Quick Stats
| Adult Size | 5 cm |
| Minimum Tank | 20 gal |
| Temperature | 23–27°C |
| pH Range | 6.0–7.5 |
| Hardness (GH) | 5–15 dGH |
| Difficulty | Easy |
| Temperament | Peaceful, shy schooling |
| Diet | Omnivore — flakes, micro pellets, live/frozen daphnia |
| Schooling | 6+ (mixed males and females) |
Tank Setup
The Cherry Barb (Puntius titteya) is endemic to Sri Lanka, where it lives in slow, shaded forest streams of the Kelani river basin — soft blackwater trickling over leaf litter beneath dense canopy. That habitat translates directly to a home tank: dim, planted, calm. A 20-gallon tank gives a school of six the space to swim and hide, and heavily planting the back and sides with Cryptocoryne (a fellow Sri Lankan, appropriately) recreates their home river better than any open layout.
Target 23–27°C, pH 6.0–7.5, and hardness 5–15 dGH — a wide, tap-water-friendly window, with driftwood and Indian almond leaves nudging the water gently acidic and tinted. A dark substrate and floating plants (see the floating plants guide) do more for this species than any gadget: both dim the light, and dim light is when cherry barbs stop hugging the plants and start showing colour. Flow should be gentle — a sponge filter or a HOB turned to its lowest setting suits them.
Colour is a direct read of comfort here. A male cherry barb that shows brick-red with a dark lateral line is relaxed; a pale, washed-out fish is stressed by light, aggression, or water outside its range. Buy six or more with a mix of both sexes — males display to rivals and court females constantly, and that behaviour is the whole point of the species.
Tank Mates
Cherry Barbs are the anti-tiger-barb: peaceful, slow, and disinclined to nip anything. They are mid-level swimmers that ignore the floor and the surface, which makes them near-universal community citizens. The caveat runs the other way — their shyness means boisterous tank mates stress them into permanent hiding, and you will wonder where your fish went.
Good companions: small peaceful schooling fish that share their temperament — Harlequin Rasboras, Ember Tetras, Neon Tetras at matching temperatures, and Rummy Nose Tetras in softer water. Bottom dwellers are easy: any Corydoras or Kuhli Loaches pair beautifully. Cherry shrimp (Neocaridina davidi) are safe with adult cherry barbs — a 5 cm barb has a small mouth and a peaceful disposition, though shrimplets are always at some risk from any fish (the nano shrimp hub has the full risk breakdown).
Avoid tiger barbs and other notorious fin-nippers (they will harass cherry barbs relentlessly), large or aggressive cichlids, and anything fast enough to out-eat them at feeding time. Keep the school at six-plus — a lonely cherry barb is a hidden cherry barb, and small groups lose the male display behaviour that gives the species its character. Our compatibility chart summarises these pairings at a glance.
Diet & Feeding
Cherry Barbs are easy omnivores. In Sri Lankan streams they graze insects, small crustaceans, and plant matter; in the aquarium a quality micro-flake or small pellet forms the base, with frozen daphnia, brine shrimp, and bloodworms two or three times a week to bring males into breeding dress. They feed mid-water and slowly, so pellets that drift down through the column suit them better than fast-sinking wafers.
Feed twice daily in small portions. In a mixed community they are polite eaters — midwater fish that dart in, grab, and retreat — so ensure slower species get their share, and ensure the barbs themselves are not being out-competed by danios or barbs of the pushier persuasion. Colour foods rich in carotenoids (spirulina-plus-krill formulations) measurably deepen male red over a few weeks.
Live daphnia and microworms are a conditioning tool if you plan to breed them, and blanched zucchini occasionally gets nibbled, though this is not a vegetable-first fish. Like all small barbs they benefit from a fasting day per week more than from constant grazing.
Common Health Issues
Cherry Barbs are hardy once acclimated, but they arrive delicate: wild-rooted Sri Lankan stock is now rare, and most commercially bred fish are robust, but shipping stress shows up as ich within the first two weeks. Quarantine every new group, keep temperature stable at 24–26°C, and treat the (rare) ich outbreak with half-strength medication if the tank contains loaches or scaleless companions.
The species' signature failure mode is stress-fade rather than disease. Pale cherry barbs mean something in the environment is wrong: too bright, too empty, too aggressive tank mates, or water outside 6.0–7.5 pH. Fix the environment and the colour returns within days — this is a fish that diagnoses its own tank. Prolonged hiding and refusal to eat are the escalation signs that preced actual disease.
Long-term, cherry barbs are prone to the standard small-fish conditions — fin damage from aggressive tank mates becoming infected, and obesity from overfeeding in mature tanks. Weekly 25% water changes, a lid (they can jump when startled), and honest school sizes prevent almost everything. The nano fish diseases guide covers the specific infections small barbs are exposed to.
Breeding
Cherry Barbs are egg-scatterers and breed readily — the challenge, as with most barbs, is egg predation by the parents. Sexing is trivial: males are smaller and cherry-red, females larger and honey-brown with a heavier belly. Condition a group on live and frozen foods for a week, and spawning usually follows on its own in a mature planted tank — persistent pairs scatter 100–200 eggs into fine-leafed plants each morning.
For controlled spawning, set up a 10-gallon breeding tank: dim light, a spawning mop or dense Java moss, water at 26°C and pH 6.5–7.0, gentle sponge filtration. Introduce a conditioned pair in the evening; spawning typically happens at dawn, the female scattering eggs through the moss while the male follows close behind fertilising. Remove both parents immediately once the characteristic chasing subsides — they will otherwise eat every egg.
Eggs hatch in 24–48 hours and the fry hang on the glass and plants for three to four days before free-swimming. Start with infusoria or liquid fry food for the first week, then microworms and newly hatched brine shrimp. Growth is quick for a barb, and juveniles show the adult colour pattern — including the tell-tale dark lateral stripe — within five to six weeks.
Frequently Asked Questions
Are Cherry Barbs aggressive like tiger barbs?
No — Cherry Barbs are peaceful and stay peaceful. Tiger barbs are the family's famous fin-nipper; cherry barbs are the family's shrinking violet. They never chase or nip other species, and male territorial display is limited to flaring colour at rival males within the school. If a cherry barb is being aggressive, something else in the tank is stressing it.
Will Cherry Barbs eat cherry shrimp?
Adult cherry shrimp are safe with adult cherry barbs — the barb's mouth is too small and its temperament too placid for dedicated hunting. Newly moulted shrimp and shrimplets are a general risk with any fish, but cherry barbs are among the lower-risk midwater choices. Provide moss and hiding cover and the two genuinely cohabit, which is why the pairing is common in planted nano communities.
Why are my Cherry Barbs pale and hiding?
Pale colour and constant hiding are this species' stress signals, and the causes are almost always environmental: lighting too bright, tank too open and plant-free, aggressive or overly active tank mates, or water outside the 6.0–7.5 pH range. Dim the tank, add planting and floating cover, check the water, and review tank mate behaviour — colour typically returns within days of the fix.
How many Cherry Barbs should be kept together?
Six is the minimum and ten is better, ideally with more females than males. A mixed-sex school keeps natural display and courtship behaviour going without any single female being harassed. All-male groups bicker more; single pairs are shy and dull. The species only shows its full character in a properly sized school.