Clowns and tiger barbs, yay or nay?

[David R]

Looking for some new mid-swimmers to keep with my group of clowns, I've seen a few people keeping them with tiger barbs. I like the look, they're about the right size [and price] and most importantly they're readily available here in NZ. On the other hand I've heard people suggesting they can be nippy towards bigger fish (even those without long fins).
Other options I'm thinking are scissor tails (currently have a group of about 15), they're a good size but a little drab, or lemon tetras which I've kept in the past with them and they look great but are a little smaller than I'd like.

Thoughts?

 

[tlindsey]

Looking for some new mid-swimmers to keep with my group of clowns, I've seen a few people keeping them with tiger barbs. I like the look, they're about the right size [and price] and most importantly they're readily available here in NZ. On the other hand I've heard people suggesting they can be nippy towards bigger fish (even those without long fins).
Other options I'm thinking are scissor tails (currently have a group of about 15), they're a good size but a little drab, or lemon tetras which I've kept in the past with them and they look great but are a little smaller than I'd like.

Thoughts?

 

[David R]

Yep, those videos have been a big part of what's got me considering them...

 

[tlindsey]

Yep, those videos have been a big part of what's god me considering them...

My vote is yay.

 

[Galantspeedz]

i choose yay too.... had a group of tiger barbs with angel fish and some other community fish before


I find that when you have a large enough group of tiger barbs , they are too busy fighting each other to bother other fishes lol

 

[Cardeater]

One thing to consider is that Cory mentioned in one of his videos that he suspected that maybe the tiger Barbs we're causing the bigger clown Loaches to hide more. He speculated that maybe the smaller ones were more able to evade them when bothered but maybe bigger ones were not and decided to hide more.

He never expanded on that again though.

He also still recommended tiger Barbs in his clown Loach info video.

I personally wouldn't do it just in case the tiger Barb nippiness is an issue, even if it's minor as clown Loaches are my favorite fish.

Right now I have various rainbowfish with mine and I'm happy with this combo. Neither fish aggravate the other.

 

[Coryloach]

Yep, those videos have been a big part of what's got me considering them...

I've never owned tiger barbs besides seeing them chew the life of other fish in the fish shops so comparison is to be taken with a grain of salt but I've owned clown loaches for some years.

I think that baby clowns do really well with any sort of active school of fish they can mix into, weather tiger barbs or simply live bearers. So personally, I wouldn't rely much on the above video for long term success. Things change when they bulk up and become big fish. Small fish are not good enough as dithers.

What I find with my clowns is that they do well with equally active fish of similar size rather than small fish.

Here's my bunch with denison barbs and SAEs who totally mix together and seem to feed on each other's activity.

 

[David R]

I wish the Denison barbs were still available here in NZ, then we wouldn't even be having this discussion.

I'm not really a fan of rainbowfish TBH, except for the Madagascar ones but buying a decent sized school of them would be a costly endeavour. I'm not unhappy with the scissortails so maybe I'll just increase the school of them, or the other possible option [with our limited available species] is giant danios. I've never kept them before but they get to a similar size as the scissors and look nice (ish).

I've often told people that the best tank-mates for clown loaches are clown loaches, so maybe I should take my own advice...

 

[Coryloach]

I've often told people that the best tank-mates for clown loaches are clown loaches, so maybe I should take my own advice..

Pretty much....

If you add fish, go by the activity level they tend to have. You want boisterous type of fish for clown loaches that will enjoy and enhance the company of them. Shy fish and clown loaches are not a good combination. I personally wouldn't go for tiger barbs. I just don't like them.

I did consider rainbow fish myself but passed due to their susceptibility to Mycobacterium. Other than that I think they can do well together although I am yet to say so from experience.

 

[Cardeater]

I've often told people that the best tank-mates for clown loaches are clown loaches, so maybe I should take my own advice...

RD is.an advocate for that setup. He says that the clown Loaches behave differently in a species only tank and I think he prefers that setup.

What I find with my clowns is that they do well with equally active fish of similar size rather than small fish.

That's an interesting observation. I do notice that my smaller Loaches occasionally swim right next to a similar sized rainbowfish.

I suppose this argument would suggest something like silver dollars or the clouded archers that Aquarium coop Cory had for a tank featuring older, bigger clown Loaches.