Tiger Barb
The colors really come alive in this fish gallery picture of a Tiger Barb, Puntius tetrazona, by K.Zadorozhny. I kept a school of 6 Tiger Barbs in my first freshwater fish tank. They are a fun fish to watch. I think Tiger Barbs have gotten a bad name of being aggressive fish. Keeping them in a group, does help them avoid getting into trouble.
Originally, I had two regular Tiger Barbs, as you see above. I schooled those with two Green Tiger Barbs, and two Albino Tiger Barbs. Unlike Tetra fish, who generally only school in their own group, ie. Neon Tetras will only school with Neon Tetras, and Black Neon Tetras wil only school with Black Neons; it doesn’t matter with Tiger Barbs. Feel free to mix and match these fish. Some considerations to think about if you’re looking to add the Tiger Barb to your aquarium:
- Tiger Barbs are best kept in groups of 5 or more
- Belongs to the Cyprinidae family
- Tank conditions most suitable include 73 - 79°F, pH 6.0 - 7.0, KH 4 - 10
- Maximum size is 3 inches
I kept my Tiger Barbs in a semi-aggressive tank. Other fish included Loaches, Gourami, a couple Plecos, a Redtail Black Shark, and Swordtails. I never saw the Tiger Barbs attack other fish. One thing they would do, which was quite hilarious, is chase each other around the tank. I’m not sure if it was just a game they played, or something else. They wouldn’t do it often, but the Tiger barb in the lead would weave in and out of plants, twisting and turning everywhere. The others followed exactly behind. They would also periodically do face to face duels. Again, I’m not sure if this was to determine a leader, or just a game.
For breeding Tiger Barbs; let them pair off. The male Tiger Barb fertilizes the eggs once the female lays them. You’ll want to feed the fry brine shrimp after they beome free-swimming. That takes about a week.
I fed my Tiger Barbs flake food and bloodworms. I also spoiled them with Brine shrimp. This will bring out the lovely red color you see in the photo. I highly recommend the Tiger Barb, if you want a fish that’s fun to watch. I miss mine.
July 23rd, 2007 at 3:42 pm
hi.
i have five tiger barbs (bearing in mind i do not knoe too much about tropical fish) in my tank. one of them is more separated from the others who stick together. this fish has red at the sides near its mouth. it is bullying the others a bit, is bossy and is eating more than the others. my friend thinks it is a different species or gender but on the internet they look almost identical. can you help me out here?
July 24th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Hey Lucas,
My bet is that you’ve just got a tiger barb that dominates the others. You may have heard the term “leader of the pack”. That tiger barb is the leader. Have you ever seen them go head to head in a playful fight? When they do that, they’re jockeying for position.
July 29th, 2007 at 12:51 pm
Dear Fish tank, I have five tiger barbs. But one of them, named Whisper, always seperates himself from the others and hides at the back of the tank. Is this normal behavior, or do you think that he is weaker than the others and fears for his life? I do have a dominant male who is much more vibrantly colored, and always makes a point of bullying the other tigers around. (Named Chief, appropriately.) Do you think that Whisper is afraid of Chief?
July 30th, 2007 at 4:37 pm
i have tiger barbs in my 100 gal tank. if in case they are mating…what will i do. my tank is plain. i don’t like plastic plants. i only have few rocks. small ones. please tell me what to do in case one of them will be laying eggs. thank you so much in advance
Leslie
July 31st, 2007 at 8:50 pm
Hi Amira,
I think that Whisper (I like that name) may be a little afraid of Chief, but it’s nothing to worry about. Whisper is smart enough to have found a hiding place to relax. When Whisper swims in an area you can see the fish, take a look to make sure there are no little white spots, or ick. That would be the only other possibility for your fish to swim alone.
July 31st, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Thanks for asking Leslie,
Breeding tiger barbs is going to be pretty tough if you’re not set up for it. You’d need plenty of broad leafed plants, so they could spread their eggs. Then you’d have to remove the adults from your 100 gallon tank, because tiger barbs have a healthy appetite for those eggs.
If your goal is to enjoy your barbs, then you’ll just have to let mother nature take it’s course. If you plan on breeding them, you’ll need to set up a separate tank.
August 1st, 2007 at 9:27 am
i have a tank with 7 tiger barbs 2 albino and 5 normal. the water is a little low right now so the filter supplies enough oxygen but if i add more water should i put an airator in with them???
this is my first tiger barb fish tank
August 1st, 2007 at 8:57 pm
Hey fish freak!
As long as you have a good filter, an air pump isn’t really necessary. What an aerator will do is increase surface area, and improve circulation. If the filter is providing good circulation, you should be ok.
If you do get something. I prefer the effects of airstones personally. Don’t waste your time with the bubble bar type aerator. They get clogged easy. Of course there’s also fun decor that produces bubbles too.
Have fun!
August 3rd, 2007 at 8:04 pm
thanks
i ended up putting an airstone in and they love swimming in the bubbles!!!
August 3rd, 2007 at 9:18 pm
Excellent
August 5th, 2007 at 6:18 pm
ok i have another question!!! lol
how often would you guys do a water change on a 15 gallon tank with 7 medium sized tiger barbs?
August 6th, 2007 at 7:33 pm
Hey!
Well, I’d suggest a 20% water change every 2-3 weeks.
August 7th, 2007 at 3:11 pm
thanks!!!!
August 15th, 2007 at 6:54 am
PLEASE HELP!!!
my two albino tiger barbs arn’t doing very well. one of them is getting beaten up and his fins and tail are shredded. the other has somthing wrong with his mouth ??? i have no idea what it is but he can’t close it and it looks like his bottem jaw is too long. both of them arn’t eating very well and they arn’t swimming around with like the others , they stay in the same spot all day.
August 16th, 2007 at 9:07 pm
Well that’s no good! Have you done a water test to check your ammonia and nitrite levels? How long have the fish been in the tank? Did you check for ich? Were the barbs all added at once initially? Was the tank cycled?
