Cherry Barb

Cherry Barb

Puntius Titteya

The Cherry Barb is another great addition to any community tank, being a colourful, small, and peaceful schooling fish that are readily available in most aquarium stores.

Locale: Is native only to Sri Lanka - occurs almost exclusively through the Nilwala and Kelani river basins.

Fun fact: The species name Titteya actually comes from the Sinhalese word for “minnow” that residents of Sri Lanka use to refer to Cherry Barbs, along with many other small river dwelling species of fish. 

Care:

Care difficulty - Beginner, hardy schooling fish.

Temperament - peaceful, schools right when in large group sizes (e.g. 20+), however 6+ is recommended as minimum school size.

Adult size - 4-5cm

Diet - Omnivorous; primarily a micropredator, feeding on small invertebrates such as tiny species of worm, larvae, insects and microcrustaceans, however will occasionally feed on diatoms, zooplankton and algae, so the best feeding method to mimic this is to feed a mixture of higher protein pellets and frozen food, along with a general tropical pellet / flake, even supplementing the diet with spirulina / algae pellets, wafers or flakes from time to time.

Habitat - In the aquaria Barbs are very unfussy fish when it comes to environment, however recreating the natural environment of any fish is always beneficial, such an environment for the Cherry Barb would include a medium-dark coloured soft sandy substrate to bring out optimal colouration, coupled with dark driftwood, smooth rocks and with floating plants and submerged vegetation working as a great natural refuge for the barbs to destress in.

Optimal Water Parameters:

Temperature: 22-27°c

pH: 6.0-7.2

GH: 2-10

KH: 1-3

Fish size, sex, exact colour and patterning may vary from photo.