my cherry barbs wont breed any suggestions?

do you no if they are female and male?
why do you want them to breed? they will breed when they are ready
how big is the tank?
how many fish in the tank?
is the tank cycled?
what are the exact water params reading?
what is the temperature of the water?
are they in breeding at the moment?


if you could please answer the questions it will be easier to tell you why.

yes i can tell i have a male and a female
i dont know i thought that because the male is a deep cherry color they were ready
the tank is 15gal
8
yes
i dont know
79
no


dani

hhhmmmm well your tank is the right size and everything they will breed when they are ready. it is not overstocked and you said it is cycled but i would take a sample of your water to your lfs to get it tested maybe it is a water quality problem. and ask for the exact numbers not just normal a healthy tank should have 0 ammonia and nitrite and above 0ppm for nitrate so anything above 0ppm for that like 5ppm or 10ppm you get the idea.

how old are they?

Are there only 2 cherry barbs in there or do they have a school? What is the pH?

no kissy he said there are 8 in there

If all your params are perfect...

Ensure your tank is heavily planted w/ dense large leaf plants. A protein rich diet (live or freeze-dried food) and a VERY slight drop in temperature via a 25% water change can sometimes start breeding behavior.

And as Rock4Life was starting to say, sometimes they just won't breed when you want them to. Patience and a little luck are definitely needed.

BTW, if you're serious about breeding, or really this hobby in general, I would strongly suggest picking up a testing kit that includes atleast ph, and ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate.

Good luck!

Sorry I should clarify. I should have asked "are all 8 fish in the tank cherry barbs, or are they different kinds of fish?"

no there are mollies and a dannieo in there (sorry i spelled it wrong)

would it be better if i had only cherry barbs in there and a school of them?? anyway thank you guys so much for the help that you have given me so far.

sorry guys i meant to quote the person who asked if they were in a school. im new as you can tell. lol

A school would increase your chances of getting a pair to breed. There's an ideal ratio of female to male, but I can't think of what it is (something like 3:1 or 5:2) to offset agressiveness.

i bought 2 more females and i added some plants to the tank i also added some ice cubes,(its hot where i am and i heard that it helps to make them breed) will the plants and ice help??

Ice cubes really aren't a good idea. Unless you made them from treated water, you just introduced harmful chemicals to your tank.

The best way to lower the temperature (as mentioned above) for breeding is to do a partial water change w/ water just slightly colder water, just a few degrees. When you put the ice cubes in, you introduced chlorinated water to your tank, I imagine. Also, using that method you can't control the temperature as well.

But to answer your question, yes, the more females, the heavier planting, and the cooler water will all help. Any luck getting hold of a test kit?

before i put the ice cubes in i put them in a ziploc bag so they wouldnt hurt anyone. and no i have absolutley NO money to buy a test kit so sometime this week i will buy one.

Ohhhh, then yea, that's fine. I thought you put the icecubes directly into the tank water and let them melt. Good thinking!

And no worries on the testing kit, you can always take your water to the pet shop and have them test it. Just something to keep in the back of your mind, as it just makes it a little easier to keep an eye on your water.

at my local pet store (wont name any names ) i asked the store owner if he had any suggestions and he said higher up the temp and leave the light on for longer i told him that i heard (from you guys ) that it was better to lower the temp or put ice cubes in there (ziploc bag) so what do you think about what he said is he right or wrong


oh yeah he said the lower temp. will give the fish ick

lowering the temp (again, only a degree or two at most) and feeding them live foods is meant to simulate their natural environment so as to produce natural breeding behavior. the slight drop in temperature is similar to what happens in the wild durring fall. the live foods are both rich in protein which they need, and is also similar to what fish would eat in the wild.

the employee was right about ich, though. fluctuating the temperature too much can cause stress for your fish, which will lower their immune system, and that can lead to an ich outbreak. as long as your heater is working properly, you should be fine though.

if the store you're talking about starts with a w and ends with an almart, i'm surprised they knew that.

no it starts with a t and ends with an aquarium, its a local store, theres only one. (thats not the full name for legal reasons)

Gotcha.

I was always told lower the temp, but I did find an article that suggested raising the temp... Maybe that's what the petstore employee was going on. However, the article said raise the temp to 78 degrees for egg layers, but you mentioned above your tank was already at 79, so I'd still tend to think lowering is the best bet.

On that note, do you have any idea what your pH is? In the wild, barbs are exposed to slightly acidic water - if yours is coming up basic that might be a reason they haven't bred yet. I wouldn't try and change the pH though, the stress of changing it would do more harm than good.

Other than that, just keep being patient

i took the females out of the tank i had them in and put them (theres 3 of them) in a heavely planted 5 gal. . in 2 weeks im going to indroduce the males and hopefuly the females will spawn.

and im feeding more live food