Rosy Barb Community Tank?

[cosybarb]

Not sure if this is the right place to put this... I put it in another Forum bit realised it was the wrong one entirely.. Now I'm praying this is the right one.

So I bought this tank thats about 60 litres and I got a free Rosy Barb with it and for a whole week I had to sit and watch it go crazy by itself, I tried putting my other Rosy barb in there but they were both males and ended up fighting. So today I thought I was being smart (which partly I think I was) and I bought a few more Rosy Barbs to go with my poor little Sushi (thats what I named him) hoping to be able to breed them (two females and one male).

I want to turn this tank into a little community tank but the I'm not sure what to put in with them. I've read that Rosy Barbs are semi-aggresive and wil eat what they can fit into their mouths and look like a tasty treat (like shrimp), which totally bummed me, as I was hoping to put some Red Cherry Shrimp or some Ghost Shrimp but I'm not sure now whether to put any shrimp in. Also debating over Peppered Cory or Shortfin Bristlenose Catfish?
So what's the best shrimp to go with Rosy Barbs that's not too hard to find?

And would you prefer to put Peppered Cory's or Shortfin Bristlenose Catfish in their?

Which will grow bigger and are suitable for a community tank?

What other fish would you put in there thay are reletavely cheap and easy to find?

And if I can't put any shrimp in with them what would be good algae eaters for beginners and are pretty, also that won't breed like super crazy?

 

[Delapool]

Hi, welcome to the forum

I have a school of around 6 to 10 rosy barbs and find them to be a great, pretty peaceful fish. Can't comment with shrimp though.

 

[Arthur75]

The Rosy Barb was one of the first tropical fish in Europe. Previously, only goldfish and paradise fish. As a child (7 years), in '47 it was my first fish. I also had juveniles. Beautiful red, the males. Much water fleas caught.

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

The peppered cories will work great, super peaceful! They are shoaling fish and social, so get 5 or 6.

I wouldn't risk ghost or cherry shrimp, you could get Amanos though! They're slightly bigger and won't get eaten.

No fish will eat all the algae, it's best to scrape it yourself.

Other good fish would be any of the smaller tetras (Neon, Glowlight, Lemon, Von Rio, phantom, Widow/Skirt) or rasboras(Harlequin, all others are too small).

 

[Autumnsky]

Heads up... This is a ~15.5G tank / 60 Liters, not 60 gallons.

 

[Delapool]

Oops! So used to thinking in gallons that sailed right by me.

Mine are a good several inches in size and a solid fish.

 

[Autumnsky]

The ones I have seen are about 4" including the tails, that is around 10 cm - but just looked it up and they can get to 6" so this sized tank is half too small for these kind of fish, they are recommended to be in a 30G min.

That said, if it is used as a breeding tank and the other fish live in a bigger tank like 40G Breeder / 151L, you could add the other school of fish and a shoal of Cories.

OP Please don't make the fish suffer to amuse your sibling. You said yourself the 1 fish you had at first was going crazy by itself.

There are other choices for a fish pet.

"No" recommendation on shrimp until the tank would be fully cycled and stable for a couple months.

Get new larger home for the beautiful Rosy Barbs. Even a good solid used tank would work.

Breeding should be done only after you have stable tanks - after cycling a couple months with no illnesses, deaths and good stable parameters.

 

[cosybarb]

The peppered cories will work great, super peaceful! They are shoaling fish and social, so get 5 or 6.

I wouldn't risk ghost or cherry shrimp, you could get Amanos though! They're slightly bigger and won't get eaten.

No fish will eat all the algae, it's best to scrape it yourself.

Other good fish would be any of the smaller tetras (Neon, Glowlight, Lemon, Von Rio, phantom, Widow/Skirt) or rasboras(Harlequin, all others are too small).

Which Tetra would you think is most suitable for Rosy's?

 

[cosybarb]

Mine are nooowhere near 10cm haha, but who says they won't grow?
Right now I have nowhere near enough money to buy a new fish tank (on a tight budget), so what would you recommend? A big plastic tub for the time being? Or would trying to make my own glass fishtank be easier and be a lot cheaper?? By themselves, the 4 Rosy's look perfectly happy by themselves?

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

Mine are nooowhere near 10cm haha, but who says they won't grow?
Right now I have nowhere near enough money to buy a new fish tank (on a tight budget), so what would you recommend? A big plastic tub for the time being? Or would trying to make my own glass fishtank be easier and be a lot cheaper?? By themselves, the 4 Rosy's look perfectly happy by themselves?

I agree, I wouldn't add any more fish as well, they really do need a bigger tank....

You could get a food grade storage tub, that's a great idea! I would not recommend making your own tank, it's a complex task....

 

[fishenthusiast]

The ones I have seen are about 4" including the tails, that is around 10 cm - but just looked it up and they can get to 6" so this sized tank is half too small for these kind of fish, they are recommended to be in a 30G min.

That said, if it is used as a breeding tank and the other fish live in a bigger tank like 40G Breeder / 151L, you could add the other school of fish and a shoal of Cories.

OP Please don't make the fish suffer to amuse your sibling. You said yourself the 1 fish you had at first was going crazy by itself.

There are other choices for a fish pet.

"No" recommendation on shrimp until the tank would be fully cycled and stable for a couple months.

Get new larger home for the beautiful Rosy Barbs. Even a good solid used tank would work.

Breeding should be done only after you have stable tanks - after cycling a couple months with no illnesses, deaths and good stable parameters.

+1 It would be wise to return these barbs, unless you have or plan on getting a bigger tank. Rosy Barbs would most likely end up eating the shrimp too. Tetras, smaller Rasboras, and other peaceful small fish would work with shrimp.


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[cosybarb]

+1 It would be wise to return these barbs, unless you have or plan on getting a bigger tank. Rosy Barbs would most likely end up eating the shrimp too. Tetras, smaller Rasboras, and other peaceful small fish would work with shrimp.


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I'm getting a 100 litre tank this weekend, would this be big enough?

 

[cosybarb]

I agree, I wouldn't add any more fish as well, they really do need a bigger tank....

You could get a food grade storage tub, that's a great idea! I would not recommend making your own tank, it's a complex task....

Ah, my uncle has offered me a bigger tank- 100 litres (26 gallons?), would this be big enough for a community tank? I could use the smaller tank as my breeding tank. What would I need to set up a good breeding tank? I'm not really interested in purchasing a heater for the tank just now but I probably will eventually.

 

[Tropical Aquarist]

100 liters is perfect! Congrats on that! You'll need a sponge filter for sure, look on eBay you can find them cheaply. You will definitely need a heater, as rosy barbs need the water at 80-82F to spawn, so definitely look for one.

Next you need fry food, see what you can find.

Also do lots of research on how they breed, etc on the web.
Here are some articles to get you started:
www.badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile33.html

www.aquaticcommunity.com/barbs/spawningrosy.php

www.infobarrel.com/How_to_Breed_Rosy_Barbs,_Puntius_Conchonius