Evil Tiger Barb

[tropicalwaters]

Hello, I was wondering if any one can help me or give me any advice. I recently started a 10 gal tank with all the usual set ups, proper P.h 7.5 and added 5 tiger barb and 5 bleeding heart tetra. the fish started dying rapidly,(I checked water quality,nitates,ammoni and everything in my test kit ), i could not see any parasites, but treated them with a wide-spectrum antibiotic just in case, it did not work. Finally only 4 where left and one of the tiger barbs started harrasing and nipping, I tried separating them, but the will just get back to fighting. I now only have the evil tiger barb left, and i know they are schooling fish, yet i do not want more fish to die. My question is can I mix in more fish, or should I leave him alone? thanks for any advice, i know its a long post/

 

[Matty P]

Have you cycled your tank? Before you add any fish you must let your filter develop friendly bacteria to get rid of your fish waste, here is a link to fishless cycling. Tiger barbs are very active fish and require a tank of at least 20 gallons. Tiger barbs are also "nippy" fish that tend to have a go at some fish fins

 

[tropicalwaters]

thanks!

 

[Samphire]

Tiger barbs tend to be ok if kept in a large group, they tend not to bother other fish.

 

[Straydum]

Tiger barbs tend to be ok if kept in a large group, they tend not to bother other fish.

it works as long as there are more than 5 tiger barbs.

 

[LineDropper]

Tiger barbs tend to be ok if kept in a large group, they tend not to bother other fish.

it works as long as there are more than 5 tiger barbs.

I have a 30g.... just about cycled now. I've slowly added my barbs (didn't know about the fishless cycle until after I started). One thing I have noticed is each time I add a group, there seems to be some initial fighting then they calm down. I assume this is normal... I guess they have to establish their hierarchy. Something else to watch for, I got worried a couple weeks ago when a few of my fish would just hover with their head straight down and tail up. If you see this, it just means they are trying to mate.

Good luck. There are a lot of people here who are willing to help. But it starts with a good tank so make sure you stay on top of it. Good to hear you have a testing kit.

 

[Musho3210]

oh and stop with the ph stuff, causes more problems than it solves.