August 17th, 2007 at 11:21 am
one of the albino ones died
ive done water tests and everything is fine and the fish have been in the tank for about… two months. i was looking at them about two days ago and saw a few wihite spots on one so now im treating them for ich. o ya and i took the other albino fish (the one with the mouth problem) and put him in his own tank. so far so good. (knock on wood). any other suggestions are welcome!!!
thanks
August 17th, 2007 at 10:48 pm
I was afraid of that. Ich is tough. The damage has been done by the time you see the little white spots. Sounds like you’re doing all you can. Quarantine the sick fish, and treat them all for ich.
August 18th, 2007 at 6:36 pm
hi i have two tiger barbs on my 30 gal. tank, at first they would chase each other around the tank but now one just sits in the corner of the tank! it still eats regularly and plays with the other barb but not as much as it used to. Whats wrong with him/her?
August 19th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Hello Sahara,
As long as your water is testing normal, and your tiger barbs are free of disease and ich, it just may be that the one tiger barbs prefers to spend more time alone. Just like humans, fish will change their relationships; who they hang out with, and for how long.
If you have the room (1 inch per gallon), I would suggest adding a few more tiger barbs. They tend to be more playful in groups.
Mike
September 1st, 2007 at 1:04 pm
i lost the two albino fish to ich. but the treatment was successful for the other 5. thanks for all your help!!!
September 3rd, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Unfortunately, it happens. All you can do is treat them with Rid-Ich, and isolate if possible. I have the worst luck with ich when I buy fish from stores that have their water system connected to all the tanks. If a batch of fish come in sick, the chances of others getting sick is higher. I try to buy from fish stores with separate aquariums when I can.
Best of luck and enjoy your aquarium!
September 9th, 2007 at 4:35 am
Hey i was thinking of having a 30 liter tank with tiger barbs red tail shark and maybe a BN or a pleco..but if that doesn’t work im sure i can make an african set scene…what do you think i should do?
September 9th, 2007 at 3:57 pm
Hey Posh,
I like that setup. The Tiger Barbs would definitely hold their own with a red-tail in the tank. The pleco would mind his own business, and help with algae cleaning. Like it.
In the end it comes down to what you like. Sounds as if you’ve got a plan.
Mike
September 10th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
I bought 6 tiger barbs and they swam around nice and cool. But later on, the smallest one started jumping out of the water…what do i do? Oh, and some fish hide under the gravel and come out for food and goes back in…is something wrong with the water? is it too cold?
September 17th, 2007 at 6:35 pm
Hey Danny,
Hmmm. Hopefully you have a cover over your aquarium. I’ve never had Tiger Barbs jump out of the water. As long as it can’t jump completely out of the tank, it will be fine.
Do you have a heater? If your water is colder than 70 degress, you need one. Also, it depends what kind of fish are hiding in the gravel.
Plecostomus and loaches will hide all day. It’s just their nature.
September 18th, 2007 at 3:53 am
will tiger barbs nip the fins of a siamese fighting fish? i have 1 fighter and some leopard dannio’s will tiger barbs get on with these fish? thanks lucy.
September 19th, 2007 at 1:50 pm
Hi Lucy,
It’s not recommended that you mix siamese fighting fish/betta’s with most fish. You’d likely have problems combining barbs and your fighter.
Here’s a compatibility chart for freshwater fish, that may give you some ideas on what will work better.
http://www.funfishtank.com/2006/08/fish-compatibility-chart-freshwater/
September 20th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
hey guys,
this is the first time im visiting this website and believe it is REALLY helpful.
I bought my first 14 gallon aquarium in december and had 2 tiger barbs, 2 silver sharks, 2 glassfifh, and two rainbow sharks (atleast the dealer said this was the name).
it went on fine for about two months but then suddenly the sharks started losing fins. i didnt know what it was at the time and so changed the water(the dealer said this was the most effective method to remove most illnesses). it died and the same thing happened to all my other fishes one by one till only 1 tiger barb and 1 rainbow shark was left.
Then i went on a holiday in july and left the tank to the care of my gate keeper. he overfed them and both of them died.
Anyway now i have planted Java Fern and fanwort in my tank(previously i had no plants). and have added 6 tiger barbs. The day after putting them in the tank, i noticed 1 had a fin shredded. I again changed the water (lolz) and it helped.
but the problem is that all of them are sort of jumping on the java fern and using it like a trampoline. its really fun 2 watch but i wanted to ask that can this be cause of some illness???
Thnaks again!!!
September 21st, 2007 at 7:35 pm
Hi Mazhar,
Your fish probably died in the first attempt because of overstocking. You should only have 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. So 14 inches for a 14 gallon aquarium. Also, rainbow sharks should be kept alone. They’re aggressive toward companions. Here’s the profile…
http://www.funfishtank.com/2007/09/rainbow-shark/
In the new tank, have you checked the ammonia and nitrite levels? They should be at 0. A water test kit will work.
If the tiger barbs form little white crystals on their skin that look almost like salt… that’s ich, and deadly. Check them.
If both those procedures check out, you’re 95% ok.
October 7th, 2007 at 10:51 am
What an interesting website to come across. It’s fun reading some of the stories about your fish. Currently I have 2 tiger barbs, with 4 more ordered and on the way, since I know they do better in groups. We also have a pleco, catfish and a platy. They all seem to do fine together. The platy roams the top of the tank, most of the time. The catfish and pleco stick to the bottom and the tiger barbs are usually in the middle playing in the bubbles from the air stone. I just finally found out today how to tell the males from the females and ordered supplies so that we can breed them. It should be interesting, since I usually can’t keep anything alive more than a few weeks. It’s been a couple months now and all is going good. Thanks for all the tips I have been reading here. They have been very helpful.
Ames
October 9th, 2007 at 8:24 am
Hi Ames,
Thanks for stopping by!
