Rosy Barbs and Tiger Barbs Oh My!
I am new to fishkeeping and I have questions about the tiger barbs. I have started with 4 tigers to cycle the tank and I discovered that I like them.
<A very nice fish, a little nippy at times, but pretty.>
At the instruction of my dealer I have 3 rosy barbs in my quarantine tank waiting to go in the main tank
<Be still my beating heart! You have a quarantine tank for your freshwater display. God bless you sir! You will surely be rewarded!>
instead of buying 2 or 3 more tigers as most books suggest.
<I would be happy as long as you have three or more.>
He says its because I have only a 29 gallon tank and there won't be enough room for other fish if the schools are too big.
<A fair point.>
He also says that since they are in the same family the Rosies and the tigers will not harm each other.
<I would prefer to put it as they will be able to put up with each other's abuse.>
I am a little skeptical. Is 4 ok for a school of tigers?
<Sure>
Is 3 ok for Rosie's?
<Yes, these are a little less prone to school, at least not as tightly as the Tiger Barbs.>
Is it boring to have just 2 or 3 schools swimming around?
<You will be able to fit more than these seven fish in your tank.>
I don't want the tank to look too "busy". Also, what other fish do you suggest adding for variety? Stephen
<Giant Danios are another of my favorites. Various Gouramis would work, too. -Steven Pro>

Rosy Barbs and Tiger Barbs Oh My! II
Hey Steven, thanks for replying so fast!
<No sweat, you caught me at a good time.>
Do you think fish look better in larger schools?
<I think schooling fish should be kept in schools. Depending on the size of the tank, a large, tight school of fish is impressive to me.>
About the quarantine tank: My dealer is reputable. Their tanks look great and the Rosies looked healthy all 4 times I visited the store in the past month. How long do they need to be in my quarantine tank?
<Two weeks in perfect condition minimum for QT to be effective.>
I see that you find various Gouramis compatible with tigers. Most books say the same, but the stores all say not to do it. Why?
<You would have to ask them.>
I would love to have one. Is it the blue and gold Gouramis (Trichogaster trichopterus) that are tough enough to deal with the barbs?
<These are the most common ones and the ones I use often.>
Thanks! Stephen
<You are welcome. -Steven Pro>

Rosy barb
3 years old,, turned gray,, acts normal should isolate?
<if acquired as an adult, the change may be "old age". Else diet related. Unlikely that QT is necessary, but do so if convenient if and until further symptoms are observed. Also try some color enhancing food pellets. If your diet for the fishes has been dry food only, this is a problem. Do add a variety of frozen fare as well (bloodworms for example... but never brine shrimp... nutritively poor!) Best regards, Anthony>

Barb Sickness
I have a ten gallon tank. I have two rosy barbs, three guppies, three platys, one snail, one Otocinclus, and two African dwarf frogs, two
plants. After a bad start, everything is going well. Three days ago one of my barbs turns up with what looks like a big red zit near the base of his back bone near his tale. No other fish are sick and he seems to be fine eating and all that. Do you have any idea what it is? I think it's probably a parasite. What's your take and what do I treat with? I am pretty much limited to anything from Mardel.
Annie M.
<Could be several things. Probably not parasitic although it could be an anchor worm. Do you see something coming out of the eruption? Anchor worms are more common is pond fish, though. More likely bacterial in nature and a broad spectrum antibiotic is your best course of action. -Steven Pro>

