Rosey Barb + Bleeding Heart Tetra - is three of each enough?

itswoodie

itswoodie

AMMAGAD IMA NEWB
Jan 31, 2005
56
0
0
42
Philadelphia
search.ebay.com
Hey guys.

Just had a quick question about fish quantity...

Currently, I have three bleeding heart tetras and three rosey barbs. The tetras stick to themselves for the most part, and the barbs are always all over the place.

Is this amount sufficient for each group, or should I add one or two more to each? I feel as though the rosey's are really independant, while the tetras could probably use another tank mate or two.

What do you guys think? Any opinions?

The information I got on the internet was rather mixed, so I figured I'd turn to you guys for some advice.

Thanks! :o
 
The general rule of thumb for schooling fish is that at a bare minimum you need four. When your dealing with known fin nippers like rosy barbs you need a minimum of six and more is better. Both kinds will school better as well.
 
Id up the rosy barbs to at least six, they can be a**holes. Worse than my dempsey
 
The bleeding heart tetras already have formed a small (somewhat broken) school. Where as the roseys don't really stick together at all.

I have noticed some agression on the part of the roseys, but no actual nipping. They just chase the other fish around for a second or two, and then break off to do their own thing. If I was to get another 2 or 3 roseys, would they start to school - or would it just be more solo's running around on their own? Also, how many males/females of each should I have?

Also, I recently purchaed 4 neons. Should I bump their numbers up to 6 as well? I read somewhere that they might need as many as 8 to feel comfortable...is this the truth?

Any help with these three/four questions would be GREATLY appreciated.
 
8-10 neons, 5 rosies, and 5 bleeding hearts would be my choice. It's still a little crowded for a 20g, but all fish are relatively small and are schoolers...you shouldn't have any problems as long as your maintenance is up to par. I'd add a few more plants/decorations, as well.
 
I tend to be pretty conservative in such things but I don't think it was a good idea at all to put neons in with rosy barbs. I believe there was a lack of research in that decision.
 
Karnaaj said:
I tend to be pretty conservative in such things but I don't think it was a good idea at all to put neons in with rosy barbs. I believe there was a lack of research in that decision.
Click to expand...


Okay...so...you admit you are very conservative with your fish. Meaning: you are much safer then the average aquarium owner.
Which would lead me to believe that you can admit many people feel this combination is fine.

So where did you get the idea that there was a lack of research on my part? :confused: :mad2

I appreciate your concern, but in the two sentences you've written have provided great insight into your paradoxicality....oxymoronic even...

"Ignorance IS bliss" :idea2:
 
Well since you brought it up I don't think that combination is a good one at all whether your conservative in such things or not. I just said that in hopes of avoiding hurt feelings which apparently failed. Neons don't do well with fish that like to chase other fish, even if they don't nip them. It increases their stress level and Neons tend to do poorly when they are stressed. My reference to a lack of research was because most info I have read about rosy barbs would lead people to conclude that they are not a good combo.

As to the last comment in your post, I guess you would know better than anyone.
 
I don't think neons and rosy barbs are an inherently bad combination -- I have had rosy barbs and cardinals together in my 50 for a few years with no ill effects.

I would say, keep in mind that rosy barbs are pretty voracious eaters, and bleeding hearts are big compared to neons, so your neons will probably have less access to food than they would with more comparably sized tankmates, so you will have to compensate for this. The more fish you add, the worse this problem is likely to become.

Given that, and that your tank (according to the picture you posted) is relatively sparsely planted, I'd add some more plants, and I'd probably add more neons rather than any more of the larger fish.

If your mind is made up, I have found that male rosy barbs and male bleeding hearts tend to be a bit more aggressive, both among themselves and other tank inhabitants, than females, so I'd err on the side of adding female rosy barbs or bleeding hearts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom