gold barb sexing and questions

[A Railgun]

I have bought six gold barbs a few months ago and im alittle confused on what i have. I have read that gold barbs females r little bigger or plumper than the males. Some where dont recall where i read that females dont have the black patches on them. Is that true?

Four of my fish look fat alittle bit longer and not quite as bright as the other two. If females have black on them i would bet money that these r females.

Two of the little guys r slim and really bright. They actually look to have a slightly green sheen down the black spots on the sides. I think they r males but unsure.

Also what is the best male to female ratio in a school? I would like to add more to my current stock.

These little guys r quickly becoming one of my favorite fish.

[zed]

my females are plumper and a little larger and as you say don't have as much of the green/black spots on them. they have a few specks but no where near as much as my two males. the gold barb is a color form of the green barb and you don't see many of the green barbs for sale any more. somewhere along the way the gold color became more popular. i have found some of the wild form for sale on the internet and if i ever run across them in a lfs i think i might get a couple. but i would bet the ones you have with the less green/black spots are your females. the skinnier and smaller ones with more green/black on them are the males.