# Cherry Barb male-female ratio



## Lei (Jan 9, 2013)

Help! I bought 6 Cherry Barbs to go in my large community tank. They have a number of playmates, but as expected keep in a loose shoal with each other. When I bought them about six months ago they were still quite juvenile and they had not developed their colouration enough to sex them. Now five of them have developed the bright pink colour of males and one of them has shown as a female. Are these fish like some that will end up harassing her to death? So far the males have shown no issues with each other at all, but I am concerned for her welfare as the only female. Should I buy more females to even the balance, or will she be okay?

Their tank mates, for those who want to know:
Two dwarf Gouramis,
Three glass Bloodfin Tetras,
Five Harlequin Rasboras,
Four Cardinal Tetras, 
Six White Cloud Mountain Minnows, 
Three male Guppies, 
Three Otocinclus
Seven Bronze Corydoras,
Cherry Shrimps, 
Snails
These lot get along quite nicely, I know a lot of people get concerned about fin nippers or things but they really are happy together. I just worry that the Cherries, especially as they've suddenly gotten sexually mature/coloured up might end up I'm trouble.


----------



## C. King (Dec 14, 2012)

They will harrass her constantly. I have read that a ratio of 2 females per male is recommended, but I have had Cherry Barbs for a long time, and I have equal numbers male and female with no problems. So, certainly, you need equal numbers male/female, or even better, a few more females than males. I love their adult coloring--they keep getting brighter and deeper red for a year! And when the females are gravid with eggs, the males really turn on the color! They look almost impossible, as if artificially enhanced. The females, while not as showy as the shockingly red males, are also quite lovely with their orange-red color with distinctive black stripes. Cherry Barbs are a great community fish, too--not fin nippers, like some barbs.


----------



## Lei (Jan 9, 2013)

Thank you, I had read this too but honestly I was worried that having 15-20 of them would just overwhelm the tank! I think that adding another four females should be ok and I can always add a few more if I find that an even split doesn't work. I really appreciate the response


----------