Your current tiger barbs will enjoy having 4 more friends.
October 12th, 2007 at 5:29 pm
Hi!
I have 3 tiger barbs. They were fighting a lot at first. But now, their new “game” is to swim head down in the bubbles! They line up and stay like that for several minutes.
Then they all stay togeter and slowly travel together at the bottom of the tank.
I am concerned because their mouth opens and closes rapidly at times.
Their gills look a bit purplish and then they don’t look purple anymore a few seconds after. Still, they are very active and eat normally
Is this gill’s disease?
Thanks!
October 13th, 2007 at 9:40 pm
Hi Marjorie…
My tiger barbs will do the same thing. It’s normal for them.
As long as they’re eating like normal, they should be fine. If the fish start laying on the bottom, or acting lethargic, then you should become concerned!
Mike
October 17th, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Hi!
It’s Marjorie (again).
My barbs are not getting better. Their gills are purplish so I put some medication in the tank for parasites (a product called parasite clear). Only now, their scales are turning black!
What is going on???
I did many amonia tests, and I had 0 ammonia. I did many water changes because the nitrite levels were up and unhealty.
Nitrate levels are always at 5. Ph at 7.4…I have a 10g aquarium.
Are they dying?
October 23rd, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Hi, i have two tiger barbs and two tetras so far. And my little tiger barb randomely started floating around. Is he sick? He floats upside down and he got sucked onto the filter. I hope he makes it through the night. Is that an illness, disease or any type of sickness i should watch out for in the future?
October 24th, 2007 at 4:32 am
My little tiger barb died!!!!! and my other one looks lonely. My two tetras are always laying on the gravel. Are they sick??
October 24th, 2007 at 5:51 am
Carolyn,
Sorry to hear that! Check your ammonia and nitrite levels. If they’re ok, it’s probably a disease.
Your tetras sound sick, and should be medicated. It may be too late though.
Are you doing water changes?
If the fish are new within a month, they may have already had a disease when you got them. I’ll treat new fish with rid-ich when I get them sometimes, even though they don’t act sick.
Some chain pet stores have water running through all the tanks, so disease spreads. Buying from a store with individual tanks is best when available.
October 25th, 2007 at 6:11 pm
Well now two of my four fish died. And before they did they were near the top of the tank and near the heater. Now one of my other fish ( there are only 2 left) is right up at the top and next to the heater. Good god i guess i got some sick fish
October 26th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
Hi,
i got 5 guppies yesterday and my tiger barb is really agressive towards them is he just trying to show hes # 1 or is this just natural behavior? I dont want to have to give away any of my fish =[
October 27th, 2007 at 2:42 pm
Hi Carolyn,
Tiger Barbs are fin nippers best kept in schools of five or more. They’re suited for the semi-aggressive tank.
Here’s a freshwater compatibility chart, which helps determine suitable companions.
http://www.funfishtank.com/2006/08/fish-compatibility-chart-freshwater/
Hope you have better luck with the guppies!
November 12th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
I just recently purchased five tiger barbs, and none of them seem to be eating real aggressively? if anyone has any ideas please let me know, thanks
Shane
November 12th, 2007 at 7:50 pm
Hi. I have a 14 gallon tank with 2 zebra danios, 2 bloodfin tetras, 2 tiger barbs, and 1 rainbow shark. I started the tank a month ago with all of the fish except for the tiger barbs, which I added two weeks ago. At first they were shy and didn’t swim around much, but they eventually became quite active. However, today my tiger barbs aren’t looking so well. One of them has lost all of its color in its fins, almost flips over, and keeps going to the surface. The other is staying at the surface. I added AmQuel+ today to lower my nitrates and nitrates (which were very high). Do you think they will survive? Any other tips? Oh and they have several white spots on their tails. I have heard about this thing called “ich,” do you think that is what it is?
November 12th, 2007 at 10:21 pm
Hi Shane,
I bought 6 small tiger barbs two weeks ago myself. I’m feeding them once to twice a day. They’re heading to the top of the tank when they see me getting ready to feed.
If your fish aren’t acting like this, check your ammonia and nitrite levels. If the water tests ok, you may consider treating for ich or other diseases.
Mike
November 12th, 2007 at 10:28 pm
Chris
Those little white spots that look like salt are an indication of disease and ich. I use the product rid-ich
, and hope for the best.
November 23rd, 2007 at 10:57 pm
Hey I have 2 tiger barb fish….and one of them keeps changing color like its sick…if it fades away then it will come back a couple days later. It sits in the bottom corner of the tank behind a plant…all day. The orange that is suppose to be on it is like there is a grey coat over it, and the black stripes are a dark grey and light green color. I have put medicine in the tank for ich. I put stress coat in the tank cause I cleaned the tank. And this stuff called MelaFix…None of it seems to be working
what is wrong with him and what should I do before it dies????
November 25th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
i have a 10 gal fish tank with 3 tiger barbs and 2 tinfoil barbs. i have tried to get more of the to species but can’t find any. would you know any good websites to buy fish, if not what fish could go together with mine
November 26th, 2007 at 4:19 am
hi,
recently i brought 4 tiger barbs and 2 swordfish.
4-5 days later 2 sword fish started rubbing their gills on gravel. i tried 7-8 blue medicine and changed 1/4th water as well. added few grams of slat also.
but i think barbs alos got infected. they have started rubbing their gills on walls/gravels.
and today i lost one swordfish.:(
November 27th, 2007 at 3:14 pm
Feleicia, Not knowing the size of your tank or other inhabitants.. your tiger barb may be under stress. I use ich when I see white crystal spots, and I never use other chemicals. How are your ammonia and nitrite levels?
barb-y, Your 10 gallon tank would be overstocked if you add more fish. Remember 1 inch of fish per gallon. I have bought fish online from liveaquaria.com with good luck. The shipping can be quite expensive though.
