My red glass barbs

Question
Hi!  My name is Maddie, and I'm 11. I have a few questions about my 2 red glass barbs.(Red glass barbs are like tiger barbs,so I figured you would be able to answer my question.  All of the other fish experts are maxed out or on vacation!)  Well,as I said, I have 2 red glass barbs in my 5 gallon tank.(I hope 5 gallons is big enough,the sign at the pet store said 'min. tank size:5 gallons')  They have approximately 1.5 in. of rocks at the bottom, turtle statue, fake plant, bubble blower, filter, & a heater.  Well, I read a book about fish, and it said that rosy barbs like sand to burrow in.  Is that true?  Also,a man at another pet store said that red glass barbs tear apart live plants, so that's why I got a fake plant.  Is that also true?  And finally, the lady at a pet store I trust said that it's fine to put 2 barbs together, but I just wanted to double check.  Please answer soon!


Answer
Hi Maddie

Well unfortunately a 5 gallon tank is too small for 2 Rosy Barbs. When the sign says "Minimum Tank Size 5 Gallons" that is how much space per fish. Rosy Barbs grow to 5" each and 2 of them would need a minimum of 15-20 gallons. The tank needs to be fairly large as Rosy Barbs are active swimmers and need plenty of open swimming space. Two Rosy Barbs would be fine together, however, Rosy's are actually a schooling fish that do best in groups of at least 4.

Rosy Barbs will dig in the gravel, so the gravel should be fairly fine and rounded. I use sand for my Cichlids and other substrate diggers. A darker color gravel will bring out the Rosy's color. They will eat live plants so the fake plant was a wise choice.

Hope this helps answer your questions, good luck!

Richard