10 Gallon Tank New to cherry barbs just a few questions

So I just got 4 cherry barbs what looks to be one male and 3 females all they had left at lfs, i plan to get more when they restock. So i was wondering do the males turn red imediatly or do they go red at a certain point. Cause the red one i have is a decent bit larger than the 3 female looking ones even though online it says the females will be larger im wondering if I got babies and will some turn out to be male later ?

Now seperate to that the one thats defibetly a male is chasing the smaller 3 around I assume to initiate mating i just think there to young for him they are all in a 8 gallon quarintine tank with good parameters right now waiting for the okay to go in my community tank. Im just wondering if i should take the male out and just put him in the community tank till the females get bigger?

 

It would be helpful if you could tell the approximate size of the smaller ones. Young barbs all look the same and only colour up when they reach puberty, so it is possible that they're immature. I have never raised cherry barbs, but rosy barb males start going red when their bodies are over an inch or so. I think females aren't as much larger in length as they are thicker, once mature.

One of the reasons barbs need to be in schools is that in smaller groups chasing or bullying might get out of hand. Fortunately it's one fish chasing 3 instead of the other way around, so the course of action depends on how much and how often he does it. Usually barb males chase females in the morning and leave them be for the rest of the day; in such case I'd leave him be. But if it's non-stop, it might be better to move him until you get a larger school.

 

It would be helpful if you could tell the approximate size of the smaller ones. Young barbs all look the same and only colour up when they reach puberty, so it is possible that they're immature. I have never raised cherry barbs, but rosy barb males start going red when their bodies are over an inch or so.

One of the reasons barbs need to be in schools is that in smaller groups chasing or bullying might get out of hand. Fortunately it's one fish chasing 3 instead of the other way around, so the course of action depends on how much and how often he does it. Usually barb males chase females in the morning and leave them be for the rest of the day; in such case I'd leave him be. But if it's non-stop, it might be better to move him until you get a larger school.

Ok thanks now a follow up question do you think if he keeps chasing them nonstop, it would be better to leave him in the 8 gallon but in like a breeder box because it hasnt been a long enough quarintine. Or move him into my community tank by himself, nothing in there would hurt him i have some neons and panda cories.
One male and female definetlyaround an inch &1/4 but the other two are half the size and basically hid the whole time or get chased

 

To keep a barb in a breeder box sounds cruel, it's a very active fish. Personally I'd just take a risk and put him to the big tank, but I don't know your LFS so I cannot with clear conscience tell you to do that. If you have a spare compressor or filter lying around, you could quarantine him in a bucket or any large container of at least a couple of gallons.

 

ok I will wait till later in the day regardless to see if he calms down then ill decide what to do thanks for the advice

 

Cherry barbs males color up at about 3/4 inch. They have a tendency to fin nip in smaller groups. Mine didn't relax till I had 12.