Cherry Barb

Remarks: If you're looking to maximize the color-to-size ratio of your fish, you'll be hard pressed to beat Cherry Barbs (Puntius titteya). Males are an electric red color that can be spotted from across the room, despite their average size of 1-1.5". Females sport golden-orange bodies and may be required for males to show their full colors. The albino variant of this species is closer to pink than red in both males and females. Cherry Barbs like calm, planted tanks. Tankmates include other small cyprinids, tetras, livebearers, and most peaceful fish except those wing long fins as they can be nippy. They are extremely tolerant of water chemistry - ideal for the beginner aquarium. If kept in small numbers, it is likely for this fish to become stressed and nip the fins of tankmates. The best way to prevent this is to keep them in groups of 6 or more so they are preoccupied with displaying and sparring rather than harassing other species.