Cherry Barb questions.

[AsahiToro]

I'm thinking about adding a cherry barb or two to my tank. I've read that they are a more mellow barb that is better off single or in a mated pair. How do you sex them? I'd like a bright red male or two. Will he stay bright red all the time? The ones I see at the LFS's are usually duller. Maybe they are females. Heres a link to what I'm looking for:
http://www.animalnetwork.com/fish/profiles/profileview.asp?RecordNo=478

Is this a color that I can expect a lot or only with a female while spawning? Thanks for any input,

Scott

 

[Water Witch]

Males are smaller and more colorful. Females are larger, duller and tend to be more pot bellied. Most store tanks will contain female majorities since the unknowing customers pick out the pretty ones (males) only.

Looking for great colors and specimans will require a lot of searching through store tanks. Finding an online breeder will generally get you better results although a few stores stock Florida Bred which tend to be very nice.

 

[wetmanNY]

To keep your males continually in color, you need two males and at least four females. The females will also be more colorful than they are in the LFS: warm black white silver and bright yellow. They need plenty of plant cover, peaceful tankmates and a mix of freeze-dried and live food with their flakes. Does my very soft water contribute to their colorfulness?

 

[Z Man]

You really can't miss picking out a pair or two. I have 2 males and 3 females and the males are always that red. The females are almost all white below the black lateral line and a little rosy above. Their fins are reddish in color. They show up nicely in any tank and are very peaceful.

 

[RTR]

Plus they help nibble on hair algae, and will reproduce routinely in planted tanks, with some fry survival. The first point is gender-neutral, the second obviously requires both. For me they rarely school unless there are more than six, then they do frequently.

 

[AsahiToro]

To followup, I bought a male cherry barb and he's bright red even without any females. He's a very cool, colorful fish. I'm surprised I haven't noticed them before. I guess I wrote barbs off all together since my tanks are more peaceful, planted type tanks and I though they would disrupt the peace. The cherry barb seems very mellow and gets along with everyone. I'm going to buy 2-3 more males this week. The fact that they will help with any hair algae is great also. Thanks for the input everyone.

Scott