Barbs Or Tetras

[haleem8777]

Can you please answer the question above 

 

[JenJ]

Very open question! I prefer some barbs to some tetras and some tetras to some barbs!

 

[fluttermoth]

And what about rasboras? 

 

[haleem8777]

i have kept rasbora s before, time to move on for me
i am not sure if i want or keep barbs to tetras so i asked

 

[fluttermoth]

I think you'd be better off picking in a different way
 
How big is your tank? Is your water hard or soft? Will you be looking at the tank from far away or close up? What other fish will you be keeping with them? What colours do you like?

 

[eaglesaquarium]

I agree with flutter...
 
 
Barbs and tetras each have their special niche and they are both lovely in their own way.
 
 
Then there's cories, plecos, rainbowfish, cichlids, rasboras, etc...  Lots of options.

 

[haleem8777]

my tank is 150l it is closeup , also i willbe keeping corys, otto, clown loaches and maybe a catfish that stay small

 

[the_lock_man]

Clown loaches get too big for a 150l tank, they grow to over a foot long.

 

[haleem8777]

yeah, i know i am planning on keeping the clown loach until they out grow this tank.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Its not generally recommended to buy a fish that you can't keep for its entire lifespan.

 

[Noahsfish]

So you're just going to give away the clown loach in a few months or whatever? I could never do that with my fish . But if you already have a new home for him planned that's fine I guess. There's pretty much endless amounts of etetras from small ember tetras to Congo tetras...also lots of barbs like nippy tigers and cherry barbs....it's really one of those questions that don't have a real answer...like this breed of tetra schools more and is less agressive. While the barb is more colorful but needs a larger tank because it loves to swim. Most common barbs need lots of room to swim even though they're small... But if you have mainly bottom dwellers things like tiger barbs should be OK. And you're moving on from rasboras? The way I see it I'm never really advancing as far as fish care or whatever it's just my personal preference as far as their attitude and colors go...of course you wouldn't go from harlequin rasboras to discus overnight but still you get the picture.....my favorite tetras for large schools would have to definetly be cardinal tetras or rummy nose tetras the latter seeming to school a bit more. Cherry barbs are also very nice. Soooooo which one is better barbs or tetras, my answer is neither, but from what I've owned and works best with my tanks are tetras.

 

[the_lock_man]

yeah, i know i am planning on keeping the clown loach until they out grow this tank.

 
 
Lots of people say this. Lots of people promise themselves (and us) that they are definitely going to get a much bigger tank when the monster fish get bigger, and the chances are that they mean it.
 
And then life throws them a curve-ball, maybe they lose their job, or something like that, and suddenly they can't actually afford that 1000l aquarium that they intended to get. Which leaves them with large fish that become stunted, deformed and in constant pain and distress.
 
Like Eagles says, it isn't good to get a fish that you can't currently house properly for its entire lifespan.

 

[TallTree01]

Lots of people say this. Lots of people promise themselves (and us) that they are definitely going to get a much bigger tank when the monster fish get bigger, and the chances are that they mean it.
 
And then life throws them a curve-ball, maybe they lose their job, or something like that, and suddenly they can't actually afford that 1000l aquarium that they intended to get. Which leaves them with large fish that become stunted, deformed and in constant pain and distress.
 
Like Eagles says, it isn't good to get a fish that you can't currently house properly for its entire lifespan.

+ 1 on this.

 

[haleem8777]

i see, you are affected by the clown loach, i will give them away when they get bigger when ever that may be and the time they are in my tank they will have a good time, also my brother has a bigger tank with larger clown loach and they can go there, also i have chosen to keep barb ... as i have not kept them before, also if you have any tips and barbs recommendations... go ahead tell me 

 

[fluttermoth]

The trouble is, is that fish who are kept in tanks that are too small might never grow properly.
 
It's called 'stunting', and it's very common in clown loaches. It leads to deformities and health issues that will seriously affect the fish's lifespan. Sort of the same as if you kept a Great Dane dog in a downstairs toilet; it might survive and grow, but it wouldn't be happy, or healthy, or live as many years as it should have done.
 
Of course, it's your tank, and your responsibility. No-one from this forum is going to come round to your house and remove clown loach from your tank, but we will comment when we see things being suggested that are bad practice and not in the best interests of the fish, which is what keeping clown loach in a 150l tank is.
 
Barbs are pretty easy fish to keep, on the whole. Just be aware that tiger barbs, and to a slightly lesser extent filament barbs, can be nippy, so don't keep them with any fish that have long flowing fins or that are very shy, as most barbs (not all, but most) are pretty boisterous fish. And always keeps shoals of at least six of the same species.