rm
Passport
- Family
- Barbs
- Grows to
- 5 cm (2")
- Lives
- 5–7 years
- Temperament
- Peaceful
- Care
- Beginner
- Swims
- Mid-water
- Keep
- In a group of 6 or more
- Water
- 20–27 °C (68–81 °F)
Sri Lanka
Care requirements
i
On record for Cherry Barb: adult size, lifespan, minimum tank, temperature, ph, hardness, minimum group, diet, care level, swim level, tank length.
A figure that is not on record is left out rather than guessed. One marked Suggested comes from keeping knowledge rather than a page.
- Minimum tank 76 L / 20.0 US gal
- pH 6–8
- Hardness 2–20 dGH
- Diet omnivore
- Tank length 60 cm minimum
Care notes written from general aquarium knowledge, not from the cited sources.
About
Cherry barbs are the barb for people who've been put off barbs. Everything the family is notorious for — nipping, boisterousness, bullying long-finned fish — is absent here. They're calm, slightly shy, and genuinely safe in a mixed community.
The name belongs to the male. Out of breeding condition he's a modest brownish-red; in condition, or displaying to a female, he turns a deep saturated cherry that's among the best reds in a small freshwater fish. Females stay a plainer fawn with a dark stripe.
They come from shaded forest streams in Sri Lanka, where they were once heavily collected. Almost all trade stock is farm-bred now, which took the pressure off.
Tank setup
Plant your cherry barbs heavily and shade the tank. They're a woodland stream fish and a bright open aquarium leaves them hanging at the back with their colour off.
Go dark underneath. The red answers the background directly, and over pale gravel a good male looks washed brown.
Keep more females than males. Males display at each other constantly and at females persistently, and spreading that attention out means nobody gets harassed.
Wood, leaf litter and floating plants all suit them and encourage the colour.
They're tolerant of ordinary tap water, so chemistry is rarely the issue.
Feeding
Cherry barbs eat readily and are not fussy. Flake, micro pellets, frozen and live food all disappear quickly.
Feed colour-supporting food regularly. Daphnia, bloodworm and brine shrimp deepen the red noticeably, and a fish kept on dried food alone never really shows what it can do.
They feed across the water column and will take food from the surface and mid-water alike.
Avoid: relying on dried food, and avoid keeping them so lean they stop displaying.
Filtration and flow
Moderate flow. Filtration doesn't need to be strong, but they appreciate some water movement.
Ordinary community filtration is plenty. They're hardy and forgiving of the usual ups and downs.
Regular water changes keep the colour up, which is the general rule for any fish whose appeal is pigment.
With plants
Cherry barbs are entirely safe with plants and belong in a densely planted tank.
Plant thickly at the sides and back and leave a swimming area. Dense growth is what makes this species confident enough to be visible.
Fine-leaved plants and moss are worth including — they're where the eggs end up if the fish spawn.
Health
They're hardy and undemanding, and there's nothing specific to the species.
Colour is the gauge. A male that's gone permanently dull is usually stressed by lighting, by tank mates or by being kept without females to display to.
Ordinary community complaints — ich after a temperature drop, the occasional fin problem — turn up and treat normally.
Breeding
Cherry barbs spawn easily and often, scattering adhesive eggs among fine-leaved plants after a chase through the tank.
They eat their own eggs immediately, so a densely planted tank yields the odd survivor and nothing more. For numbers you need a separate tank with moss or a mesh floor and the adults removed afterwards.
Condition the pair on live food first and expect spawning in the morning. Fry are small but manageable, taking infusoria and moving to microworm and baby brine shrimp within a few days.
Tank mates
Avoid10
- Convict Cichlid Convict Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Cherry Barb at 5 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Jewel Cichlid Jewel Cichlid grows to 15 cm against Cherry Barb at 5 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Least Killifish Cherry Barb grows to 5 cm against Least Killifish at 2 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Scarlet Badis Cherry Barb grows to 5 cm against Scarlet Badis at 2 cm, big enough to eat it.
- Common Goldfish Common Goldfish is not safe with Cherry Barb: barbs and common goldfish are a bad pairing.
Only with care38
- Chinese Algae Eater Chinese Algae Eater is aggressive and Cherry Barb is peaceful.
- Amano Shrimp Cherry Barb is a risk to Amano Shrimp: barbs and shrimp and yabbies are a pairing to watch.
- Angelfish Angelfish is a risk to Cherry Barb: angelfish and barbs are a pairing to watch.
- Bamboo Shrimp Cherry Barb is a risk to Bamboo Shrimp: barbs and shrimp and yabbies are a pairing to watch.
- Betta Betta is a risk to Cherry Barb: barbs and betta (male) are a pairing to watch.
No conflict is recorded with the other 58 species in the database, so nothing to flag. 2 species are not covered at all, so they could not be judged either way.