A Barb filled aquarium, but something is wrong?

[Eebie]

I have recently stocked up my new aquarium with Barbs, this has taken place over the past 2 months, but their behaviours have changed.
Some of my fish have become extremely edgy and nervous at times, and I'm not sure why.
I have the following fish, 3 Green Barbs, 2 Tiger Barbs, 2 Golden Barbs, 3 Rosy Barbs, 1 Striped Barb, 1 Red Tail Shark.
Up until a couple of weeks ago, everything was perfect. The fish were extremely happy, my plants were growing at a rapid rate, so much that I've had to prune some and move others (disturbing the roots though).
Then one of my Striped barbs died, he had been recently introduced with the other Striped barb, and seemed fine, and then suddenly was at the back of the tank for a few days, and then suddenly died.
Now, some of the other barbs, particularly the 3 Rosy Barbs and the 2 Golden Barbs have become extremely nervous at times. Racing to the back of the tank near the bottom, and going ballistic, you can even hear them hitting the gravel as they dart about in panic.
Then they settle down and go about their business as normal. They seem healthy enough, but I'm wondering if something else is wrong that is causing them to act this way.
Is the water wrong? I do a water change every weekend (about 20%)
I ony feed them once a day and they devour everything in sight within seconds and then scale the floor for hours afterwards looking for more!
The tank is postioned near a doorway, is this causing the reaction?
It's getting to a point where I'm almost creeping past the tank so not to scare them.
I could do with some advice if anyone can help..

 

[modernhamlet]

Do you know what your ammonia and nitrite levels are in the tank?

 

[jams.alaskan]

Modern Hamlet may be on to something. When ammonia or nitrite is high in a tank it can cause hyper sensitivity to your fish. How long have you had your tank set up? With the new additions - even though it appears that you have spaced them out you may have expenienced a few mini cycles. That could be it. Please test your water and let us know what your readings are. Hope they are calming down.

ALASKA

 

[Eebie]

OK, I've gone and gotten all the test kits I need.
Nitrites = 0
Ammonia = 0
Hardness was at about 250ppm
PH is at about 6.6

From this, I assume that this water is too hard for Barbs. From what I've read online, it appears they like softer water.

How do I reduce hardness? Do I water change and treat with conditioners?
I'm worried that I might make it harder

 

[Sky042]

OK, I've gone and gotten all the test kits I need.
Nitrites = 0
Ammonia = 0
Hardness was at about 250ppm
PH is at about 6.6

From this, I assume that this water is too hard for Barbs. From what I've read online, it appears they like softer water.

How do I reduce hardness? Do I water change and treat with conditioners?
I'm worried that I might make it harder

The hardness is high but they may have adapted somewhat. What is your nitrate level and what was the last fish added?

IIRC the red tailed shark can be very territorial and could be causing the problems. Other than that barbs are hyperactive semi-agressive fish to begin with.

 

[tmlhaus]

I have barbs in my tank and I will tell you they are HYPER! I have 3 rosy barbs and 1 yellow barb. The yellow isn't so bad, but those rosy ones will swim back and forth really fast then when they get to the end of the tank they go up and down, as if to say "is this all the room i get!" I have 2 long fin and they are constantly chasing the other rosy barb (he USED to be the bully) but they leave the other fish alone.
Speaking for my fish tank, the rosies are very active. I had 2 tiger barbs, but traded them in because they were mean

 

[Eebie]

No idea what my Nitrate level is, I've never tested for it.

I did a water change yesterday, and alls well at the moment. I have a feeling I might have been over treating the water when doing a change.
I was putting in conditioner to treat the whole tank each time I did a water change as opposed to just treating the amount of water I replaced.

The last two fish I introduced were the Striped Barbs, which one died after a week. The other is healthy and no problems, so I suspect, it might just have been unwell to start with?

The red tail shark is a babe actually, very quiet and just goes about his business with a minimum of fuss.

Yeah, the Rosy Barbs are out of control I must admit, they do go crazy, they just never seem to stop moving. I wonder if they actually stop at night in the dark, or continue to pace the tank!

 

[nightlife20]

iv just recently sold a barb tank... i had roughly the same as u in the tank... one thing i will tell u if ur waters off ur barbs will let u know, espsh ur large green ones... have u ever seen the asleep? when they are realy dipped down? if u see ur large greens doin this alot when the lights are on i suggest u do a water change an a nice gravel clean... mine always did it if i missed a water change... (i work daft shifts so sometimes im too tired to do one on the date)


other than that i dont know what else to tell u..

how do they react when you put food in the tank?