Breeder’s Award Program Article
Spawning Rosy Barbs
by George & Vickie Coy
SouthWestern Michigan Aquarium Society. From SWAM, March/April 1982 Issue
Aquarticles
Many people, including Vickie, always thought Rosy Barbs were rather drab fish. But,
when we were in Ohio looking at a fish shop one day, Vickie saw a pair of Long-Finned Rosy
Barb that impressed her enough to persuade me to buy them. She hadn’t realized they
were so pretty. The reason was that all we had ever seen in the shops before were the
females. These were males, and like most fish, the male always seemed to be more
attractive and colorful. It’s surprising how many people don’t realize this
about the Rosy Barbs. If you are in a fish shop and you see Rosy Barbs written on a tank
with a bunch of blank looking fish, then it is probably lacking the males, which have
black and red along the fins, with a rosy cast to the body. You won’t miss them if
there are males in the tank (except for the freak), because they are really pretty and
colorful compared to the female. Of course, the “long-finned” Rosy Barb is
fancier looking than the common one, and “long-finned” pretty well describes
this fish.
The Rosy Barbs we had were about 1 and 1/2 to 2-inches long when we set them up to
spawn. They were hardy fish. Ours were in a 30-gallon tank with South African Cichlids.
The fish are fed twice a day, of which one feeding is dry flake food. Other foods like
frozen brine shrimp were given as a change. There was no outside filter, but an
undergravel filter with plastic plants and various hiding places. The water temperature
was around 80 degrees. A 50% water change is given once a week.
When a ripe, plump female is noticed, she is placed in a 5-gallon tank of fresh aged
water with the best looking male. Ripe and plump should mean she’s full of eggs. A
spawning mop is also placed inside the tank. Filtration is done by a small sponge filter.
The temperature was around 82 degrees.
The period of time was two days before the eggs from their mating were noticed. Of
course, the female had become much slimmer. Their spawning took place during the morning
hours. The male and female were removed and placed back in their home tank.
The eggs hatched 48 hours later, and the fry were free swimming 5 days after hatching.
Being rather busy, we ended up with only about 30 fry, since the eggs went unnoticed for a
period of time before we removed the parents. They were fed live baby brine shrimp when
they reached the free-swimming stage.
If they are fed well, Rosy Barbs grow quite fast from the free swimming stage. They
were very easy to spawn, with no problems raising the fry. Anyone who wants some color
added to their tank might enjoy them.
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