Named for the males' vibrant red color during spawning season, the Cherry Barb makes a great schooling addition to many freshwater community tanks. These slender fish are common in this pet hobby and are easy to manage for most beginner aquarists. These smaller fish tend to be shy around larger, aggressive fish, so keep them in a group and choose their tank mates carefully.

Cherry Barb Habitat and Care

Being a shyer fish, the Cherry Barb likes to have lots of places to hide in their home aquarium. They should be added to your aquarium first, so they can get settled and not have to compete for hiding places.

Since they like to stick in a group, you may need to make lots of hiding places to accommodate more than one fish at a time. Planted tanks or aquascapes make a great home for Cherry Barbs with good water quality and lots of places to hide.

Cherry Barbs are relatively easy to care for as long as you keep up with your regular maintenance. In planted tanks, be sure to remove dead plant material regularly and pay attention to any pH changes between day and night.