How big do Gold Barbs *really* get?

[JohnPaul]

In the course of researching which fish I want to add to my 29 gal with 6 zebra danios and 3 cory cats (and some ghost shrimp), one fish that has caught my attention is the gold barb.

My problem is I have researched them online, and no one seems to agree as to how large they get at full size. I have seen claims ranging from 2" to 4". Which, for a 29 gal tank, makes a significant difference if I am looking at getting 4 or 5 of them.

Has anyone owned these long enough to get a good feel for their full-grown adult size? Any other comments about them (compatibility issues, etc.) that I should be aware of?

 

[lyquidphyre]

I have two, and they have stayed relativly small- 1-2in
However, when I bought them... they were in a tank with some that were about 3in
Instead of 4 or 5 get 2 or 3

 

[JohnPaul]

They do better in smaller numbers? That's good to know. Do I need to worry about a male/female ratio if I get 2 or 3--and if so, how do I sex them? (Sadly, I don't know of a lfs around here that has employees I would trust enough doing it.)

 

[lyquidphyre]

I was told they do well in small numbers- not sure how right that is. I would stick with groups of two *nod*

 

[Sixer]

I have 4 gold barbs in my 60gal, 2 females and 2 males. One female I measured last week at exactly 3 inches. The other female is slightly smaller and the males are even smaller at around 2 inches each.

I have found them to be very peaceful, but they are voracious eaters and will eat all the food before the other smaller fish can.

 

[Tetra1990]

I had a trio of 3 gold barbs, they were the last ones at petsmart. They were about 2.5 inches. It was pretty cool, a few hours after I got them home, I walked by the tank and had barb fry! I let nature take it's course but the fry only lasted a week or two. I don't believe they were eaten, I think they fought the filter intake and lost.