Long-Finned Red Rosie Barbs vs.. Peaceful 29 Gallon Community 
Dear Bob Fenner,
<Anthony Calfo in your service>
I was delighted when I found your WetWebMedia website yesterday. I found it very informative and very helpful. I thank you! In trying to locate it again today I found that I had best be more careful to have the absolute correct address for future reference (don't leave off the media -- good grief!).
<hehe... how about setting the WWM page as the default homepage in your browser <wink>>
In a nutshell, I have had fresh water tropical (and cold/goldfish) community fish aquariums on and off since I was a kid. I am now in my fourth decade with four kids who have each tried their hand at same. Most recently, we moved our 29 gallon aquarium from one end of our home to the other at a point when it was fishless and only had a few plants. I've restarted it. It is in pretty good shape except that the Ammo-Lock that I put in it (that I was told I probably never needed since it sat there for at least a couple months in only a few inches of previous aquarium water with only plants and no fish) causes any readings to show high ammonia content; 
<you can get an accurate ammonia test reading if you use dry tab reagents instead>
and the ph is bit high; about 7.8. I put some PH Down in there today. We'll see how it reads tomorrow. What I have now are three (3) beautiful Long-Finned Red Rosie Barbs. 
<yes...gorgeous>
I purchased them at Petsmart eight (8) days ago. They seem in very good health. However, two of the three have come to have some shredded fins. One of them I figure to be the champ. He looks great! After doing some more extensive reading after the purchase, I realize that I purchased some fish that are more aggressive than I wanted for this tank. I phoned Petsmart. They said I may return them within 14 days of the purchase. I figure I have six (6) more days to decide whether or not to return these beautiful Barbs and go for some more peaceful fish. My 15-year-old, 10-year-old (the two of my four kids that are still at home), and my 49-year-old (my husband) have expressed that they would like to see Angelfish in our tank. I know these beautiful Barbs won't get along with Angelfish. I also know my ph is way too high for Angelfish. I'm told my ph should be 7.0 for Angelfish. I would like a peaceful, yet interesting aquarium. I think my best bet is to bring down my ph, and return the beautiful, yet too aggressive, Long-Finned Red Rosie Barbs to Petsmart. 
<I hate to see them go too... but, yes... I agree>
I believe what I would eventually like to see in my aquarium would be some Angelfish, Red Sunset Gouramis, Corys, White Long-Finned Tetras (?), maybe a Pleco.. (Rock Fish) (?), more plants, and some Mystery Snails. I'm not sure what else might fit well into this type of tank. I am open to any good suggestions and advice.
<harlequin Rasboras, gold tetras, dwarf ram cichlids...so many choices>
I do have a couple more questions. I wonder if you would know why I actually have a hard time keeping snails alive in my tank. For some reason they never last long. I live in the northern Maryland suburbs of the Washington-Metropolitan area. Could it have anything to do with my water? 
<sure lack of minerals...too much of a given metal/mineral, etc>
I do use dechlorinator, and I do let the water sit for a day or two before putting it in the tank.
<not really necessary. Just dechlorinator is fine>
My last question (for now) pertains to Corys. I love Corys -- any kind of Cory. I lean toward the less expensive, less popular kind. I have always had at least (and usually) one in any tank I've ever kept. I never knew this before, but I am told they like to school. I am told I should have at least three. 
<absolutely>
The problem I have experienced (more than just a couple of times over the years) with Corys is that whenever I added a second Cory to my one, the first one (that had usually been there for months to years) has always died very shortly thereafter (days to weeks). Can you think of any reason why this would happen? 
<a bit odd if there are no other new fish deaths>
Maybe one is okay, two is bad, three is better? I've never tried having more than two Cory's in my tank at a time. I never heard before last week that they liked to school. 
<even three may not be enough if you get too many males. more than three would be nice for a shoal>
Thank you very much for any help you can be. Yours truly, Marianne db
<best regards, Anthony>

Rosy Barb Gasping for Air
I have a 44 gallon tank with 4 rosy barbs (2 male, 2 female) 6 Danios, 2 keyhole cichlids, and 3 Otocinclus.  
<Sounds like a fairly balanced tank, not to overstocked.>
In the last couple of days I've noticed one of the barbs constantly gasping and moving its gills which are bright pink inside . . . normal?
<No, that really isn't normal.>
She keeps hiding out at the bottom and isn't eating anything.  All of the other fish seem active and fine.  ph was 7.6. Ammonia and nitrite were 0, but I don't know about the nitrate.
<You can always have your Local Fish store test the water for you, most nicer places do it for free if you really want to know about your Nitrate.  I think that you might have a bit low oxygen level in your water.  Which happens quite frequently during the warmer summer months.  Higher temp means less amount of diffused oxygen in the water.   I would add an air stone and air pump and see if that makes a difference with the fish.  If not, you should start setting up a hospital tank and allow it to cycle so if the fish should get worse you have a separate tank to treat it in.>
Thanks, Julie
<Good luck. -Magnus>

