# Other Aquarium Forums > Freshwater Fauna > Cyprinids >  Rosy Barb breeding

## cyruslaguna

Any experts here? Intend to breed this since I have a couple of them. How do I recognise male / females?

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## Ingwe

males are redder and slimmer, females are greenish and plumper.

to accentuate the differences you can feed them live food to get them into breeding condition

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## goody992828

Previously I have 25 of them with mix of sexs in a planted tank, kept it for 2 years but never see them breed, please share with me if you can get them breed.

Thanks

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## fishking

Red colours are males. Females are golden in colour. 

They will breed every other day if you feed them with live food. They are voracious eaters and will gobble anything. The male will chase after the female and after a while, they will stay side by side and shiver for a couple of seconds in a planted area or in a corner of a tank and then "boomz", the female will drop eggs and the male will release his sperm. 

You can try artificial breeding as well. When the male chases the female when she is ripe, then you can catch the female out and gently squeeze her body to release eggs in a container. Then catch the male and gently squeeze out the sperm over the eggs. Do this process a couple of times. You can then have a container of eggs.

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## goody992828

Great info, may will try this next time.

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## cyruslaguna

will they breed when the tank consists also of tetras? Will the eggs be eaten by these?

Also, anyone knows where I can find female rosy barbs? Saw at Darwin Aquarium at Bedok North but one is selling at $1.80!

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## hyun007

If you just want just a few baby fish, have a lot of water plants, the most important is to float some foxtail or similiar plants that the babies can hide when they are near the surface. To float those water plants look ugly but if you do not do that, the adult can pick them up as dim sum when they are near the surface.

Fish out any baby when you see them, they can be kept in a small tank or a big jar till they are about 2cm.

Yes, neon tetra will eat the eggs if they come across it.

The baby will be translucent in colour, the trademark spot on it body will appear pretty fast, the orange colour much later.

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## cyruslaguna

the tank where rosie barbs are housed also consists of Sephras, red eye and silvertip tetras; should I keep these away when breeding?

Any idea where I can find female rosie barbs? I recognise they're greenier in colour but so far C328 I only saw a variation which has a longer fins and tails.

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## hyun007

Taken from the internet.
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The general color of the sides have a Yellow tinge in the female and Red hint in the Male. At breeding time the male becomes the most vivid Red. Both sexes have a Black dot edged in Gold near the beginning of the tail fin. The males Dorsal fin is edged in Black with the female only having a trace at the rear of the fin. Both sexes have shiny scales with an Olive Green color and pale centers.

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## fernfreak

Hmm, I'm searching for female rosy barbs as well-- I don't mind paying 1.80 per female if that's the going rate, but they seem really hard to find at other LFS-- most LFS which stock them seem only to have males!

In the last week, I checked:
Empress Market: No rosy barbs
Bukit Timah Market: No rosy barbs
KS Aquatics: No rosy barbs
Aqua Star: All male
That Aquarium: All male
C328: Long finned, looks all male
Clementi Florist and Aquarium: Seems all male too, has a pink variety though

Shopowners tell me that they stock males because the more attractive colouration makes them easier to sell, but perhaps I have a problem sexing them or something? If you visit any of these stores (or other stores) and see female rosy barbs, I would love to know!

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## hyun007

Sorry that I cannot bring a female for you even though I am coming to Singapore in April, do not think it will go through the custom.

It depends on the kind of rosy barb.
For mine, the female is more yellowish and the male is more golden red.
For a mature male, there is an obvious tiny black patch on the top of the dorsal fin..
For a mature female, it is hardly noticeable or none.
If you look from the top, the female has a wider body as well.

Sorry that I am not able to take any picture as they are in a big plant pot.

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## fernfreak

hmm, thanks for the information and the offer! it's really kind of you. i realise there's a sighting request subforum on aquaticquotient. someone last requested a female rosy barb sighting 2 years ago (2008 ) -- with no response though. perhaps the farms would have them?
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=46505

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## fernfreak

I just checked with Sea View Aquarium this afternoon, and apparently they have rosy barbs, male and female mixed: http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=30469

I'd like to make a trip up, so cyruslaguna, let me know if you're interested too.

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## fernfreak

Alright, so Sea View didn't have any females, and neither did the rest of the fish shops and farms I telephoned or visited in Singapore over the past 1 year (shopkeepers are often mistaken). I don't think anyone seems to be breeding them here. They seem to be imported from Thailand or something. I have concluded by now that mine are all males.  :Razz: 

Next best alternative seems to be to try and import them from a farm/shop in Malaysia or something-- though thanks for the previous offer, Hyun007!  :Smile: 
Apparently they would get through customs, which is quite surprising...
http://www.ava.gov.sg/InformationFor...rnamentalFish/
"30 pieces packed in not more than 3 litres of water per person per trip, subject to a maximum of 60 pieces in not more than 6 litres of water per car (2 or more persons in the car)"

The question though, is how to figure out which places actually sell female rosies, so that I can figure out where to go to get them.  :Razz:  It would be great if any friends staying in nearby countries could advise on this!

I've posted an ID picture on this thread, but I don't think anyone else is seeing the females either.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ius-conchonius)

It's quite amazing that the females are so hard to acquire, but I don't think I'm alone in looking for them.
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ius-conchonius)

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## sianxz

You might want to try the tetra way of breeding the rosy barb.

1) Separate males and females for 1 week and feed them good food
2) Place 1 male and 1 female into a tank in the evening with some plants. You may want to add a bed of marbles below so eggs can fall inbetween and parents cant reach them
3) They should spawn early in the morning
4) Remove pair once spawning is complete and raise the fries

I am not sure if this will work, but you can try this method  :Smile:

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## DeanWaters

Hello I have several female rosy barbs if anyone is interested. Im in N.Y., USA. email me at [email protected] 


> Alright, so Sea View didn't have any females, and neither did the rest of the fish shops and farms I telephoned or visited in Singapore over the past 1 year (shopkeepers are often mistaken). I don't think anyone seems to be breeding them here. They seem to be imported from Thailand or something. I have concluded by now that mine are all males. 
> 
> Next best alternative seems to be to try and import them from a farm/shop in Malaysia or something-- though thanks for the previous offer, Hyun007! 
> Apparently they would get through customs, which is quite surprising...
> http://www.ava.gov.sg/InformationFor...rnamentalFish/
> "30 pieces packed in not more than 3 litres of water per person per trip, subject to a maximum of 60 pieces in not more than 6 litres of water per car (2 or more persons in the car)"
> 
> The question though, is how to figure out which places actually sell female rosies, so that I can figure out where to go to get them.  It would be great if any friends staying in nearby countries could advise on this!
> 
> ...

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