Vivek, Sounds like you brought home fish that were sick. The difficulty with ich, is that it lives in the fish and does the damage before you know it’s there. By adding rid-ich, you’re killing the eggs in the water, so they can’t hatch, and infest your fish again.
I try to buy my fish from places that have single tanks.. such as smaller fish shops. Commercial pet stores run their water system through all the tanks usually. This makes it more likly disease will spread.
November 28th, 2007 at 8:58 pm
Thanks for the help. Although my two tiger barbs seemed to get better after being treated with Rid-Ich, one of them ended up dying. However, the other one is doing great. After the initial treatment, the ich has come back once but I was able to rid it again. Now I use it every three or so days.
Anyway, do you think I should buy another buddy for my lonely tiger barb? I still have 1 red tail shark, 2 bloodfin tetras, 2 zerbra danios, and 1 tiger barb.
It’s weird how none of the fish were affected by ich except the tiger barbs…
November 28th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Hi Chris,
Your redtail shark will eventually get territorial. I wouldn’t add any more fish.
You shouldn’t have to keep treating for ich after that first or second round of treatment. Water changes should keep your tank ok.
I’ve had the same experience with ich. Only a few fish seemed affected by it. In my case, it was green tiger barbs that were probably infected at the pet store.
Mike
November 29th, 2007 at 1:09 pm
Ooh thanks. Actually I have a rainbow shark and just realized that I typed red tail.
I think it should be okay though. He was aggressive at first but has since mellowed out and spends most of his time in my pirate ship hull or vetical between the sail and mast.
December 25th, 2007 at 9:06 am
I have 5 tiger bard fish, 2 of them died. I dont know whats wrong with them, they started swimming upside down then stayed still upside down, then eventually they died.
December 26th, 2007 at 11:21 am
My other 3 tiger barbs just stay in a corner by the water heater, i have two other rainbow sharks in the aquarium. one of them is very aggresive and chases the tiger bard around i think thats why they stay in that corner.
December 26th, 2007 at 9:17 pm
Ihsan,
Your tiger barbs are either already sick or stressed. Do they have enough swimming room? Did you check the water quality? Are they new fish?
Read the previous posts here where I’ve offered some suggestions on tiger barb care.
GOOD LUCK!
December 27th, 2007 at 10:37 am
its a 39 gallon tank and they just stay in one place all the time, i have got the water checked and its good, and i had the fish for about a month now, they just started doing this when the sharks came in.
December 28th, 2007 at 1:35 pm
Another one of my tiger barb just died today, yesterday i checked the water and my nitrates was high and i had high alkalinity. i put some stress zyme in the water. now today one of my rainbow is not really moving, he seems very weak. can you help me whith my fish.
December 29th, 2007 at 2:03 pm
Ihsan,
Is the water temp ok?
Have you done a water change?
If your nitrite and ammonia levels are both at 0, then the water should be ok. Those levels are most important. Are there any white spots on the fish?… it looks like salt stuck on their skin. Treat w/ rid-ich if there is.
I’m not sure what stress zyme does, but an anti-bacterial medicine may be needed. If you do treat them, it should be for usually 10 days. You want to stick w/ 1 antibiotic when treating.
Personally, I’ve only ever used rid-ich.
Do they have plenty of hiding spots? Tiger barbs are semi-aggressive. A 39 gallon fish tank should be enough room for all of them, but they probably would like more cover if they’re being chased.
December 31st, 2007 at 2:18 pm
Hey all! I’m setting up a new 46 gallon tank and I’ve stocked it with 5 tiger barbs. I filled up the tank about 3 days before I added the fish and tested the water. I’ve got a relatively high kh and gh, but from what I’ve read, it should be ok, just at their upper end of tolerance. This is well water by the way, no chlorine or municipal water additives. Water is at 78 degrees.
Anyway, I added the tiger barbs to the tank yesterday and I think they were stressed. They were pretty much just conglomerating behind some artifical vegitation by the heater and not coming out. They didn’t even go after some freeze dried bloodworms. Anyway, I turned down the flow of the filter this morning and they seem to have started coming out and swimming around.
Having never had an aquarium before, I’m trying my best to ensure survival. I’ve seen some of y’all mention treating for ich (a disease I assume– I’ll research it) on new fish, regardless of if they show signs or not. Is this a generally recommended practive?
Additionally, I’d like to add some different barbs so these guys can have some other friends. Do different barbs get along with each other and will they all school together?
Let me know if you have any tips for a fish noob!
Thanks!
January 1st, 2008 at 10:59 am
Happy New Year Nicodareus,
The main item you’ll want to watch are your nitrite and ammonia levels. They’ll start going up from the fish waste being produced. Don’t add any more fish for a while until your tank cycles. You’ve got a nice size tank so should be ok.
It will have to grow bacteria that eats first the ammonia… and then the nitrites. I would wait a month before adding any fish.
I prefer fishless cycling, but you’ve started your cycling process with fish. Just be patient.
I’ve had albino tiger barbs as well as green tiger barbs stocked with my regular barbs.
This freshwater compatibility chart should give you more ideas for compatible companions.
I wouldn’t recommend rid-ich as a proactive measure. Just make sure they’re eating ok.
Stay patient, and you’ll have success… and have fun!
Mike
January 2nd, 2008 at 7:34 am
I have figured out why my fish are dying , but about two days i looked at my rainbow shark and it looks almost white like a real light gray, is that because hes growiiing or what and he now just stays in the cave all day but usually he comes out in the morning.
January 2nd, 2008 at 8:50 pm
Thanks for the reply Mike. Happy New Year to you as well! I’m checking the water daily and monitoring pretty much everything including ammonia. The ammonia is slowly creeping up. The fish are currently pretty small (1 inch) so I’m hoping I haven’t blown the tank cycle
They seem to be hanging out and chasing each other significantly more now. I was planning on doing a partial water change soon (probably this weekend) as I’ve seen recommended (10-20%). My hope is to help alleviate the potential water problems described below. Do you agree with this or should I just let everything build up for a while?
