Should I buy it?
Cherry Barb
Puntius titteya
Also known as: red barb
The community-safe barb in a family with a nippy reputation. Calm in a real group of six or more.
Cherry Barb tank mates · 60L tank size hub
peaceful · beginner care
Sources & confidencehigh · verified · beginner: excellent
Checked against several solid care sources that mostly agree. Numbers here are a careful starting point. Your tap water, tank size, and habits decide the rest. How we evaluate.
Best for: Calm planted community tanks of 60L or more with room for a mid-water shoal.
Avoid if: You want classic tiger-barb energy, or your tank is under 50L.
Common mistakeBuying a trio of cherry barbs instead of six is how the peaceful barb myth collapses in one tank. Three fish concentrate male pressure, dull the colour, and make keepers swear cherries are nippy. Six or more with planting and midwater room is when they behave like the soft community barb you were sold. Under-stocking creates the temperament people then blame on the species.
Top things that go wrong
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **6** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Cherry barbs get marketed as tiger barbs without the violence — a useful comparison that still needs a footnote. They are gentler when kept in a proper group, not when three share a short tank with long-finned show fish. The shop sale works because the bag held a crowd. Recreate the crowd, or do not expect the temperament on the label.
- 2.One or two in a 40L. The single male never colours, and a female vanishes into the plants.
- 3.Housing in cold, unfiltered bowls. A subtropical barb goes grey in a week.
- 4.The community-safe barb. Six or more from one tank. Males colour up against other males, not at the cost of tank mate fins.
About this species
Cherry barbs are small Sri Lankan cyprinids that hold a loose mid-water school. Males flush deep cherry red in display, especially with rival males in view. Gentle for a barb.
- Dwarf pencilfish60L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Harlequin Rasbora60L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Lambchop / Espei rasbora60L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Zebra Danio60L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Golden / Beckford's pencilfish80L min · same group, similar adult size
- Pearl Danio80L min · same group, similar adult size
- White Cloud Mountain Minnow40L min · same group, similar adult size
- Celestial Pearl Danio30L min · same group, similar adult size
- Amano Shrimpalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Assassin Snailalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Beckford Pencilfishalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Black Neon Tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Black phantom tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Bloodfin tetraalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Amano Shrimp tank matesnames this fish as a conditional pairing — read the pair page conditions
- Assassin Snail tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Bamboo Shrimp tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Black Neon Tetra tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Bloodfin tetra tank mateslists this fish among its safer mates
- Corydoras Catfish tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
- Dwarf Gourami tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Ember Tetra tank mateslists this fish among its recommended pairings
Plan grid
Key limits are above. Here: pH band, swim level, bioload, and activity.
Swim zones
Care snapshot
Quick compare before you buy. Not a score of how “good” the fish is.
- Beginner ease85
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit86
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness79
- Energy54
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Example setups
Starting points only. Run the pair checker for every fish you add.
Rough 90L+ layout: one calm centrepiece, 8–12 small tetras/rasboras, 6–8 corydoras-type bottom fish — verify every name in the pair checker before buying.
Safer directions include: Corydoras Catfish, Guppy, Harlequin Rasbora.
Prioritise 6+ of Cherry Barb in 60L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Cherry Barb
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Corydoras Catfish, Guppy, Harlequin Rasbora, Neon Tetra, Zebra Danio. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Tiger Barb. Avoid (RISKY): Jack Dempsey, Oscar. Every name links to a live pair check — the lists are a shortlist, not a stocking plan.
Usually safer
Open a pair page with this fish as the starting point.
Needs planning
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Usually avoid
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Cherry Barb + Corydoras Catfish
- Try Corydoras Catfish — open the pair check.
- Try Guppy — open the pair check.
- Try Harlequin Rasbora — open the pair check.
- Try Neon Tetra — open the pair check.
