Rosy Barb Question

[bowsNrams]

I have gotten a lot of mixed info on Rosy Barbs....

Online I read that they can get up to 5 inches and they are peaceful. At a certain petStore, they list them as semi aggressive. My question is, will they truly grow to 5 inches in my 60 gallon tank and are they peaceful or aggressive?

 

[josh7]

I would say they will grow to 5 inches in that tank. If you don't get slow moving long finned fish they will do fine in most tanks just don't house them with very aggressive fish. Also keep the tank a little cooler like at 74 degrees as they don't like high tempatures.

 

[bowsNrams]

Wow, I got my Rams at Petco and they had the Rosy Barbs in the same tank with the rams and the Rams need around 80 degrees (78 - 85 to be exact)... the barbs have to have 74? Maybe that is why all my Rams are dying! They were so stressed out. Do you think the Barbs would do okay in water around 78 degrees?

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I've had Rams with Cherry Barbs and they all got along pretty well. Not sure about the Rosy's though. 78 is what I set all my tanks to and that's a pretty good temp for most tropical fish. Your Rams could have died my a multitude of reasons. They are VERY sensitive fish. Whereas the Barbs are pretty hardy.

 

[Monkey Magic]

I had the same 5 rosy barbs for about 4 years before i upgraded and gave them away to someone else and theyre still alive and kicking. They are an absolutely bullet proof fish and can handle just about any water quality. They are a schooling fish so if you keep them in a school of about 4-6 fish you will minimise the aggression which i wouldnt call them a semi aggressive fish but i wouldnt call them peacefull either id call them boisterous. i went through a few sucking cats i could never figure out if it was the rosy barbs killing them or if it was another factor whenever i watched them i didnt see any agression however the barbs would always eat the bodies.

Theyll eat just about anything especially if you have live plants and being a barb they will target slower moving long finned fish in the four years i had them they hadnt grown much bigger than 2 inches i really cant see them being five inches unless they have alot of room and ive never seen any bigger than 3 and that was pushing it. they are a fantastic starter fish great for cycling especially for a dollar each you cant go wrong hope this helps