An update on the water — I mis-typed my readings. My gh is about 30 and the kh is still pretty high at 240ppm and my ph is about 8-8.5. I’m concerned about those values, however I’ve read many places that is kind of on the upper end of the barb tolerance range. Nitrates are still at zero and ammonia is slowly increasing, now up to about 0.20 - 0.25 ppm. From what I’ve read this is what I should be expecting.
Anyway, thanks for taking the time and supplying the info! I’m slowly making my through your site and have found it quite informative.
January 3rd, 2008 at 9:24 pm
Nicodareus,
You’ll soon notice your ammonia drop and the nitrite level rise. I’d wait on the water change, unless you see the ammonia go extremely high. I do a 20% change every month in my 37 gallon Eclipse III. The biowheel filter system keeps it real clean. So it also depends on your filter.
As long as you’re in range with ph, gh, etc levels… tiger barbs are fairly hardy, and should do ok.
I’m glad you’ve found some useful info here at funfishtank
Mike
January 5th, 2008 at 4:48 pm
Ihsan,
I missed your comment. The color of your rainbow shark could indicate fungus. Try searching for “fish disease”, and those symptoms, to track down a possible problem.
January 6th, 2008 at 1:16 pm
Thanks, you have been very helpful. But i have one more question, i had one tiger bard that just stayed by the filter all day, he usually dont eat at all and is little and it looks like his color has change too. So i had put 4 more tiger bards in there and it was suppose to make him play with the others but it didnt it stills just stay by that filter. is he scared or just doesnt like to be with the others?
January 8th, 2008 at 9:07 am
Ihsan,
Is that Tiger Barb eating? If not, it could be sick. It won’t want to play if it’s sick.
January 11th, 2008 at 10:07 pm
is it okay if i put angel fish and silver dollar fish ing with my sharks and tiger bards, will they damage there fins?
January 12th, 2008 at 9:17 am
my fish has Ick right now and i dont know what to do!!! please help! One of my tiger Barb’s died this morning but when i found him he didn’t have and white spots on him, and the one that is about to die if i dont do anything has white spots on him! we seperated him from the other fishies and now he is in a pineapple container!
January 12th, 2008 at 4:38 pm
Lindsay,
Sorry to hear that. You need to treat them with a treatment like “rid-ich”. Unfortunately, the white spots appearing is the last stage. Treating for 10-14 days is important.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:24 am
U miss my question again LOL…
January 13th, 2008 at 12:48 pm
Hi Ihsan,
Ahhh, I see your question now.
I’d be hesitant adding angelfish with barbs and sharks. You can, but once the sharks are mature, they could become very territorial. Angelfish fins are a lot more vulnerable than the silver dollars would be. I’d go with just the silver dollars if it were me. They should go very well with barbs and sharks. Silver dollars are peaceful, but able to defend themselves.
Also remember to give enough growing room in your aquarium.
January 13th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Bummer… Lost a Tiger Barb this afternoon. I can’t tell what he died of nothing blatant at least, however after a closer inspection of the other fish, there is one in the tank with a couple white spots and his tail fin looks broken/ chewed. The dead one didn’t have any white spots. He was the smallest of the tiger barbs and the one looking a bit bedraggled is the second smallest one.
We added a few danios about 5-6 days ago and now the barbs actually don’t seem to eat as much as they used to. I’m starting an ich treatment at the moment as I think the danios may have infected the tank, however only 1 barb is showing signs of problems.
I knew I shouldn’t have added the danios as our tank seems to be in the middle of the nitrogen cycle. Brown algae has just started coming out in full force and from what I’ve read there are a number of reasons, but the most prominent is on a new tank. The ammonia has gone up to about 2 or so, hopefully it will drop soon — that may be why the smallest barb died..?
Any input would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
January 13th, 2008 at 9:09 pm
Awww… the other sickly one died about 20 mins ago
All the barbs seems to be a bit anti-social lately. Bummer.
January 15th, 2008 at 5:35 pm
Hi!
I noticed that it seems a lot of people are having problems with Ich. One pretty sure way to cure it without the use of chemicals and medications is to gradually raise the tank temperature ot 83-85 degreesF. Make sure to not shock your fish with the increse in temperature, and many fish don’t like it quite that warm for any extended period of time. you can also try the heat and medicine together.
Hope this helps.
January 17th, 2008 at 8:36 am
Thanks for the tip April!
January 17th, 2008 at 9:53 am
Nicodareus,
One reason why I use the fishless cycling method is because you avoid worrying about ammonia and nitrites. Both levels are at zero before you add fish.
Unfortunately, one problem with getting new fish is that they can be sick or stressed before you add them. It can take a month to find this out. Some commercial pet stores run their water system through all the tanks. Ways to help cut the problem is by using an isolation tank, fishless cycling, and find fish stores that have individual tanks. These are usually smaller non-chain shops.
Also.. be as patient as possible
Hope the ich treatment helps..and you may want to turn the heat up as April suggested
January 20th, 2008 at 9:13 am
I think my silver dollar fish have ich, and i know one of my tiger bard have it too. But is that just how they look because i see little white pieces on my silver dollars, but i only see about about 2 or 3 peices on them.
January 24th, 2008 at 4:44 pm
hi im tryig to breed barbs can any 1 help when do i put the female in to the breeding tank
January 25th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
dear fish tank,
I just bought 2 tiger barb fish today and it seems like they arent having to much fun, they just sit at the bottom of the tank, and now the bigger one’s stripes are kinda grey and the orange isnt to orange anymore…. the smaller one looks fine, i dont know alot about fish… is he going to be ok? or whats going on??
January 28th, 2008 at 9:42 am
Ihsan, If the silver dollar has ich, treating it at the same time as the barb should help. Try not adding fish until you’re positive the fish you already have are healthy.
