Gold Barb Size Question

Hello,

A little about myself since I can't edit my profile yet (Feel free to skip to the "tldr:"). I have kept aquariums on and off for 20+ years. At my height, I had a 120g, 55g, 37g, and a, usually, dry 20 gallon (quarantine). I've had a lot of the common chain pet store fish, all freshwater. Community tanks, oscars, and, most recently, 10 discus. Unfortunately I had to give them up when I moved as I didn't have room for the tank and I've been dry ever since.

I got tired of walking through the pet stores, for my dog, longingly looking at their tanks, so I started cycling a smaller one of mine. Last time I was in, I saw the Gold Barbs, a fish I haven't seen before but, I'm in love with them now.

tldr:

A lot of websites say that the Gold Barb reaches 3". However, in my research I have seen several which state that they rarely exceed 2" in captivity. One actually says they rarely get above 1.4". My question is, to all who have had them, what size did yours reach?

Thank you for your time,

Will

 

My females are probably 5 years old just over 2 inches.

 

Thank you your reply. If it's not too much, I have a followup question, would you equate the bioload to be similar to that of a cherry barb?

Thanks again,

Will

 

This is the average size of mine and they are maybe 5-6 years old(I don't know if they are as old as Buddy or not)

 

I would say they have a slightly higher bioload than cherrys

 

Pretty fish!

Thanks to you both

 

Pretty fish!

Thanks to you both

No problem. Happy to help.

 

I agree with Mike. My females are larger than my males, just over 2" long, a little bigger and fatter than cherry barbs. You're going to love them! They're so playful and curious, very fun to watch. My daughter likes to run from one of the tank to the other just to watch them sprint back and forth over and over begging

 

Lol, would it be wrong if I ran back and forth in my 30s?

They seems very interesting, even in the LPS tanks. So much so that I'm tailoring my stock around them. I'm thinking:

The core:
Gold barbs
Dwarf gourami
Albino corys

Maybe:
Cherry barbs
Blue and sunburst platies

Since the bottom half of the tank is going to be active with the golds and corys, I'm second guessing the cherries

 

What size tank are you doing?

 

I've had and seen many female Gold Barbs that were 2.75" or better, but males are invariably smaller, usually no more than 2.25". The bioload is heavier because they do eat more, and get larger. I tend to feed on the heavy side, and females often are seen grubbing about the bottom looking for leftovers. Most community tanks are actually underfed, IMO, which is why the fish tend to stay much smaller.

 

Good to know, thx.

I have only a 37g going now

 

I've had mine with a variety of different fish. So far, their best tank mates have been rainbowfish and swordtails. If you want a second school, praecox or maccullochI rainbows would be great choices; they stay up top more, and are just as active as the barbs, so the activity level won't stress them out.

 

Thx for the suggestions. I'd love to do rainbows but, the only ones I can get here are turquoise and Australian, none of the smaller varieties. The maccullochI are very nice though. I may have to look into mail order when the weather cools.

 

My biggest female gold barb is about 2 1/2" and she's young still. I'll be surprised if she doesn't reach 3".
We call her Big Bertha.