Black Ruby Barbs

[clowloachguy]

I see these guys at the fish shop today and i thought they were awesome but i seen on here you should do some research before you buy a fish so i was wondering if you guys could help on the following:

Are they agressive to clown loach?
How do you sex them?
How big do they grow?
Should they be in a group or fewer numbers?
Do they eat flakes and the little red pellet things?
Can they be bred easily??
And additional information that may be useful would also be appreciated!

 

[stang1]

Are they agressive to clown loach? Should be fine with Clown Loach as they are not known to be fin nippers.
How do you sex them? Males are usually larger and a tend to be more red in colour.
How big do they grow? About 6cm.
Should they be in a group or fewer numbers? Need to be in a shoal of 6+.
Do they eat flakes and the little red pellet things? Eats most food, not particularly fussy!
Can they be bred easily?? See link:

Breeding

 

[clowloachguy]

Are they agressive to clown loach? Should be fine with Clown Loach as they are not known to be fin nippers.
How do you sex them? Males are usually larger and a tend to be more red in colour.
How big do they grow? About 6cm.
Should they be in a group or fewer numbers? Need to be in a shoal of 6+.
Do they eat flakes and the little red pellet things? Eats most food, not particularly fussy!
Can they be bred easily?? See link:

Breeding

thanks!

 

[stang1]

Your welcome.
Let us know how you get on if you do decide to breed them.

 

[clowloachguy]

Your welcome.
Let us know how you get on if you do decide to breed them.

i'll try but im not sure i'll be able to because i dont have 2 tanks and it says you need a seperate breeding tank

also my mum raised a point that i bought a 1.5cm clownloach which is really cool

and she kinda scared me into thinking that 5 or 6 2/3cm fish are gna eat it =/

 

[stang1]

Clown Loaches have blades behind their eyes which act as a defence mechanism. Anything that tries eating it will probably come off worse.

 

[clowloachguy]

Clown Loaches have blades behind their eyes which act as a defence mechanism. Anything that tries eating it will probably come off worse.

lol v.funny i dont want my little fishy to get eaten

also with the ruby barbs you have to get them in a group so which setup for a group would be best for least tension and most breeding chance?

with 5 of them? 2 male 3 female?

and 6? 2 male 4 female?

also i found statements that contradict eachother??:
The tank should be heavily planted with a cover of floating plants. Use roots, wood, and rocks to create hiding places. The gravel should be fine and dark in color.

The constant activity of the species makes it fun to watch. Black Ruby Barbs should be kept in brightly lit tanks, with lots of plants and a moderate amount of rocks.

 

[milkton]

your barbs wont get eaten by the clown loach... haha.. BUT if the clown loach has long fins, it WILL be nipped at and may possibly die. If you have 6+ barbs the nipping will be minimal. The less barbs, the more nipping.

 

[RedeyesUK]

I wouldn't worry too much, your clown will be able to take care of himself... You might (although I'd be surprised) find a small level of fin nipping, but nothing drastic. Besides, he won't stay that small for long!

As for mixing, I'd suggest 4F/2M, to keep everyone happy. You may find them difficult to sex in the shop though, as generally the males only display a slight red tinge at that stage.