Rosy Barb Tank Mates

• Adolf's Cory✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5.5 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Adolf's Cory in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Agassiz's Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Agassiz's Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Banjo Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 15 cm · Medium care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 20–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Black Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 23–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Blood Red Tiger Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Medium care · 24–29 °C (75–84 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Bolivian Ram✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 8 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Burmese Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Butterfly Hillstream Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 18–24 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Corydoras Catfish✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Corydoras Catfish in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Duplicareus Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5.5 cm · Medium care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Duplicareus Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Elegant Cory✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Elegant Cory in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• False Julii Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep False Julii Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Giant Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Hillstream Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 20–24 °C (68–75 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 20–24 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Kuhli Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Leopard Frog Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 9 cm · Medium care · 25–30 °C (77–86 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 25–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Narcissus II Cory✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 5.5 cm · Medium care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 22–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Narcissus II Cory in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Panda Loach✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Hard care · 18–23 °C (64–73 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 18–23 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Peppered Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 18–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Peppered Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Slate Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 23–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Slate Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Spotfin Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Spotfin Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Spotted Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 7 cm · Easy care · 22–27 °C (72–81 °F)
  • Compatible on the things that matter: shared water near 22–26 °C, workable temperaments, and no predator-and-prey size gap.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Spotted Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Spotted Rubbernose Pleco✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 12 cm · Medium care · 20–26 °C (68–79 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here; temperature, pH and hardness ranges all overlap and neither outsizes the other enough to be a threat.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Sterbai Corydoras✅ Compatible
  Peaceful · 6.5 cm · Medium care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Semi-aggressive + Peaceful, but with no direct clash here, and their water overlaps around 24–26 °C — no size, zone or temperament conflicts.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Sterbai Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Afra Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Afra Cichlid in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Bearded Corydoras⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 18–24 °C (64–75 °F)
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Bearded Corydoras in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Clown Rasbora⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Expect Rosy Barb to harass Clown Rasbora at times; give dense cover and watch them at feeding.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Clown Rasbora in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Daffodil Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–27 °C (73–81 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Daffodil Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~120 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Electric Yellow Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–26 °C (73–79 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~200 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Giant Danio⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 20–27 °C (68–81 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Giant Danio are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add giant danio in a group to spread the pressure.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~110 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
  • Keep Giant Danio in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Golden Wonder Killifish⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Keyhole Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Keyhole Cichlid are close in size, but the semi-aggressive one tends to dominate — add keyhole cichlid in a group to spread the pressure.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Kribensis⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Easy care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Kribensis can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Molly⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Rosy Barb is semi-aggressive and may chase or nip the smaller Molly — plant heavily and break up sight lines.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Porthole Catfish⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–28 °C (72–82 °F)
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Rusty Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Rusty Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~150 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Tanganyikan Butterfly Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Tanganyikan Butterfly Cichlid can both be territorial; doable with space and dense planting, but watch for chasing.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~130 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Topaz Cichlid⚠️ With caution
  Semi-aggressive · 10 cm · Medium care · 23–28 °C (73–82 °F)
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Upside-down Catfish⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Easy care · 22–26 °C (72–79 °F)
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~115 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Zebra Pleco⚠️ With caution
  Peaceful · 10 cm · Hard care · 26–30 °C (79–86 °F)
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~80 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Alligator Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 250 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Rosy Barb and Alligator Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Size gap is too large (250 vs 10 cm): Alligator Gar will treat Rosy Barb as food.
  • Alligator Gar is slow and long-finned; a busy rosy barb shoal tends to nip at it. Keep rosy barb in a proper group of 6+ and watch them closely.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~3785 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Clown Knifefish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Clown Knifefish are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Rosy Barb is bite-sized to a 90 cm predatory clown knifefish — it will be eaten.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~750 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Fire Eel⛔ Not recommended
  Semi-aggressive · 100 cm · Medium care · 24–28 °C (75–82 °F)
  • Rosy Barb is bite-sized to a 100 cm predatory fire eel — it will be eaten.
  • Both are a bit pushy (semi-aggressive + semi-aggressive) — workable only in a larger tank with cover and broken sight lines.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~380 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Koi⛔ Not recommended
  Peaceful · 90 cm · Medium care · 4–28 °C (39–82 °F)
  • Size gap is too large (90 vs 10 cm): Koi will treat Rosy Barb as food.
  • Rosy Barb is a notorious fin-nipper — even though Koi is larger, an active shoal will harass its trailing fins. Only safe in a full group of 6+ with plenty of cover.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~3800 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Redtail Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 120 cm · Hard care · 24–27 °C (75–81 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Rosy Barb and Redtail Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Size gap is too large (120 vs 10 cm): Redtail Catfish will treat Rosy Barb as food.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~5700 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Spotted Gar⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 90 cm · Hard care · 18–26 °C (64–79 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Rosy Barb and Spotted Gar will hold territory and clash.
  • Spotted Gar (90 cm) is big enough to swallow the 10 cm Rosy Barb whole.
  • Spotted Gar is slow and long-finned; a busy rosy barb shoal tends to nip at it. Keep rosy barb in a proper group of 6+ and watch them closely.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~600 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Wels Catfish⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 300 cm · Hard care · 15–25 °C (59–77 °F)
  • Two assertive fish, one genuinely aggressive: Rosy Barb and Wels Catfish will hold territory and clash.
  • Size gap is too large (300 vs 10 cm): Wels Catfish will treat Rosy Barb as food.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~20000 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.
• Wolf Cichlid⛔ Not recommended
  Aggressive · 72 cm · Hard care · 24–30 °C (75–86 °F)
  • Rosy Barb and Wolf Cichlid are both territorial and at least one is outright aggressive — expect serious fighting.
  • Rosy Barb is bite-sized to a 72 cm predatory wolf cichlid — it will be eaten.
  • Rosy Barb is a notorious fin-nipper — even though Wolf Cichlid is larger, an active shoal will harass its trailing fins. Only safe in a full group of 6+ with plenty of cover.
  • Your 75 L tank is below the ~760 L this pairing really wants — crowding raises aggression.
  • Keep Rosy Barb in a shoal of 6+ or it gets stressed and nippy.

Compatibility is computed from each species' care data — a strong starting point, not a guarantee. Individual temperament varies, so always introduce new fish slowly and watch them.