Recommended Number Of Rosy Barbs

[celaeno]

i plan on having a trio of male rosy barbs with my juvenile kribensis in my 20 gallon long tank. they will be the only fish in the tank.

should i get more rosy barbs? if so, how many should i have total?

 

[aquaticadmirer]

Rosy barbs like to live in groups, and when they do the males look especially handsome because they try to outdo each other. They all swim together with their fins standing up straight and they actually get brighter in color. I have 7 rosy barbs (5 males and 2 females) and they're a pretty nice group. Your tank could definitely handle a few more than 3, so I would say at least 5 would be good.

 

[celaeno]

but don't rosy barbs grow to 4-5"? how big are your rosies?

 

[dwarfgourami]

I wouldn't put any rosy barbs in a 20 gallon tank tbh. My neighbour has them and they are easily 4 inches if not 5, and VERY active.

 

[aquaticadmirer]

well i've never heard of any rosies getting that big before. they can get big, but are usually no bigger than 3 inches. mine are about 2 inches each (if that). they are pretty active, but i've had some in a 20 gallon before as well and they seemed to do fine. that's also as long as you don't have much else in the tank to get in the way, which it seems like you don't.

 

[dwarfgourami]

well i've never heard of any rosies getting that big before. they can get big, but are usually no bigger than 3 inches

Hmmm... Baensch says 6 inches, Dick Mills 5.5, Schliewen 5 inches, most websites I can find say 5 inches- and my neighbour's fish are certainly pretty big. If rosy barbs stay at a final size of 3 inches, I'd be wondering if maybe their growth had been stunted when they were young.

 

[aquaticadmirer]

well i've never heard of any rosies getting that big before. they can get big, but are usually no bigger than 3 inches

Hmmm... Baensch says 6 inches, Dick Mills 5.5, Schliewen 5 inches, most websites I can find say 5 inches- and my neighbour's fish are certainly pretty big. If rosy barbs stay at a final size of 3 inches, I'd be wondering if maybe their growth had been stunted when they were young.

Ok here is a direct quote from Aquarium Fishes of the World by Herbert Axelrod (http/www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Fishes-World-Herbert-Axelrod/dp/0793804930):

"S: Up to 15cm, but usually seen much smaller, about half this size."

15 cm is about 6 inches. So the sources you found would be right, but in average aquaria they don't usually get larger than 3 inches. Having owned Rosies before, this has been my experience.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Ok here is a direct quote from Aquarium Fishes of the World by Herbert Axelrod (http/www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Fishes-World-Herbert-Axelrod/dp/0793804930):

"S: Up to 15cm, but usually seen much smaller, about half this size."

15 cm is about 6 inches. So the sources you found would be right, but in average aquaria they don't usually get larger than 3 inches. Having owned Rosies before, this has been my experience.

Myabe that is an argument against keeping them in the average aquarium, if by average you mean small. I have certainly seen large rosy barbs in more than one tank, but then they have been decently sized tanks.

 

[aquaticadmirer]

Ok here is a direct quote from Aquarium Fishes of the World by Herbert Axelrod (http/www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Fishes-World-Herbert-Axelrod/dp/0793804930):

"S: Up to 15cm, but usually seen much smaller, about half this size."

15 cm is about 6 inches. So the sources you found would be right, but in average aquaria they don't usually get larger than 3 inches. Having owned Rosies before, this has been my experience.

Myabe that is an argument against keeping them in the average aquarium, if by average you mean small. I have certainly seen large rosy barbs in more than one tank, but then they have been decently sized tanks.

No, it's more like saying that maybe there are different strains of Rosy Barbs created by selective breeding that results in a smaller Rosy Barb. I probably should have said the average fish doesn't grow large, rather than in average aquaria. It's a common misconception that putting potentially large fish in a small aquarium stunts their growth. Fish will grow to their ultimate size regardless of tank size, provided the water is of good quality and conducive to growth (this is probably where the myth started since many people with small tanks are beginners and thus oftentimes have poor water quality). I have a 55 gallon which is plenty large for Rosy Barbs, and I test the water regularly to ensure good water quality, so I must have gotten smaller strains.

 

[dwarfgourami]

No, it's more like saying that maybe there are different strains of Rosy Barbs created by selective breeding that results in a smaller Rosy Barb. I probably should have said the average fish doesn't grow large, rather than in average aquaria. It's a common misconception that putting potentially large fish in a small aquarium stunts their growth. Fish will grow to their ultimate size regardless of tank size, provided the water is of good quality and conducive to growth (this is probably where the myth started since many people with small tanks are beginners and thus oftentimes have poor water quality). I have a 55 gallon which is plenty large for Rosy Barbs, and I test the water regularly to ensure good water quality, so I must have gotten smaller strains.

Yes, there may well be a smaller strain, but since the OP has no means of knowing that he has this smaller strain and since there are evidently plenty of the big-strained rosy barbs around, it seems unwise to bank on it.

There is evidence that some species (but not all) do suffer from reduced growth in small aquaria; this may not just be due to poor water conditions as such (ie ammonia or nitrites) but also to hormones released by the fish, which are necessarily less diluted in a smaller body of water. I am not sure how rosy barbs fit into this tbh.