I have 7 in a 55 with some balloon mollies, a black sailfin molly and some bristlenose plecos. The barbs keep to themselves,
How bad are tiger barbs in shoals?
- Thread starter GhostShrimpMan
- Start date
6 in my 75 w a rd. They fight sometimes, lota zipping around..est like crazy. Interesting little guys
Thats what I was told & thats how its been working out so far 
(6 tigers and 2 green tigers, to be exact..they all act like there's no difference)
(6 tigers and 2 green tigers, to be exact..they all act like there's no difference)I have kept à school of 20 for 2 or 3 years. They are great fish but are for sure a pain in the a.. if you mix them with other fish. The biggest problem I had was to properly feed other species since the tetrazonas eat at the speed of light and would rather explode than stop eating.
GhostShrimpMan;4608861; said:Like the title says, do they nip other none tiger barb fish if there is 6-8 of them, or do they keep it all to themselves? I hate to see nipped fins.
GSM:
In my experience with Tiger Barbs, they are most often purchased for the community aquarium as either a single fish or a pair. With this in mind, it's not a good idea as it will wreak havoc on the other occupants, nipping fins, and generally harrassing them.
HOWEVER, if kept in a shoal of 8+ individuals, they establish a pecking order amongst themselves, and more or less leave the other occupants alone. The males have more color, and are slimmer and smaller than the females. Make sure that you have both males and females in a shoal. As a suggestion to the numbers of each, I'd go 1 male for every 2 to 3 females.
There are several types of Barbs in similar shape and size to the Tiger Barb. They are:
1) Rosy Barb, (Barbus conchonius)
3 in. @ adult size.
Temp: 64-72*F
pH: 6.5 to 7.5, dH: to 12*
2) Cuming's Barb (Barbus cumingi)
2 in, @ adult size
Temp: 72-81*F
pH: 6.5 to 7.5, dH to 12*
3) Clown Barb (Barbus everetti)
4 in. @ adult size
Temp: 75-84*F
pH: 6.0 to 7.0, dH: to 12*
4) Clipper Barb (Barbus callipterus)
3.5 in.@ adult size
Temp: 68-75*F
pH: 6.5 to 7.5, dH: to 12*
5) Ruby Barb (Barbus nigrofasciatus)
2.5 in. @ adult size
Temp: 68-79*F
pH: 6.0 to 7.0, dH: to 15*
6) Five-Banded Barb (Barbus pentazona)
2 in. @ adult size
Temp: 72-79*F
pH: 6.0 to 6.5, dH: to 10*
7) (Barbus rhomboocellatus) - no common name available
2 in. @ adult size
Temp: 73-82*F
pH: 6.5 to 7.5, dH: to 10*
These are just a few which are similar in shape and size. There are other Barbs out there, but they range much larger, 6 to 14 inches in size. These are the closest ones in size I do remember having and kept records on. Good luck with your search and endeavors with your new choice of Barbs. I hope this helps.
~David
I have 10 tiger barbs in a community tank (105 gals) and they keep to themselves no problem. The community includes a severum, rainbow fish, bala sharks, loaches, plec, torpedo barbs and mollies.
The tigers chase each other and jockey for hierarchy between themselves every day, which is funny to watch, but they leave the other fish alone. Great fish with loads of personality!
The tigers chase each other and jockey for hierarchy between themselves every day, which is funny to watch, but they leave the other fish alone. Great fish with loads of personality!
I had a bunch of them in my 75 gallon and they nipped the other fish like crazy. As they grew they started nipping worse and worse, I had to get rid of them. I loved them but my other fish didn't.
