New GBRs - PICS + More Pics! - Confirm my Sexing please.

[David14259]

Hi guys,

My LFS got a whole tankful of GBRs in this week and they are BEAUTIFUL! I really want to get a pair.

Do you think they will be ok in a community tank with: a Dwarf Gourami, Praecox Rainbows, Cherry barbs, and rummynose tetras, and RCS?

The tank is heavily planted with tons of hiding places.

Thanks!

[Pleco]

The only issue may be with the gourami. GBR's need very very good water quality, even better than discus if you ask LWB

Have you seen Bolivian Rams? They are just as beautiful and much more hardy imho.

-Pleco

[hc8719]

male cherry barbs can be real aggressive/territorial, especially if they don't have enough of their own to pick on. I have 1 pair, male and female cherry barbs, and the male is constantly chasing around most of the fish, neons, glass cats, glass fish, even the larger columbian tetras.

I have no doubt that a GBR, who is relatively the same size as a Columbian tetra, would also be chased by the cherry barbs. GBRs get stressed very easy as well, and a vigilante male barb would make it worse.

20 Gallon is also boarder line small for GBRs, especially when you have other fish in it

[Pleco]

Originally Posted by hc8719

male cherry barbs can be real aggressive/territorial\

My cherry barbs don't seem to be aggressive to anything. I have 6 of them, all males and maybe 1 female. My bolivian had to put one in its place once when it tried to intrude on its shrimp pellet. Fish politics are fun to watch at times

[David14259]

Water Quality: I'm waaay over filtered and have never had a problem with water quality.

Cherry Barbs: I have a group of 5 barbs, and have never seen them chase or be aggressive toward any of the other fish.

The gourami has never been aggressive either, except it bit me once.

[Lepomis]

GBR's aren't as delicate as most mention. Currently I have GBR's in my community tank (by the way pH 8.4 and kH and gH off the charts). They have been in my tank for approximately one year. Only problems you will have are RCS with the GBR's. Snacks for what I consider a spunky fish. Also the Dwarf Gourami may be picked at by the GBR's. I have banded gourami's in my community tank and they keep their distance from the male GBR's. I also have GBR's housed with peacock gudgeons and American Flag fish. The GBR's hold their own.

The real knock on GBR's is that unfortunately with demand a large portion of inferior fish make it to the market. These don't do well and fade away. If the LFS you frequent uses good sources you shouldn't have much to worry about.

[David14259]

Thanks Lepomis.

My LFS is awesome and I have full confidence in their fish. I'll give the GBRs a try and see how they do.

Thanks everyone who replied.

[Lonewolfblue]

Cherry barbs aren't as nippy as some say. As long as you have several, they play with themselves. I've never had any problems with mine, they leave the other fish alone....

[hsherman1986]

i have two spawning pairs of GBRs, and love them. One pair has a tank to their own (so they can spawn without worrying about other fish eating their eggs), and the other pair is currently sharing space with a couple guppies that I can't seem to find another place for. They are great fish, I love them. I was very determined to keep them too. This two pairs I bought back in December, and they are the fourth round that I have bought, and the only ones that have lived for more than a month. They can be quite finicky, but so long as they come from a good place, and are strong to begin with, they will do just fine.

[bs6749]

GBR's do not require pristine water conditions as some have mentioned. Don't let this scare you away from purchasing them. The ones that have problems tend to come from fish farms in Asia and they have been pumped full of hormones to grow quickly and to show color sooner. These fish often last a few months tops and are of very poor quality. If you can find good GBR's from a breeder, or an LFS that acquired them locally, this would be your best option to obtain good quality.
I have 8 GBR's in my 55 and I did have some ghost shrimp (about a dozen) in there before adding the GBR's. They were gone within a few weeks though I never actually saw a GBR eating one they may have done it. As for your situation I would not recommend GBR's not because of the fish already in there (even though I see issues with the barbs) but because the tank is already stocked with 16 fish (as per your "my info" minus the guppies that you didn't mention) plus you have shrimp of an unknown quantity in there. Your tank is stocked to its fullest IMO. A pair of GBR's can be housed in a 10 gallon tank for breeding (by themselves) but all of the other fish that you have in the 20 would be over the capacity as I have already stated.

[David14259]

The My Info fish are old...I need to update that. I don't have that many fish in there anymore.

[ksfishguy]

IMO, GBRs are absolutely some of the coolest fish on the planet, however, I agree with the above advice, unless you know they are from an excellent source, they will seem to up and die for no apparent reason (IMO). They are easy to spawn but difficult to hatch and raise. Again, this is just my experience, I have hard water and high PH, which is definitely not good for GBR tanks.

I kept mine in a 42 gallon tall tank with swordtails. I just couldn't get them to live for more than a few months. Their color was absolutely incredible, they would eat and seem perfectly healthy, and then they would just die. I gave up after a couple of pairs and because of the cost. If you have soft water and good PH, you should be much better off.

Good luck, and I hope you give them a shot, you might just be successful, which would be incredible, they are such great looking and acting fish!

[David14259]

I made out at the LFS today. Got a pair of GBRs and a SAE!

Here' is a pic of the female, with the male lurking in the background.

[bs6749]

Actually, that is the male in front (top of pic) and the female in the background (bottom of pic).

How big is the SAE? Just wanted to let you know that they can get over 6 inches long and a 20 is probably a little on the small side for them. I have never kept them but I think the minimum for them is at least a 30. I will let others chime that have experience with them.

[David14259]

Originally Posted by bs6749

Actually, that is the male in front (top of pic) and the female in the background (bottom of pic).

No, thats the female in the front. I'll get more pics soon.

[bs6749]

I am 100% positive that the male is on top and the female is on bottom. Anyone that knows GBR's will tell you the same.

[WaterPond]

i know GBRs fairly well, and i have to go with Dave. Look at the dorsal fin. On the front fish the black spike isn't very big, while on the fish at the back it is. Thats one of the more common ways to sex them, although there are other ways which i don;t know how to do.

I could be wrong.

[bs6749]

Originally Posted by WaterPond

i know GBRs fairly well, and i have to go with Dave. Look at the dorsal fin. On the front fish the black spike isn't very big, while on the fish at the back it is. Thats one of the more common ways to sex them, although there are other ways which i don;t know how to do.

I could be wrong.

These fish are young and haven't fully developed the spikes that they will eventually have. My guess is that they are under 6 months old.

[WaterPond]

Originally Posted by bs6749

These fish are young and haven't fully developed the spikes that they will eventually have. My guess is that they are under 6 months old.

6 months in more than mature for a GBR i beleive. They only live 2 years or so, so thats about 1/4 of their lifespan. I would think a fish would be mature by 1/4 of their lifespan.

[David14259]

Female:


Male:


Male:


Male: