Cherry barb

Where they come from

Cherry barbs come from Sri Lanka, mostly slow, warm streams and shaded forest waterways. Think leaf litter, roots, and lots of plants—more “cozy tea-stained creek” than wide-open river.

Setting up their tank

If you want cherry barbs to actually show their color and stay confident, give them space to school and plenty of cover to duck into. They’re not picky fish, but they really do appreciate a tank that isn’t bare.

• Tank size: 20 gallons is a sweet spot for a proper group; you can do smaller, but they’re way nicer to watch with room
• Group size: 8+ is where they start acting natural (and the shyer ones stop hugging the corners)
• Plants: any easy stuff works—crypts, java fern, anubias, vallisneria, floating plants for dappled light
• Hardscape: a bit of driftwood/rocks and some leaf litter (optional) makes them feel secure
• Flow: moderate; they don’t need a torrent
• Temperature: mid-70s°F is perfect; they handle a reasonable range as long as it’s stable
• Water: slightly acidic to neutral is fine; don’t chase numbers—steady and clean beats “perfect”

They’re pretty forgiving, but they don’t love sudden swings. If you’re new, just focus on a cycled tank, regular water changes, and not overfeeding. That’s 90% of success with cherry barbs.

What to feed them

Cherry barbs eat like little vacuum cleaners, but they look their best with variety. I treat them like “small omnivores with a sweet tooth for tiny meaty foods.”

• Daily staple: a decent micro pellet or small flake
• Color/condition boosters: frozen or live baby brine shrimp, daphnia, cyclops, bloodworms (sparingly)
• Plant matter: spirulina flakes, blanched zucchini/spinach now and then (they’ll pick at it)

Behavior and tankmates

These are genuinely chill fish. Males do a bit of sparring and showing off (especially in the morning), but it’s more posturing than fighting. In a good-sized group, the energy spreads out and nobody gets singled out.

• Best vibe: peaceful community tanks with other calm fish
• Great tankmates: harlequin rasboras, ember/neon tetras, corydoras, otocinclus, kuhli loaches, honey gourami
• Shrimp: usually fine with adults, but expect baby shrimp to disappear if they can fit in a barb mouth

If you want maximum red on the males, keep more females than males. In my tanks, a 2–3 females per male ratio keeps the males showing color without constantly pestering one girl.

Breeding tips (if you want to try it)

Cherry barbs are egg scatterers, and they’ll absolutely eat their own eggs if given the chance. Breeding is very doable, you just need a little plan.

• Set up a separate breeding tank (10 gallons is plenty) with a sponge filter
• Use a spawning mop, dense java moss, or a mesh/marble bottom so eggs fall out of reach
• Condition the pair or small group with live/frozen foods for a week
• Put them in the breeding tank in the evening; spawning often happens early morning
• Remove adults after you see spawning/eggs
• First foods for fry: infusoria/liquid fry food, then baby brine shrimp as they grow

Common problems to watch for

Most issues I’ve seen with cherry barbs come from the usual beginner stuff: too few fish, not enough cover, overfeeding, or a tank that isn’t fully cycled yet.

• Faded color: usually stress, too-bright tank, no plants, or they’re kept in a tiny group
• Fin-nipping: often boredom/too small a group, or tankmates with tempting fins
• Ich after adding new fish: quarantine if you can; barbs often show spots fast when stressed
• Bloat/constipation: from overfeeding or too much rich food—cut back and offer daphnia/veg
• Wasting/skinny fish: can be internal parasites, especially in new arrivals—watch for stringy poop and poor appetite

If you keep them in a planted, stable community tank and feed a mix of pellet + frozen/live a couple times a week, cherry barbs are one of those fish that just quietly make your aquarium better.