Rosy Barb Question

[mzbrooklyn]

I've got 3 Rosy Barbs, 2 male and 1 female..
Would getting another female Rosy Barb help with the whole Alpha Male battle I've got going on at the moment? I can only assume that introducing another female (to give both males a lady friend) wouldn't be such a bad idea... Right?! Any advice would be much appreciated!

Ps; not trying to breed them, just trying to stop the males from fighting and wanting to give the female a break lol

 

[Potluck]

Supposed to have a school of research Rosie's 6+, an even ratio I believe but if you don't want to go over 5 you could get 2 Female which will give you one extra female.

 

[mzbrooklyn]

Only problem with that is that I've only got a tiny 24L tank so wouldn't getting 2 more overcrowd my tank?

 

[nirbhao]

I like referencing aqadvisor.com, but they don't even have rosy barbs!

24 liters is too small for even three, though.

 

[mzbrooklyn]

The levels are perfect, and they don't seem uncomfortable for cramped.. they're only between 3-4cm

 

[mzbrooklyn]

Here are my Rosy barbs

 

[Coursair]

Rosy Barbs get 6". Min recommended tank size is 30g ( 113.56 Liters).

They are tough, but still need reasonable care.

Stores sell young fish, they need room to grow and room to swim with a group.

 

[Andy Sager]

+1 to all the above and in your situation, removing the female will lessen the fighting between the males more than adding another female will. The "Alpha" syndrome is for breeding purposes so as long as females are present, no matter how many, there will be male fights.

Hope this helps.

 

[Potluck]

Sorry bout my earlier post I was typing half asleep, didn't mean to type research lol, with most any schooling fish it's 6+ some not and some information is incorrect about the number needed, I forgot to even ask your tank size yesterday , 24l is small for them but I agree with all the above advice, you could take the female back to the lfs and get a male but your tank is to small for Rosie's, you said they don't look cramped, we don't see it but the fish do.

 

[Coursair]

The levels are perfect, and they don't seem uncomfortable for cramped.. they're only between 3-4cm

3-4cm = 1-1.5" it just means they are juveniles. Contrary to urban myth, fish don't grow to the size of the tank. Fish grow in cramped quarters as best they can, then they stunt and die.

Behavior is typically either hyper aggressive or sometimes shy/depressed. When they don't have room and proper numbers you will not see proper growth or behavior.

 

[Coursair]

Only problem with that is that I've only got a tiny 24L tank so wouldn't getting 2 more overcrowd my tank?

24 Liters = 6gallons. That's super tiny esp for a fish that needs to grow 5 more inches each !

Ok so my advice for long term health and happiness of you and your fish ?

A. Keep the Barbs and buy and cycle a 30-55g tank for them to move into once it's ready.

B. Return/rehome them and research proper Nano tank inhabitants.
Easiest are:
a single Betta

Shrimp only

Micro Rasboras with or without Shrimp.

Good luck and enjoy your tank and research your fish on your own so you'll see why we are giving this advice.

Please stay and keep learning. We are not trying to gang up on you or make you feel bad.
We've all had our first tank and we've all made stocking mistakes. Stores will sell you anything. Very few will try to stop you or steer you to better choices. After all when the fish sicken and die, they can sell you more. ( finding the stores that give good advice is very hard ).

 

[Potluck]

24 Liters = 6gallons. That's super tiny esp for a fish that needs to grow 5 more inches each !

Ok so my advice for long term health and happiness of you and your fish ?

A. Keep the Barbs and buy and cycle a 30-55g tank for them to move into once it's ready.

B. Return/rehome them and research proper Nano tank inhabitants.
Easiest are:
a single Betta

Shrimp only

Micro Rasboras with or without Shrimp.

Good luck and enjoy your tank and research your fish on your own so you'll see why we are giving this advice.

Please stay and keep learning. We are not trying to gang up on you or make you feel bad.
We've all had our first tank and we've all made stocking mistakes. Stores will sell you anything. Very few will try to stop you or steer you to better choices. After all when the fish sicken and die, they can sell you more. ( finding the stores that give good advice is very hard ).

I agree most fish stores will just sell you anything, glad mine don't, they've stopped me so many times, nope don't Need that, nope can't put that in there, nope that's over kill, nope don't need that big of a jar of food etc etc, they are amazing, you're right no one is ganging up on anyone as we've all had our fair shares of mistakes, heck at one point my tank was 135% stocked with all the wrong fish lol, didn't have schooling fish in schools, fish that are aggressive to put with others etc etc, we all learn from reading, asking watching each other.

btw you can find people that give away 55 gallons all over the place you would just have to build a very sturdy stand or a very sturdy desk/dresser works fine as well, the expensive part is filter, heater, decor etc etc, sit down and plan your stock, then research the fish you want to have and check the compatability of them with each other, aqadvisor.Com can help you with this.

 

[mzbrooklyn]

I really don't have room for a bigger tank though dammmit! I've grown very fond of these little guys.

 

[Potluck]

I really don't have room for a bigger tank though dammmit! I've grown very fond of these little guys.

The sad thing is bud they don't stay little, you would be surprised where you can fit a tank and is well worth it

 

[nirbhao]

You could get a 25 gallon cube, which has a footprint of 18" x 18"; 29 gallon cube, 21" x 20" including filter and everything; or 30 gallon extra high, 24" x 12".

 

[Coursair]

You could get a 25 gallon cube, which has a footprint of 18" x 18"; 29 gallon cube, 21" x 20" including filter and everything; or 30 gallon extra high, 24" x 12".

Tall tanks don't have a lot of swimming space. Fish need side to side room.

But certainly they are nice looking and good for smaller fish. 6" fishes gotta swim. Not up and down like helicopters.

 

[Potluck]

Nano tanks are amazing but crazy expensive, this is to the OP have you looked at apistogramma, amazing dwarf cichlids beautiful, but are expensive at anywhere from 20.00 and up per fish if you haven't checked them out please do they are absolutely stunning, research their care and needs though as the 2 I had were very fragile and died maybe from the bigger fish stressing them out I don't know if it's a genetic thing or not.


Mind you they are aggressive even though they are called a community cichlid so you would have to do research on tank mates I seen one of mine absolutely destroy one of my pleco's

 

[nirbhao]

Tall tanks don't have a lot of swimming space. Fish need side to side room.

But certainly they are nice looking and good for smaller fish. 6" fishes gotta swim. Not up and down like helicopters.

Good point. I was thinking footprint.

 

[Coursair]

Nano tanks are amazing but crazy expensive, this is to the OP have you looked at apistogramma, amazing dwarf cichlids beautiful, but are expensive at anywhere from 20.00 and up per fish if you haven't checked them out please do they are absolutely stunning, research their care and needs though as the 2 I had were very fragile and died maybe from the bigger fish stressing them out I don't know if it's a genetic thing or not.


Mind you they are aggressive even though they are called a community cichlid so you would have to do research on tank mates I seen one of mine absolutely destroy one of my pleco's

???? Nano tanks don't have to be expensive. Nano SW yes. FW no. I think Apistos need at least a 20Long. I would never keep them in a 6g tank !

The only reason the Rosy Barbs are alive is because they are super hardy and the OP has done a good job keeping the water clean.

One of my favorite Nano fish are
Bororas brigittae
http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/features/articles/boraras-marvels-in-miniature

They look awesome in a well planted tank.

 

[Potluck]

Ahh Yeah my fault, for some reason I was thinking it was 20 gallon cause we were talking about different options he could go with tank wise 18x18, 21x20 24x12, my fault I was recommending things if he did go a different tank route, didn't know apisto's needed 24 long