Tay, Here’s some good info on tiger barb breeding
“When you have separated the sexes you should start feeding them a spawning-inducing diet. Tiger Barbs are happy eaters and will usually consume anything you give them, but breeding Tiger Barbs require a diet rich in protein to do well. Freeze dried Tubifex is known to induce spawning in Tiger Barbs, but other protein rich food types can also work well. Live food is always a good idea.
The temperature in the aquariums where you keep your Tiger Barbs should stay around 80 degrees Fahrenheit. After 3-4 days of separation you should let the Tiger Barbs see each other again. The aquarium where you want them to breed must have slightly soft water, and the pH should be a bit acidic. Just like when they were separated, the water temperature should be kept close to 80 degrees Fahrenheit. A mature sponge filter will help you keep the water conditions optimal. You must also provide your Tiger Barbs with suitable spawning sites, such as two bunches of Cabomba plants or a pair of spawning mops.”
Jenna, They may be getting used to the tank. Were they active in the fish store?
January 29th, 2008 at 9:11 am
I put some ich clear tablets in the water, and it cleared up a little but my small tiger bard died and one looks like its about to die today.
January 29th, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Hey Ihsan,
Make sure and complete the full treatment, which is usually 10-14 days. The medicine kills the parasite in the free-swimming stage, which lasts three days. You don’t know when that occurs though, so they recommend medicating for a full cycle of the parasite.
Hope you have better luck.
Mike
January 30th, 2008 at 9:16 am
Hey Fish Tank,
I have really enjoyed exploring your website. There have been some great comments and ideas out there. I recently started my first tank(30gal) about 3 weeks ago. I put 3 dwarf coral platys in there, and a week later added a gold mystery snail. Two of the platy’s are doing well, eating well, playing and have started to recognize when the lid opens up for feedings. #3(the smallest one) never really acclimated to the tank and I came home yesterday to find him in the gravel with the snail feeding off of him. I pulled him out, checked him, didn’t see any white spots… so I’m thinking it was just one of those things…(from the get-go #3 never ate much/wasn’t active). Anyways, my goal with the tank is to get some angelfish(3 maybe?). I noticed on the compatibility chart that angelfish and tiger barbs can coexist. The question now is, which should I get first? I know I need to stagger bringing in the fish, ( I wanted 4 tiger barbs/3 angelfish/and the 2 platys) I read some comments about the t.barbs being nibblers - should I bring the angels in first and let them grow a bit? I was also told that I shouldn’t put the angels in until at least the 8th week of the aquarium as they are sensitive fish and need the water to have gone through the full cycle or two. And what are your thoughts about getting an african dwarf frog in there(kind of have a U.Nations of species)
Any help you can give will be appreciated - sorry for the length of my ‘life-story’
Thanks!
January 31st, 2008 at 12:11 am
i have 5 tiger bards and one cichlids teh cichlid stairs at the tank all day going up and down really fast nesde the glass is that normal is he lonely and one of my tiger bards have spots only on his tail and his color id fading a bit but they all look healthy they stay in a group but lately the whole group is in this long cylinder thing and stay there alot but they eat alot are they sick breeding or what my tank is like 40 50 gallons its big any suggestions for all this
January 31st, 2008 at 8:31 am
Hi Fish Tank, I have recently set up a 55 gallon fish tank with 3 blue gouramis, 2 kissing fish, 5 serpae tetras, a silver shark, a red tail shark, 2 guppys, 2 dwarf balloon cichlids and 5 tiger barbs. All the fish are doing great I checked the ph, ammonia and temperature all is good temp is 79 f, ph is 6.8, and ammonia is 0. I also have a sword tal plant and a yellow cambora plant in their. My concern is that one of my tiger barbs all of a sudden is floating upside down swimming like crazy and he tries to swim down but cant and stops and floats right back up. I noticed them eating pieces off my cambora plant and was wondering if this is whats causing it if not what is? Please help im not sure hes gonna live much longer.
January 31st, 2008 at 8:42 am
I have just noticed something else, the other 4 tigers nip at him if they get close I know tigers are known for their aggression and they have certain ranks but is it possible they try to isolate the weak ones possibly kill them?.. also he seems really bloated like he just ate to much only he hasnt eaten anything I was thinking maybe it has something to do with their air bubble they have inside of them?
February 1st, 2008 at 12:15 pm
Dear fish tank,
You were right they were just getting used to the tank! Haha, they are doing really good now, swimming around etc.!
Thanks!
Jenna
February 1st, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Hi Eugene!
I’ve got an African Dwarf Frog. They’re fun. I need to do a profile on him.
You’re correct. Angelfish are touchy. I’ve never had great luck with them, while a friend of mine has had Angelfish tanks with no problems. I’d go with the tiger barbs next, because they’re a hardier fish. You’ve got enough barbs that they should keep each other entertained, and not mess with the Angelfish. You never know though. It can be done, but caution is required.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Hey Carlo,
If you suspect that the barbs are sick, I’d treat them. I say this because you said you saw a couple spots on one.
I doubt it’s the plant.
Make sure ammonia and nitrites are zero.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:51 pm
Hey Preston…
Your Tiger barb probably has a swim bladder disorder. Fish can also get constipated. I went down to 1 feeding a day after a problem with this.
Yes.. not just barbs, but many fish will isolate and nibble/nip/harass/eat weaker fish.
February 1st, 2008 at 2:52 pm
Oh good Jenna!
Best of luck.
Mike
February 7th, 2008 at 10:36 pm
Hello Mike, So my tiger barbs died
but I have a bigger problem now. My silver shark which is about or was about 6 inches long and now he is about 4 because the tiger barbs ate his tail and part of his back off.. also all my other fish the ones I mentioned above have done it too, minus the red tail and corydorus but the others have been eating him alive. He is still alive and now in his own tank, and I was wondering if he will grow or heal his tail back or if it is too late or what will happen is there any treatment I can give him?… Im going to bring my tiger barbs back as well the ones I have are way to crazy and are rubbing off on the rest of my fish and they are all destroying each others beautiful fins.. its hell in there lol
February 9th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
Preston,
Wow! OK.. This is supposed to be fun… not a horrible experience of dead fish.
