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I'm probably going to go and pick some up from Amwell Aquatics in Thornwood at the weekend. (Anyone have any experience with the shop? I've never been there before.) I would like a small group of 4 or 5 but would like recommendations on what mix of sexes to get. Would I be better off to get 2 males and 3 females (my first choice), or just 1 male and 2 or 3 females, or some other mix?

I've only been to Amwell once - my impression was that they have a nice mix of fish, prices around the middle of the range (but a bit variable). Old style tank setup.

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Mats

Mats - there is more than one Amwell - the one we went to was Happy Grow garden Centre - it may be the same one.

Yes, it's the the one in Thornwood. There are two (according to the Amwell Aquatics website), the other being near Cambridge.

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Mats

Hi there,

From my understanding barbatus vary somewhat from the normal male/female ratio's associated with many cories.

I have a great group of barbatus, purchased from Neil at Pier. I have 5 females and 1 male. I think male barbatus are really quite scrappy and if you have more than 1 males, you would need a decent sized tank.

If you have more than 1 male I think the larger / more mature male is likely to plague the smaller one, possibly until death of the smaller one

Cheers
Stuey

Thanks Stuey, that's exactly the kind of thing I was concerned about as I know the males can be a bit aggressive with each other.

Personally? I'd have a mixed sex/age group (but more females)and let them sort themselves out.

Males will spar and could cause some fin damage or even death in some cases, but usual behaviour is typically hierarchical. The dominant male will be obvious and will usually be the one who mates. The presence of other males will encourage him to display to his potential and possibly encourage spawning activity. Subordinate males will try to assert their presence at spawning time and may get roughed up in the bargain. They may get away with fertilising a few eggs on the side. Outside of spawning, there's not much in the way of aggression between males.

There will be lots of different hierarchy scenarios for the numbers of males you have. i.e. no aggression with one male, high aggression with two, reduced with three (aggression diluted), problems asserting dominance with more than three (difficult to maintain harem)etc etc.

I like to see a bit of natural behaviour in my tanks rather than playing too safe.

Of course all this is considering there's enough tank space, food and all other normal conditions. If they're too many in too small a tank, and there's no cover for subordinates to retreat, you're going to have more male/male interaction.

If you want to play it safe, but maybe not experience barbatus at their best or with more natural behaviour go with a normal trio.

Cheers,
Mark.

Thanks very much Mark. What do you reckon to 2 males, 3 females in a 125 litre with nothing much else in there?

RickE,

I have had great success breeding barbatus in pairs. I had done so in tanks ranging fro 10 to 30 gallons. They always deposit their eggs in one cluster on the glass. The eggs are every adhesive and are easy to remove. I remove the eggs rather than the breeders, you can do either.

Mark

Hi Rick,
All my groups of Scleromystax or Corydoras (usually 6 - 12 in any group)are in single species 15 (roughly 67 litre) gallon tanks, so your tank would be plenty adequate for 5 barbatus.

Enjoy,
Mark.

Cool, thanks Mark. I'm going to go for it tomorrow. If it doesn't snow too much!