Breeding Rosy Barbs?

[cosybarb]

So after a lot of researching on Rosy Barbs and after I bought 4 of the very pretty fish (2 females, 2 males) I've decided save some money and breed them to finish their little school, then I can go on with my other ideas of fish.
But I don't really want to buy another another filter, my tank is about 15 gal (about 60 litres?) and I have another tank with one Rosy Barb (I know they're better off in larger schools but my sister wants her own tank with her own fish and I promised to get her my 'babies', and she's agreed to move her Rosy Barb in my tank while mine breed in her little tank). Would they be okay breeding without a filter and heater? We've had Rosy Barbs for about 10 years without a heater so I'm guessing the heater part would be fine?

Regards,
cosybarb

 

[Andy Sager]

Considering that a healthy Rosy Barb can have 100-200 eggs and then fry, a 15 gal tank will not be big enough to house all them to grow out. It's better to breed them in a separate tank as they will eat their own eggs if you don't remove the parent after they spawn. Otherwise, it's just luck if you get some to survive in the community tank.
So yes, depending on the tank temp, you may need a heater but you will definitely need another filter. I suggest an air driven sponge filter for the fry until they are large enough to go into your other tank.

Hope this helps.

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

If you don't want to keep that many fry, you could always let the parents eat the extra eggs and just raise 4-5....


Just an idea.

 

[cosybarb]

If you don't want to keep that many fry, you could always let the parents eat the extra eggs and just raise 4-5....


Just an idea.

No of course not, but I'm also not entirely against a bit of pocket money.

 

[cosybarb]

Considering that a healthy Rosy Barb can have 100-200 eggs and then fry, a 15 gal tank will not be big enough to house all them to grow out. It's better to breed them in a separate tank as they will eat their own eggs if you don't remove the parent after they spawn. Otherwise, it's just luck if you get some to survive in the community tank.
So yes, depending on the tank temp, you may need a heater but you will definitely need another filter. I suggest an air driven sponge filter for the fry until they are large enough to go into your other tank.

Hope this helps.

Thank you

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

No of course not, but I'm also not entirely against a bit of pocket money.

Yeah you could definitely make a bit of money, but you may need a bigger tank if you're planning on raising many fry....

Also if you decide to breed them, get a good fry food as well as a brine shrimp hatchery. The fry need much more protein then is typically available in adult fish foods.

 

[cosybarb]

Yeah you could definitely make a bit of money, but you may need a bigger tank if you're planning on raising many fry....

Also if you decide to breed them, get a good fry food as well as a brine shrimp hatchery. The fry need much more protein then is typically available in adult fish foods.

I'm getting a tank about 100 litres given to me by my uncle- he's had a lot of tanks over the years. Would I be able to feed fry ground up flakes (with a mortar)? If not what kind of fry food would you recommend?

 

[Andy Sager]

I'm getting a tank about 100 litres given to me by my uncle- he's had a lot of tanks over the years. Would I be able to feed fry ground up flakes (with a mortar)? If not what kind of fry food would you recommend?

Barb fry are very small so you will need to feed them infusoria for the first week(s). This can be done by making green water or using Liquidfry for egglayers. Once you get past that first week or so, you can switch to decap brine shrimp and/or first bites. The issue with ground adult foods is that it is not high enough in nutrition for growth so you need a growth food over ground adult food if you want healthier fish.