Going back to your first post.. 84. You didn’t mention checking nitrites. Did you put all those fish in at once with an uncycled tank? Did you add fish slowly, or do the fishless cycling method as I recommend?
How long have you had the fish? Where’d you get them? The silver shark may have been sick already.
So all the tiger barbs are dead?
February 14th, 2008 at 11:13 am
I am a new fish owner, and started with a 5 gallon and 2 tiger barbs (one albino and one regular). I want to add the green tiger barb. Is this tank a good size, and is 3 fish a good start?
February 17th, 2008 at 12:50 pm
I have a tiger barb that apears to be pregnant. It will always stay near the top of the aquarium where the water is sucked up for airation. I do not know if this is normal for pregnant tiger barbs or not. I have only had them for a few days, but I do not think it is because of domination because none of them seem to be in domintation.
-andy
February 17th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
oh yeah… my tiger barbs are not agressive. Is that ok/normal for some species?
February 19th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
i
got 2 big tiger barb i think 1 going have baby how can i tell
brenda
February 21st, 2008 at 9:48 am
ok i have 5 tiger barbs and 3 of them have slowly been loosing color and i notice the largest of them has a somewhat large red area behind its gills. kind of like its bleeding under its gills. the other 2 are swimming around like normal. the tank is well used about a year old so i dont think its not because of a well cycled tank. so any words of advice will help.
thanks ben
February 23rd, 2008 at 1:44 pm
I can tell you that they all have that red b/c mine do, also. All the ones at the shop have that when I went to look at them.
February 23rd, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Michelle… Don’t add that third fish. Tiger Barbs really should be in a minimum tank size of 20 gallons. As adults those two fish will reach 6 inches. The rule is 1 inch for every gallon of water. Be diligent with your water changes.
Brenda… Tiger Barbs lay eggs. You’ll have to have them in a separate tank if you want to try breeding. Other fish and even the Barbs will eat the eggs. Search for “Tiger Barb breeding” to learn more.
Andy… My Barbs will single off and stay near the top too. Just make sure they’re eating, and getting excited about eating. They should have periods of activity too. My barbs aren’t all that aggressive. They chase each other, but aren’t territorial. The worst fish I’ve had for being aggressive and territorial was a red-tail black shark.
Ben… Tiger barbs will turn pale and isolate themselves if they are feeling stressed or sick. It can happen from too much bullying or females will do that when they are full of eggs. If you can quarantine the pale fish, it may give them enough rest to recover. They could have a bad bacteria too, and you may consider a general medicine. Are they eating?
February 24th, 2008 at 6:02 pm
i have 2 tigerbarbs that are unusually nice to eachother.. one is a girl and the other is a guy. the guy one changes different colors alot. his stripes can go from green to dark black and his fins have the orange lines that can become vary vibrant. sometimes it even appears as if he is glowing orange(very bright). I was just wondering if anyone knew what these colors meant.
February 27th, 2008 at 7:25 pm
I had a 29 gal set up with tetras and decided to expand and set up my 58 gal that was in storage. One of the additions to the tank was 6 tiger barbs. No sooner than I added them to the tank they started doing the matting dance. After about 2 weeks I noticed 2 females were very large and so I moved to a 10 gal breeder tank with what I believe was the dominant male. One female jumped out and dried up on the floor, really bummed me out, but the other, today I noticed has lost her belly. I removed both the male and female and was wondering
A.) Should I keep the small back filter going?
B.) How long before I can expect to see baby fry?
C.) What do I feed the fry once hatched?
February 27th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
hey,
i read all your remarks and enjoyed them to no end.
my tank is a 48gal that is 48″ long and i have 9 tiger barba 3 blue geramis 1 bala shark 4 silver dollars and 3 feeder goldfish i started the tank with.
the 3 feeders are almost to 4 ” girth huge.
i recently added 2 jack dempseys and they get along quite well with each other.
when you buy fish always drain the bag into the net and add the fish from the net. the less store tank water you add to yours will greatly improve your chances of staying disease free in your tank.
i do a 25% water change every month and replace filters every 6 weeks watching for when the filter starts to bypass the filter which means time to clean it.
i feed my fish top fin flakes with freeze dried blood worms in the morning and at night i give them fish flakes with brine shrimp, just because i love my fish.
i am on my way to buying a 125gal seamless tank and am very excited about it.
keep up the good advice and i look forward to reading your comments
take care for now
March 6th, 2008 at 11:01 am
Hi. I recently got 2 tiger barbs and put them in a 20 gallon tank with my 2 year old pleco. All was fine for the first day, but after that one of the barbs, Frank, started to stay in one corner of the tank and swim with his nose pointed downward, the other barb, Bob, was fine. (i only have 2 cuz i’m waiting for more to arrive at the pet store so i can have a school of 6) I immediately gave a dose of medicine that treats fungus, bladder infections and other things and after a day or 2 Frank seemed to be doing better. Last night i gave the 2nd dose (following the instructions carefully) and now both Bob and Frank are staying in the same corner swimming with their noses down. I’m horribly afraid that they are going to die. Do you have any suggestions on how to keep them alive? (btw my Pleco, in the same tank, is doing wonderfully)
Jaime
March 6th, 2008 at 11:29 pm
I have a tiger barb who was picked on by another tiger barb and now a good portion of his fins are missing. After that problem was solved the injured tiger barb seemed to be doing well. Today when I came home from work he looks really pale and is acting a little strange. Does anybody know what this might be?
