Re: Algae-eating Cherry Barbs

My Cherry Barbs eat anything I drop in the tank, so I expect yours will, too.

They might also be eating micro-organisms living in the algae. A lot of my fish look as though they are eating the algae but it never gets any less.

The profile on here says 1m 2 f for a trio and any ratio for a bigger group. You will see more natural behaviour with 2 or 3 males and the rest females.

I've got 2m and 4f and it seems like a good mix.

They're both peaceful. The golden barb is bigger and requires a bigger tank, and as a shoaling species you should be looking at at least 6 of either species. This way the males will display more, just like with the cherries.

The golden barbs are definitely more colourful..... in my opinion.

Loaches, but check how big they grow before buying. Clown loaches, for example, look adorable in the shop tank but they grow to over a foot long.
I have dwarf chain loaches, they have proved quite robust, except for the one that got very skinny and died within a couple of months. I've had the rest for 7 years (bought 30 June 2007). The downside is the price, as you need a shoal. Though they aren't very colourful but they are striking with their black and white patterning.
Most other loaches need a minimum of 120cm long tanks, I'm not sure how long yours is 

There is a loach that is fairly new to the trade, I've seen some in my local Maidenhead Aquatics. These are very small, maybe too small for you. Rosy loaches

If you had sand, kuhli loaches would have been fine but they do like to bury themselves in the substrate.


If you see any loaches in a shop that catch your eye, check with seriously fish before buying. But as the majority of loaches have changed their latin names in the last few years, search by common name.

Be warned that dwarf chain loaches are expensive!

My chain loaches are great, they are so different in behaviour to any other fish. So busy in the evenings poking their noses into gravel looking for food. One of them started swimming up to about half the height of the tank to snap up flakes that drift down during feeding. They like to disappear under the filter housing in my Juwel Rio but are out and about a lot too!

I got three loaches (to add to my sole one) at good price in Maidenhead Aquatics in Farnham, when they were reopening the store a few weeks back, about half the price of my local MA, so I guess prices can vary from shop to shop. There is also a guy on ebay who sells them for a good price but I'm weary of ordering fish by post!

The Rose Loaches look very interesting, looking at their profile. I'll take a look when I'm next in the shop to see if they've got them. They look similar in colour and markings to cherry barbs.