Rosy Barb Aggression
Hello, I learn a lot from your site.  I couldn't find the answer to the following problem I'm having, so I thought I'd send along a question.
I have a 150 gallon pond in my backyard. I live in Southern California, so the water temp tends to stay in the 60s (probably mid to high 50s in the wintertime).  The pond is densely planted--the bottom is covered with Anacharis; water hyacinths cover about 60% of the surface; and watercress grows in the waterfall that feeds the pond.  The pond was built about 10 years ago (by previous homeowners, who left it as a "water feature," without fish or plants).  I have set it up for plants and fish over the last 3 months:  plants have been in for about 2 1/2 months, and fish have been introduced over the last 2 months.  I now have 9 Gambusia (introduced 8 weeks ago), 24 white clouds (introduced 5 weeks ago), and 6 rosy barbs (2 males and 4 females, introduced 2 weeks ago).  The guys at the LFS claim all these species will survive the So. Cal winter outdoors, but we'll see.
Here is my problem.  All was very peaceful in my pond until I added the rosy barbs.  They never pick on the other fish, but the 2 males can't seem to get along.  The pond is large enough that they often stay apart, but whenever they see each other, they end up going at it, and this lasts sometimes for 30 minutes at a stretch.  I have not noticed any injuries on either of them (although it is difficult to get an up-close view), and it also seems that neither of them clearly has the upper hand.  When they fight, they spin around in circles, with one going after the side of the other one, and they often end up flapping around sideways at the height of the conflict.  The female rosy barbs often come out to watch the proceedings and sometimes even swim right next to or between them.  This doesn't seem to have any effect on the males.  
Is this normal competition between male rosy barbs?  I didn't realize they would be so aggressive towards each other in a school of 6.  If this isn't normal, is there something I can do to make them settle down?  I'm worried that one (or both) of them is going to end up dead or maimed.  For their part, the females are very peaceful, as are the white clouds and Gambusia.
My pond test strips register no ammonia, no nitrites, and no nitrates.  The water is crystal clear.  At present, all the fish seem alert and healthy, including the male Rosies.
Thanks very much for your advice, Darius
<<Dear Darius; It sounds perfectly normal to me, good ole fashioned males fighting for females. I would not worry much about it. Even though it is a "school of six"  there are not six males, and the two males will surely fight for the four females. And with females present, the males have something to fight over. For a second, I entertained the thought of telling you to add more males, but then I had a thought... in a normal aquarium, the addition of other males would spread the aggression, but in a large pond it may not help at all, since the fish have so much room, they may only run into each other once in a while, with the ensuing half-hour skirmishes as each male runs into each male. If the aggression truly bothers you, you could leave the males, and remove all the females. (Good luck catching them!) However, if it was MY pond, I would simply leave things the way they are, chances are you may end up with rosy barb fry :) Let nature take its course. -Gwen>>

Rosy Barbs mistakenly mixed with another species?
I have a 29 gallon tank with (among others species) 5 Rosy Barbs (1 male and 4 females).  One of the females is considerably smaller than the others (she is also younger, so at first this did not bother me) and she is a different shape.  Rosy Barbs are more or less symmetrical from nose to tail; she is shaped like a Rosy in her top half, but nearly flat along her bottom half (she's almost shaped more like my clown loaches, although much smaller!)
<Interesting>
I became alarmed when, in addition to being smaller, I noticed that she was behaving oddly.  She swims listlessly, and then will suddenly perform a series of aerobatic maneuvers in just a small area of the tank. (upside down, sideways, back and forth, loop-de-loops, etc.)
After a few minutes, she goes back to being listless.  
She doesn't race to the top of the tank to eat like the other Barbs do either.
I looked online, wondering if she was another species accidentally mixed in with Rosies, and her behavior was as a result of being a schooling fish with no "friends", and found this photo:
http://www.jjphoto.dk/fish_archive/aquarium/puntius_bimaculatus.htm
which is similar, but not quite identical to my fish.
<Okay... another Puntius species>
When I researched this fish, I found they are native to Sri Lanka, and not much else.  But I thought Rosy Barbs were native to Indonesia, which makes my accidental theory not very likely.
<Mmm, likely both or at least the Rosies were cultured... so not wild-collected in the country of their origin>
So my question is, is it possible that she is a different species, and if so, any theories on which one?  And, is she sick, lonely, or simply nutty, (or perfectly normal for her species), and how do I deal with it?
Thanks,
Paul
PS: Wonderful website!!
<Thank you Paul. Yes to being (likely) a "contaminant"... an accidentally mixed in species... not able to say of course, which species... but likely another minnow/barb... can/will live with the others very likely. You can trade in, look for others of its kind, or keep and enjoy. Bob Fenner>

Re: Rosy Barbs mistakenly mixed with another species?
Thanks.
About the behavior, (assuming she is a Puntius species of Barb) is that likely a sign of illness?  Or possibly normal?
<Possibly normal, but if illness, not contagious, but genetic, developmental in nature>
"She swims listlessly, and then will suddenly perform a series of aerobatic maneuvers in just a small area of the tank. (upside down, sideways, back and forth, loop-de-loops, etc.)
After a few minutes, she goes back to being listless.  
She doesn't race to the top of the tank to eat like the other Barbs do either."
Thanks again,
Paul Lord
<Welcome. Bob Fenner>