, pearl gouramis, cories, and a rainbow shark. I have kept a school of tiger barbs previously and they brutalized everyone else in my tank and I had to donate the tigers away. I have heard other barbs are less aggressive with the fin-nipping, but can anyone confirm with these fellas?
Thanks!

 

Most barbs are fin nippers, that being said in schools of 8+ that behavior is diluted. And they tend to nip the fins of longer finned fish. And the only thing I can see is the modified pelvic fins (Feelers) on the gourami.

 

I've got a couple of Black Ruby Barbs in a 65 gal. Barb grow out tank. Tankmates include Tigers, Filament, Tinfoil Barbs & YoYo Loaches.
No noticeable aggression problems with any of the Barbs.
The Black Rubies look to be a little more docile than the Tigers.
IMO, no problems including them in your community. Look at the Dawkinsia Filamentosa barbs before going for the Rubies. They are awsome barbs.

 

Yes the feelers on my gouramis are my primary concern, they are pretty long so I worry about it. I have just enough space for 8 barbs, but I am still worried about the fin-nipping. I had a Electric Blue Acara and he nipped my silver dollars fins down completely. I am bit paranoid of it now.
Anything with traces of red/bright orange in the tail-fin of the fish is a no go, so the Dawkinsias I'm not sure of. Rainbow shark goes wild if anything with a red tail-fin walks in.

 

I understand your concerns regarding fin nipping. I'd take Filamentosas over the Rubies any day. A much more flashy fish. Given enough room, the Filament Barbs should be able to out swim any fish in your tank.
They are a Riverine species & are constantly on the move.

 

The males can be a bit boisterous but I'd say they are great.

 

I'll add the Filamentosas to the list of fun fish to get, but the male's red fins won't work with the shark. Otherwise they would be great. I wish the shark wasn't so limiting. Thank you for the suggestion though!

 

Cherry barbs are peaceful

 

I have no idea what my rainbow thinks of a completely red fish. I'll show him a picture of a cherry barb and see what he thinks.

 

Very peaceful fish and fun. It was August last year when I passed by a petshop to chose my first fish after a long time away from the hobby. All the fish in there looked boring.. soon as I walked up to the Black Ruby Barb tank I was impressed with them comming to check me out and swimming around. They look like mini tiger barbs with mustard color and 3 black stripes when they are young, but they grow quick to their black ruby color. I had 5 in my 20 gallons with Harlequin Rasboras, CPD's, and Corydoras. They liven up the tank and constantly chase each other and play. I highly recommend this fish as a substitute for tiger barbs. This breed is very fun, active, peaceful and they look great. They never bothered anyone in the tank. The only problem I had was turning on the light or walking past the tank at night because they get edgy when you disrupt their sleep. Maybe it's because I have them in a small group or tank. I have them for about a year and a half now. I had 5 but 1 just died tonight two hours ago after being sickly with some digestive tract issuesfor sometime, but from what I have seen they are very hardy fish. I cycled with them without any problems. I do recommend this fish, it's the most fun fish breed I have owned so far.

 

That is reassuring to hear. I rehomed my 5 Celebes rainbowfish out of my 20 gallon to my 75 so I no longer have space at the moment. I keep a rainbow shark alone in the 20. The black rubys are on my list for my next tank along with Yoyo loaches though!

 

That is reassuring to hear. I rehomed my 5 Celebes rainbowfish out of my 20 gallon to my 75 so I no longer have space at the moment. I keep a rainbow shark alone in the 20. The black rubys are on my list for my next tank along with Yoyo loaches though!

Nice. Unfortunately, I don't have the space to get a bigger tank for them at this time. The 20 gallons tank is overstocked as it is and I have an aggressive betta that gets depressed alone in the in 5.5 gallons. I move him back and forth from the 5.5 to the 20 gallons so he can feel like he has some friends, but he stresses everyone out in the 20 gallon once he settles in. I either have to find him some compatible tank mates for the 5.5 gallons that he won't kill (like the shrimp) or I have to give away my Black Ruby Barbs because the tank is getting small for them and I want both the betta and my barbs to be comfortable. I don't know yet what I will do. I love those Black Ruby Barbs, maybe in the future when I get a bigger tank I can add more. Small NYC apartments give you limited choices when it comes to pets. So far the Black Ruby Barbs have done well in the 20 gallons.