March 7th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
Fish tank, I was looking forward to your advice but with no response searched the web and did a lot reading. The 27th she dropped her eggs and on the 28th I noticed my first fry (wow they are tiny, and boy that was fast) I removed the back filter and put in a bubbler only, water temp. at a consistent 80 degrees. Buy the 4th they were ¼” and they are growing so fast. I started off with baby bits and frozen brine shrimp that I am grinding down as fine as I can. It appears I am addicted because I was in wal-mart the other day and saw this really bright red fish they called it a glowfish, they are a high bread of a zebra danio, finding this out after doing some research after I brought them home. So I picked out a really fat female and what appeared to be a male and threw them in a 1 gal. hex tank and to my surprise in a day her belly was gone, so I removed the parents. Today they hatched J I can count 30 so far but still see egg on the bottom of he tank. I think I have an eye for picking good couples. So to get even more out of control I was in pets-mart and picked out two pregnant females and two male albino tiger barbs. I put each couple in a 10 gallon with a divider and once again we off.
March 9th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
Hi All,
I’ve been sick and got behind following up here.
Laura,
Wow! You’ve really got some activity happening…lol Looks like you are doing all the right things in setting up your quarantine tanks for the fry. Thanks for the update. You’re going to fill that 58 gallon tank in no time at the rate you’re going!
Amanda,
Tiger Barbs will become pale when stressed. Does it have a hiding spot?
Jaime,
They’ll swim that way.. it’s normal. I should get some video of mine doing it. It makes a person think they’re sick, but my guess is that they’re allright. Is their coloring ok? Are they active and eating?
Edmontonian,
Thanks for the comments and great advice! Keeping the water from the fish store out of your tank is something I haven’t mentioned… and it’s very important. Sounds like you have a healthy, active tank. A 125 gallon aquarium would be awesome.
asdfjk,
I would bet those changing colors have to do with mating. I’ve never seen that.
March 9th, 2008 at 7:07 pm
They do get very excited at feeding time…i recently put the carbon back in after the treatment because there seemed to be no change one way or the other and i didn’t think more medicine was the best idea. And they still have times when they chase eachother around the tank, but mostly they just stay in the corner with their noses down. They’re color seems to be normal, no spots or anything of the kind.
Jaime
March 13th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Hi Jaime,
They sound fine. I’ve currently got 8 Tiger Barbs, and they are much more active as a group… than when I’ve had just 2 in a tank. They really do best in groups of 5 or more.
If you haven’t already.. Try feeding them freeze dried brine shrimp as a treat. It brings their color out. Mine really get excited when I feed them that.
March 16th, 2008 at 5:00 pm
Hay ther (I saw Mike Earlier), No luck with the Albino Barb. They just didn’t want to drop, I guess I picked the wrong male or they eat what they dropped cuz I didn’t pull them out soon enough.
My fry Tiger Barb look to be doing good, they are getting some color. But my quandary is the health of the tank and bacteria growing. Do you have any advice on when to clean and how should to go about it? I am only keeping an eye on the PH. What else should I be looking for?
My Glow fish baby’s didn’t make it, from what my gut tells me I had them to close to the window, and we had a hot day, and the PH went through the roof, and they all died but one. Trial and error (really Suck’s). But she is full again so I have them separated for 5 day and will try again. I will know better this time to keep a closer eye on them,
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:50 am
Hi. I have just got myself 4 tiger barbs. Three of them are looked active and chasing each others. One of them is not joining them i.e. chasing each others but always stay near the surface of the water, not moving much and head pointing downward. Occasionally, the other three chase him and he swam away fast. I noticed no white spots on him and the water is fine. He does not eat much. Is he sick? I don’t feel like giving any medicine if he is not sick. Please help.
April 2nd, 2008 at 6:10 am
Hi Ng,
Right now your tiger barbs are establishing who is boss. It can be a stressful situation for some fish when they are brought home. You never really know how the stress from being taken to the fish store to being taken home affects them.
The best you can do is give them plenty of hiding spots. You’re right. Giving medicine won’t help. It takes time and hopefully the fish will adjust to it’s new home.
Mike
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:55 am
It does not look good now. The inactive one is flipping over i.e. tummy up and occasionally struggle to swim to maintain normal posture (tummy down) but I noticed his side fins are not flipping and he is trying hard to move by just flipping his tail. What should I do? What medicine should I give?
April 3rd, 2008 at 11:31 am
Sorry to hear that Ng. It sounds almost like swim bladder disease. I’ve read that medications really don’t help that. Do a search for it, and see if it describes your tiger barb’s symptoms. Epsom salt and peas are usually used to treat the fish.
April 3rd, 2008 at 4:03 pm
Thanks for your reply. I tried with Epsom salt (in isolation tank) and it seemed like working for a while (a few hours) as the fish got back to its normal posture without flipping over. However, the fish continue to struggle to swim and stay at the bottom. After a few hours later, it lied down flat at the bottom and this morning, he passed away. Thanks for having this great site and your help. Now I am worried about this swim bladder disease spreading to others.
April 5th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Hello everyone. I just got a fish tank for my 21 birthday which I wished to have. I choosed the tiger barbs just because there are always active and move alot. wooww!!!! back and forth. Crazzy! but beautiful. I thought the male or of its the female chasing the other one all day was driving me crazzy.
How can I tell if its a girl or boy?
April 6th, 2008 at 4:33 pm
Hi
I went to the store to buy an albino tiger barb, a few weeks later i dicided i might buy the little guy a friend but i dont know if its best to get another albino or somthing els.
I also dont want mating so do you know how to tell the girls from the guys.
April 6th, 2008 at 8:19 pm
Hello Yesenia and Jessica.
Usually male tiger barbs will have redder colors than females. The fins on the bottom are generally a deeper red. Also the males are smaller from top to bottom and form more of a triangle shape. Females have a rounder shape.
Jessica, Tiger barbs do best in schools, but getting another albino, green or regular tiger barb would give your albino a friend to chase
April 8th, 2008 at 2:55 pm
Ng,
No need to worry. Swim bladder disease won’t affect your other fish.