All About Cherry Barbs

Cherry Barbs are a great schooling fish suitable for community tanks with other peaceful tank mates. 

The Cherry Barb is native to Sri Lanka, though it can now be found in Mexico and Colombia too. Its a tropical freshwater fish and, in the wild, enjoys dense plant coverage in warm rivers. 

Description: Male cherry barbs are a lovely red to red-orange color with a dark band from head to tail. Female cherry barbs are lighter in color, almost tan.   Barbs are a schooling fish and should be kept in groups of 5 or more.  When AquariumFishSale sends you barbs, we'll make sure to send a mix of male and female fish. 

Hardiness: Cherry barbs are quite hardy, making them a great fish for beginning enthusiasts. 

Habitat: A planted tank with room to swim is great for Cherry barbs. Hardy plants like Amazon Sword Plants and Java Fern are a good place to start. Rocks and driftwood are good additions too. Barbs are mid-tank dwellers and will use plants as places to hide if they feel threatened. A dark substrate and low lighting are good ways to mimic their tropical river homes. 

Tank mates: Cherry barbs will do well with other peaceful fish like neon tetras, danios, molliles, gouramis, and inverts like cherry shrimp.  

Water specs: 

PH: 6-7.5

Temp: 73-81

Water flow: Moderate

Tank size: A 20-30 gallon tank is the minimum for Cherry Barbs. They need room to swim.  

Food: Cherry barbs will eat both flake and live/frozen foods like brine shrimp or bloodworms. 

If we've peaked your interest, click here to purchase a group of Cherry barbs for your aquarium! 

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