Behaviour and temperament
Cherry Barbs are the barb that usually keeps its reputation when the group is large enough. Males colour up cherry-red in a settled six-plus school and flash at each other without the shredding tiger barbs are known for. Three fish often produce one dominant male and two brown, hiding subordinates that look like a different species. Mild male displaying is normal; relentless pinning means you under-stocked the school.
What sets them off
- Sudden crowding
- Poor water quality
Fin nipping: Not a habitual fin-nipper; stressed or crowded individuals can still test fins.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly sized community fish; fry and dwarf shrimp are still fair game for most species.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still needs room so its working space does not overlap the next fish.
Planted tanks: excellent — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Quiet midwater school; males colour up cherry-red when settled and in a group.
- Far less nippy than tiger barbs — the comparison that sells them.
- Males staying brown and hiding — usually too few fish or too much current.
- Scatter after a cold snap.
- Mild male flashing; rarely injurious in a proper group.
- One male monopolising and shredding others → add numbers or break sight lines.
- Do not house with known fin-nippers and then blame the cherries.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Cherry barbs take ordinary flake and micro-pellets without drama, but they still lose out when housed with frantic surface feeders. Feed a pinch they can reach in midwater, and add a small frozen offering a couple of times a week so colour holds. They are not algae crew; do not expect clean glass to feed them. If males stay brown while eating, check numbers and current before changing foods again.
Shrimp & snails
Cherry shrimp and other dwarfs can coexist with peaceful small fish; baby shrimp are food for almost anything that finds them.
Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- Hold 22 to 27 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Schooling species. Buy 6 or more from the same tank on the same day before adding any centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 60L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 22–27°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
Explore and stocking hubs
Tank-mates hub, matching guides, category peers, and litre stocking lists around this species’ minimum tank.
Plan with tools
Check mates as pairs first, then add this fish in the tank builder for the full stocking.
Filtration & heating
A 60L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 240L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 22–27°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Cherry Barb does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 22–27°C and pH 6–7.5:
Research: verified · Confidence: high · 5 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Puntius titteya
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Puntius titteya
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Puntius titteya
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
- FishBase. Pethia titteya
Taxonomy, distribution, and typical max length in natural/wild contexts (cross-check to aquarium import lines).
- Wikipedia. Pethia titteya (cherry barb)
Encyclopaedia overview; use specialist aquarium sources for your stock's real temperature/pH/footprint needs.
Evidence notes
- Cherry barb is the current genus Pethia titteya (long sold as Puntius titteya); both names point to the same fish.
- Care numbers are cross-checked across the linked sources and biased toward the conservative end; compatibility reflects typical hobby experience, not a lab prediction. Method and full source policy: /methodology.
Featured compatibility checks
Curated pair pages for Cherry Barb. Each opens a full verdict — not just a list label.
Common questions about Cherry Barb
- How big do Cherry Barb get?
- 5 cm at adult length. Males flush brighter red than females. The school is calm, not a chase.
- What size tank does Cherry Barb need?
- 60L holds a school of six to eight.
- Are Cherry Barb aggressive?
- Cherry Barbs are the barb that usually keeps its reputation when the group is large enough. Males colour up cherry-red in a settled six-plus school and flash at each other without the shredding tiger barbs are known for. Three fish often produce one dominant male and two brown, hiding subordinates that look like a different species. Mild male displaying is normal; relentless pinning means you under-stocked the school.
- Do Cherry Barb need to be kept in a group?
- Schooling species — buy 6+ together. Smaller groups stress and lose colour.
- What is the most common mistake with Cherry Barb?
- Buying a trio of cherry barbs instead of six is how the peaceful barb myth collapses in one tank. Three fish concentrate male pressure, dull the colour, and make keepers swear cherries are nippy. Six or more with planting and midwater room is when they behave like the soft community barb you were sold. Under-stocking creates the temperament people then blame on the species.
- What fish can live with Cherry Barb?
- The Cherry Barb profile lists Corydoras Catfish, Guppy, Harlequin Rasbora, Neon Tetra among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Tiger Barb is conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on its pair page. Avoid Jack Dempsey, Oscar (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.