Should I buy it?
Gold / Chinese barb
Barbodes semifasciolatus
Also known as: gold barb, china barb, schuberti barb (sports)
A golden 7 cm barb that works in cool to tropical water. Peaceful in a proper school of six but mildly nippy in small numbers.
Gold / Chinese barb tank mates · 120L tank size hub
peaceful · beginner care
Sources & confidencehigh · partially verified · beginner: good
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: Community tanks 120L or more with a school of six at 18–24 °C and robust mid-water companions.
Avoid if: You keep bettas or long-finned fish with fewer than six gold barbs.
Common mistakeKeeping three gold barbs in a community with long-finned fish is how keepers invent targeted fin-nipping that never stops. Small barb groups redirect chaos onto angels and gouramis. Six or more in 120L-class length spreads the energy inside the school — not onto fancy fins.
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.Myth: gold barbs are peaceful as a decorative trio with angelfish, gouramis, and other long-finned community fish. Reality: undersized groups nip long fins constantly — keep six or more in real swimming length, and avoid slow fancy-finned tank mates entirely.
- 2.Kept in a 60L tank as 'small barbs' without planning for a 15 to 20 cm or longer school footprint.
- 3.Housed with coldwater-only species in unheated indoor tanks in cold climates.
- 4.In warm rooms, mind summer temperatures if the tank drifts above 24 °C. Feed a varied diet. Single-flake-only feeding fails this species long-term.
About this species
Gold barbs are 7 cm East Asian cyprinids that form a tight school in cool to mid-tropical water. The gold form is a long-standing aquarium colour strain. They want well-oxygenated, moderate-flow water and a long run.
- Odessa Barb120L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Black ruby barb100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Brown / hockey-stick pencilfish100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Ticto / twospot barb100L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Scissortail Rasbora150L min · same fish family
- Golden / Beckford's pencilfish80L min · same group, similar adult size
- Pearl Danio80L min · same group, similar adult size
- Cherry Barb60L min · same group, similar adult 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
- Bristlenose Plecoalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Bronze corydorasalso beginner peaceful, similar tank size
- Paradise fish tank matesnames this fish as a conditional pairing — read the pair page conditions
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 ease72
- Peacefulness90
- Community fit72
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness76
- Energy86
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.
Prioritise 6+ of Gold / Chinese barb in 120L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Compatibility
Tank mates for Gold / Chinese barb
Usually safer (engine GOOD): Neon Tetra. Conditional (CAUTION — read the pair page before buying): Angelfish, Boesemani Rainbowfish, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami, Pea Puffer. Avoid (RISKY): African Cichlid, Green Terror, 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: Gold / Chinese barb + Neon Tetra
- Try Neon Tetra — open the pair check.
Behaviour and temperament
Gold barbs are generally peaceful in a proper school of six or more with forward swim room, but small groups become nippy toward long-finned neighbours. Stress and torn fins rise when a short tank holds a token trio beside angels, bettas, or fancy gouramis.
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
- Six or more chase and flash midwater in a long active tank.
- In-school bustle is normal ownership when the group is large enough.
- Targeted nipping of long fins means group size and neighbours failed.
- A hyper trio in a short cube needs more of their own kind and more length.
- Fin nipping is the failure mode with long-finned or slow fish.
- Crowded short tanks make even a larger group sharper than the label suggests.
- Remove long-finned targets the same week tears appear.
- Grow to six before adding another active species to absorb energy.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Water, food, and grouping
Hardness
medium
Diet
omnivore
Gold barbs are active omnivores that take quality flake or pellets plus frozen foods in a school of six or more. Underfeeding a busy group leaves them thin and more likely to nip; overfeeding fouls a short tank fast. Feed what the school finishes, keep forward swim space, and treat six as the real start — not three for interest.
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 16 to 24 °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 120L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 6 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 16–24°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No known fin-nippers paired with long-finned fish unless you accept documented risk.
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 120L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 480L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 16–24°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Gold / Chinese barb does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 16–24°C and pH 6–7.5:
Research: partially verified · Confidence: high · 3 linked source(s). We do not invent citations.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Barbodes semifasciolatus
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Barbodes semifasciolatus
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Barbodes semifasciolatus
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
Common questions about Gold / Chinese barb
- How big do Gold / Chinese barb get?
- Gold / Chinese barb adults reach about 7 cm. Shop fish look smaller; stock for the adult length.
- What size tank does Gold / Chinese barb need?
- 120L is the planning floor for adult swimming space and bioload. A 146L+ tank is the more comfortable long-term footprint. Length and depth matter as much as raw litres for active or territorial fish.
- Are Gold / Chinese barb aggressive?
- Gold barbs are generally peaceful in a proper school of six or more with forward swim room, but small groups become nippy toward long-finned neighbours. Stress and torn fins rise when a short tank holds a token trio beside angels, bettas, or fancy gouramis.
- Do Gold / Chinese 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 Gold / Chinese barb?
- Keeping three gold barbs in a community with long-finned fish is how keepers invent targeted fin-nipping that never stops. Small barb groups redirect chaos onto angels and gouramis. Six or more in 120L-class length spreads the energy inside the school — not onto fancy fins.
- What fish can live with Gold / Chinese barb?
- The Gold / Chinese barb profile lists Neon Tetra among its safer pairings (engine-checked GOOD). Angelfish, Boesemani Rainbowfish, Corydoras Catfish, Dwarf Gourami are conditional (CAUTION): workable only with the specific conditions on each pair page. Avoid African Cichlid, Green Terror, Oscar (RISKY). Run the pair checker for your exact water and tank size before stocking.