I am starting to stock a 30 gallon tank. My original plan included Bleeding Heart Tetras (8-10) and Glowlight Tetras (8-10). Just for the color combination, I am thinking about Cherry Barbs instead of the Glowlight Tetras. Does this combination work well enough? Should I cut back on the number since Cherry Barbs are a little bigger than Glowlight Tetras? Thanks! Stay cool if you're in a hot place, like me. And hydrated!!!
Whilst they are certainly more tame than larger varieties cherry barbs can still be slightly aggressive. This however can be negated a lot by having 8+ and a good balance of male to female. I have two males to eight females and it has left them with very little aggression even towards the tiny Pygmy Cory cats. I think a 30 gal is more than enough room for those two schools and will look great.
They are super easy to tell apart in the store but workers can sometimes be relaxed as to what you get so keep an eye on what they put in your bag!!
Bleeding Hearts can also be a little agressive, so Cherry Barbs would "balance out", for a lack of a better word.
I keep a school of bleeding hearts in a 29 with school of neons and have never had an issue. The only time I see aggression is when I feed blood worms. As long as the neons stay out of the way they're fine.
What else do you have? Bleeding Hearts were too aggressive for my Neons so I got some Bentos Tetras instead. What's your secret?
I always find with these slightly boyish little fish they always get fine when theres enough of them in there to keep themselves occupied.
