Cherry Barbs not turning red

[FallenAngel]

Hello, i know cherry barbs are supposed to turn bright red when they are looking for a mate, but mine have yet to do so and i was wondering what could be the cause of that. I have two angelfish that have been lip-locking for quite some time (they appear to be fighting often but i believe they are pairing off because they stay close togther and again, lip lock) but they have never produced eggs. Im worried they are disturbing the peace in the tank and that is why the cherry barbs have yet to turn red. I plan on seperating the angels soon and rehoming one of them. I have had the barbs for about 3 to 4 months now. Do you think the angels are causeing the problem or could there be other underlying factors?

30 gallon tank
Planted pretty heavily
Driftwood
Hiding places
70 gallon aquaclear filter

2 angels
4 rosy finned tetras
4-5 corries
5 cherry barbs
1 clown pleco
3 kuhli loaches

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[Fresh2o]

What color is the substrate? That may influence their color. But the boisterous Angels may be causing them some stress.
Hope it improves.


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[IanEHeCook]

Male Cherry barbs usually always exhibit bright red coloration. Perhaps you have female cherry barbs?


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[FallenAngel]

The substrate is the creamish white sand. I never thought about possibly having all female barbs... ive always seen then at petstores bright red, but mine have always been the same color. I have never seen them trying to spawn or anytging either... should i perhaps try to buy one that is bright red and see if the color remains when introduced into my tank to determine if it is a gender issue?

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[Thrills22]

It's my belief that diet plays a huge part in coloration and after much experimenting I think NLS flake will boost the color of your fish within a few weeks.

I used it with dull tetras and chiclids and the change was noticeable in a relatively short space of time. Beyond that, M/F ratio might be a factor to consider.

[FallenAngel]

Hmmm, thats something to consider. I feed flakes every night and frozen brine shrimp about once a week or once every two weeks. Are the Nls flakes different somehow?

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[IanEHeCook]

Could you upload a picture of one of your barbs?


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[Caliban07]

I agree that you may have all females. I have 5 females and 1 male. More males causes them to fight. It's pretty obvious which ones are the males when you see them. These pictures highlight the differences between male and female and when my lights come on I'll upload my male and my females.






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[FallenAngel]

Haha, yep, ive got a tank of all females. Mine look exactly like the girls

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