ok only have 4 of these little tiger barbs left about a half inch each.. everyones saying they need a bigger tank than a 20g.. so should i move these fish to my 55g tank? only thing is i have an oscar in there about 6in who could easily swallow the tiger barbs, and i cought him chasing a platy around the tank one day but couldnt catch him, i put the platy in a smaller tank. i also have a 10in tire track eel and 10in fire eel, who could deff fit them in there mouth, but have yet to show any signs of aggression towards any sized fish, and so far they will only eat bloodworms for me. should i maybe put the tier barbs in the 55g and put the oscar in the 20g? or is that way too small for a 6in oscar who grew at least 3in in 2 months?
Tiger Barbs Trouble!!
- Thread starter jah29
- Start date
I have found this thread very helpful- I havent owned tiger barbs myself (for this reason) but from what I have read this is a very common problem. I work at a pet store and find that people who buy tiger barbs (even of the same species) in groups of 4 or fewer have more problems. They are avid swimmers, so maybe space is an issue. I know the tank is already a bit crowded, try buying something to distract the agressive one maybe adding dither fish- perhaps a trio of giant danios, or australian rainbowfish? Get on craigslist and get a bigger tank(or just longer if you have the 20T, as opposed to the 20L) Just some thoughts.
I used to own Tiger barbs a while back before moving on to African cichlids but what i know from owning them is that they do better if kept in Odd numbers... 3's and 5's seem to be the magic number that worked for me. i never had any major aggression towards each other. They are a semi aggressive / tropical community border. More so aggressive towards their own kind. But like i said they seem to do better in odd number packs. also try the rule of thumb that 1 gallon for each inch of the fish and tiger barbs tend to get to be 3 inches. hope that helps ya out
i have 3 left.. and i moved them to a 20gL that has 3 platys an australian rainbow and a molly... the 3 tiger barbs left were all on their death beds when i moved them.. now there doing better than ever.. actively swimming around all over the tank together, eating, and best of all no aggression
im glad to hear everythings worked out for you Jah29, i havent owned them but from what i understand tehy are similar to african cichlids in the way that they establish a Heirarchy and have a dominant fish, and so on. and as the case with africans, more room + more fish are great factors to go by.
now that your remaining few are happy and active you could think to add to the school? because barbs in general like to be in groups of 5+
now that your remaining few are happy and active you could think to add to the school? because barbs in general like to be in groups of 5+
