Adding More Tiger Barbs?

[onidrase]

I have a 29 gallon freshwater aquarium, currently only holding an albino bristlenose pleco, and 5 small regular tiger barbs

I don't wanna end up as another person way overstocking a small tank. (I understand the whole 1 gallon per 1 inch of fish thing, but I feel that that shouldn't necessarily be a globalized rule, given different fish have different behaviors and needs.)

Anyways, I kind of wanted to put in some green tiger barbs as well (Tiger barbs are pretty cool in general) but I've seen that tiger barbs do get pretty significantly sized, and they're also rather active swimmers, so I don't wanna make a dumb choice, here.

Should I just keep the tank as it sits? Maybe add some smaller fishes? Or would some green barbs be alright (I'd like to add a shoal of 5 of them, if possible)

Also, would the green tiger barbs and the regular ones shoal with each other, or will they just go about doing their own thing?

 

[Mybbygotsauz]

I believe you could add 5 more barbs with no problem
I believe lol
and be sure to add 5, not anything below that number
and from my experience they would simply shoal separately
the greens with the greens and the regulars with the regulars
also look carefully when you add these fish
the regular tiger barbs have been known to be semi-aggressive to the green barbs
from my experience though they do fine
hope this helps

 

[Tizer]

Greens, Albino (gold) and normal tigers will school together, 10-15 is a nice number for them and 29 gallons should provide enough space. They will fight for dominance, but it shouldnt result in deaths, normally just battered fins that will regrow.

 

[onidrase]

Greens, Albino (gold) and normal tigers will school together, 10-15 is a nice number for them and 29 gallons should provide enough space. They will fight for dominance, but it shouldnt result in deaths, normally just battered fins that will regrow.

I've noticed two of my tiger barbs sort of facing off in there now and then, it almost looks like they're staring each other in the eye and spinning in circles nose to nose

I've actually never seen any of my tigers do that before (this isn't my first time having a shoal of them, though it has been quite a while)

Neither of them seem to be hurting each other much, though (as in, I don't see any battered fins or scrapes)

10-15 would be good, you say? Can my tank even hold 15 of these guys?

 

[Tizer]

"10-15 is a nice number for them and 29 gallons should provide enough space."

 

[fluttermoth]

I've noticed two of my tiger barbs sort of facing off in there now and then, it almost looks like they're staring each other in the eye and spinning in circles nose to nose

that's two males fighting for dominance. They don't normally injure each other; the main problem with them IME is the female's tails getting chewed up at spawning time. They grow back in a few months with plenty of good food and clean water though.

10-15 would be good, you say? Can my tank even hold 15 of these guys?

You can have 15, but you wouldn't be able to add anything else, not that there's much you can keep with tigers anyway, really. Your BN should be fine with them though.

 

[Tizer]

You could add a couple of bolivan rams/kribensis if you wanted something as a center piece fish. But yes, as fluttermoth says, it doesnt leave a huge amount of room for anything else.

 

[onidrase]

You could add a couple of bolivan rams/kribensis if you wanted something as a center piece fish. But yes, as fluttermoth says, it doesnt leave a huge amount of room for anything else.

Those do sound interesting, would getting a single one of one or the other work fine? Or would I need more than one? I don't know much about cichlids in general, though I do know most of them do have aggressive tendencies

I went out and picked up 5 green tiger barbs earlier, but they're are still very small (they don't even look to be an inch long yet) so would it be smarter to wait until they grow?

 

[Tizer]

size wont matter really, they should be fine. dont get a lone bolivian or krib, they like to be with their own kind, bolivians more so.

 

[onidrase]

size wont matter really, they should be fine. dont get a lone bolivian or krib, they like to be with their own kind, bolivians more so.

How many would you recommend?

 

[Tizer]

as i've already said, a pair of either.