Fire Red Rosy Barbs

celaeno · Jan 22, 2007

i saw some fish labelled as 'fire red rosy barbs' at the lfs today.

how are they different from regular rosy barbs besides the fact that they have more of an orange than red coloration?

do they grow to the same adult size as regular rosies? are they as hardy as regular rosies?

The-Wolf · Jan 23, 2007

two options

1) made up lfs name

2) dyed fish

celaeno · Jan 25, 2007

i asked another lfs that had them, and they said the only difference from regular rosy barbs is that fire red rosy barbs are larger.

he also said they were not dyed. any ideas how fire red rosy barbs came to be then?

celaeno · Jan 25, 2007

if what the lfs guy said is true, then i can only think of two possibilities - the fire red rosy barb is:

1. offspring from a regular rosy barb and some yellow barb or possibly even a goldfish (this would explain the fire orange coloration and the larger adult size)

2. injected with anabolic steroids, although i am unsure how this would cause the red in regular rosy barbs to turn fire orange. this, however, might explain the larger adult size.

what do you guys think?

Lateral Line · Jan 26, 2007

There are several sports of Barbus conchonius around. The sport you describe is variously known, but Neon Rosy Barb is pretty common. They are an inbred line to extenuate the excess guanine crystals and pigmentation in the body.

As inbreds, they tend to be smaller and weaker then regular specimens. Otherwise their requirements and care are the same. In the past, the producers only released males, so breeding was always an issue. I don't know if that is still the case.

Common names are like statistics, 75% are made up on the spot.

celaeno · Jan 26, 2007

Lateral Line said:
There are several sports of Barbus conchonius around. The sport you describe is variously known, but Neon Rosy Barb is pretty common. They are an inbred line to extenuate the excess guanine crystals and pigmentation in the body.

As inbreds, they tend to be smaller and weaker then regular specimens. Otherwise their requirements and care are the same. In the past, the producers only released males, so breeding was always an issue. I don't know if that is still the case.

Common names are like statistics, 75% are made up on the spot.

you say they tend to be smaller and weaker than regular rosies. how large do they get and are they still relatively hardy compared to other similarly sized barbs?

celaeno · Jan 26, 2007

upon closer examination at the lfs, the fire red rosy barbs weren't swimming that actively :unsure:

and some had symptoms of fin and tail rot :crazy:

; so i didn't get any. i'm hoping i'll see some regular rosies at the lfs next friday, as the manager said that's when they'll be coming in. :good:

Fate2006 · Jan 27, 2007

my theory... long finned rosys and the name is BS

Lateral Line · Jan 27, 2007

No, I don't believe so. Long finned Rosy Barbs have been around for ages. If people like them, well, whatever floats your boat, I am not a fan of fast swimming fish encumbered with trailing fins.

The Neon Rosy Barbs are normally short finned, but have an enhanced metallic sheen, usually pinkish caused by excessive development of the guanine crystal holding iridophore pigment cells. This is a recessive genetic trait, and to produce the fish in commercial quantities requires substantial inbreeding. The result of inbreeding is universally small weak offspring, be it Rosy Barbs, or anything.

In clean water, Rosy Barbs are pretty resiliant, the same is true of the inbred lines. Expect them to reach 75mm although they probably won't. They will live shorter lives, a few years at most. A filter going bad, or a whitespot outbreak will hit them harder then regular fish. As long as you keep your water good, they will be fine.