S barbatus, grouping

eupterus · Post by **eupterus** » 30 Apr 2006, 16:53

I have read alot of literaturew that suggests that male barbatus fight and so should be kept apart. Is this also the case with the females. I have a gorup of 4 youngsters ( 1 male and three females ) about 2.5 inches. I have even had them spawn twice but the tank is not set up for breeding and I made no attempt to take the eggs and raise the fry. My question is can I increase the number of females without causing fighting, this is to allow better selection for the male. The tank can take the additions and I have ample space in other tanks should there be a problem. I would rather avoid the problem in the first place which is why I ask.
Any experiences would be appreciated

kev · Post by **kev** » 01 May 2006, 19:25

Hi
ive had my group of barbie's for 3 year's now, for the first year i started with 1 male and 4 female's and the next year i got another small male and 2 more female's and then this year i got 1 more male and 2 more girl's, Now there is the dominent male but the other 2 are not much smaller than him and they dont fight much, and they breed all the time. He wont let them in on the breeding if he can help it

, mabey it's because i introduced the male's at different stages they know there place????.

Kev

eupterus · Post by **eupterus** » 01 May 2006, 21:24

Thanks for that, How big is the tank and how is it decorated.? Sorry for being nosey?

kev · Post by **kev** » 04 May 2006, 14:34

sorry for the late reply, the tank is 24"x18"x18" with fine sand on he bottom and a pile of pebbles in a corner. Very plain really.

Kev

fishnut2 · Post by **fishnut2** » 10 May 2006, 17:09

I keep colonies of 8-10 adults in a 20H. They've been spawning for over 2 years now, and I've never seen them fight.