Tiger barb - Puntius tetrazona

Contributed by: Brittany»2»

On: November 24, 2006, 10:24 am

I have recently swithced from a cold water aquarium with several koi (moved to a pond) into a tropical community. I had planned on a large guppy population but was quickly distracted by the beauty of the Tiger Barb. I purchased 4 red Tiger Barbs and one Albino. Everything was fine except the albino relentlessly chased the others to the point of colorloss. So, I got rid of him. I was told you should have more than 4 Tiger Babrs, but my four are very peaceful together and don’t even compete for rank. I love Tiger Barbs and am trying to find another species of fish to go with them. Any suggestions? (No other Barbs). I would love platies...

Contributed by: admin»783»

On: November 24, 2006, 1:42 pm

Hello Britanny,

At first, how old are your Barbs? You’re saying they’re peaceful. Mostly all young fish aren’t aggressive. It also depends on the size of your aquarium. More space = less aggressivity (but this doesn’t equal everytime).

For example, you could try Platies or Plecos. Blue Gouramis are good too, since they’re not usually aggressive towards other species. If your tank is large enough, try Gouramis. I kept them for about 2 years and I was very happy (unfortunately, my tank became small for 6 gouramis).

In my opinion, buy fish which can protect themselves, but aren’t aggressive towards others. Fast tetras would be good decision too.

BTW, you can still search our database for fish which fit your requirements:).

Contributed by: Linda»4»

On: March 28, 2007, 4:45 pm

Yes tiger barbs are beautiful, but one of mine is grown a belly within a 2 week period, I've had them for couple months, they were fine when I got them, two got big, one is still practically the same size as when I bought them, and now one is noticably rounder? Am I feeding too much, or does he have dropsey (scales do not stand out though) or could she, not a he, be full of eggs? Cannot find anything in books, or on the internet to best know what is wrong if any, or what to do?? please answer me.

Contributed by: LordTonto»1»

On: September 6, 2007, 5:33 am

These fish may be peaceful, but they sure are as****es. You see, you gotta keep a bunch of them together or they start to snip at your other fish, even to the point of causing fatal damage. I had 6 of these little ba****ds together with 2 Angelfish in a 30 gallon tank and they were tons of fun. VERY active, always swimming in a school, not even parting to eat, they eat together, but they just wouldn’t stop picking on my Angels. I had to quarantine the Angelfish after one had it’s top and right fin nipped off completely, one little piece at a time. Poor thing swam sideways for ages, luckily, with a lot of care I was able to keep it alive.

Just a little note for community tankers: If you don’t get enough friends for these things to bug the hell out of, they will attack your other fish.

two "****" words modified by moderator

Contributed by: giovanni»2»

On: November 23, 2009, 11:33 am

I love my tiger barbs. I have 5 in a ten gallon tank. Although they look like they're biting each other. No fins have been nipped. They share the tank with a redtailed shark. They even follow each other sometimes. The only thing I don’t like is the barbs color keeps fading. And same for my redtail. But over all they are great fish. I plan on getting a gourami and maybe neon tetras. Cross me fingers =)