Hey all , question about tiger barbs

[Niko144]

Hey everyone how is everybody? My name is niko and i wanted to ask about how will tiger barbs fare along in my 70 liter , im planing on removing all fish except for the panda garras.
You guys think 12 barbs and 7 garras can live together in peace ? Thanks for reading

 

[GaryE]

No.
Look up how large tiger barbs grow to. They don't remain store sized for b=very long, and your tank is far too small for what will be a big, social gang. In a 70L their energy will be impossible to manage, they'll fight because they're trapped and then the survivors will die from overcrowding, water quality issues.

70L may look like a lot, but it's a small tank that would be getting cramped even for just 7 Garra.

It drives us all crazy, but fish need space to live.

 

[Niko144]

So if i want any tankmates for my garra you reccomend a bigger tank? Are there any good small tankmates that could fit with the garras in a 70 liter? Maybe a few sword tails instead of the barbs?

 

[GaryE]

I have never kept panda Garra to know their ways, so I'll bail out here and hope someone who knows the fish steps in. I don't want to give you wrong info through not knowing the species. Good luck!

 

[emeraldking]

Welcome to the forum to start with...
The combination panda garra and tiger barbs won't be a problem. But it's more the growing potential of those 12 tiger barbs that may be the concern as already mentioned by Gary in a 70 liter tank.

 

[Niko144]

Welcome to the forum to start with...
The combination panda garra and tiger barbs won't be a problem. But it's more the growing potential of those 12 tiger barbs that may be the concern as already mentioned by Gary in a 70 liter tank.

Thanks for the insight , also im glad to be here
Currently i have no other tanks , do you have good advice or reccomendations about how to keep the garras? Are there any fish that would be a good fit?

 

[10 Tanks]

Hello Niko. Small tanks are the main reason for failure among new water keepers. You simply can't keep the water clean enough to support fish. If you want to keep snails and plants, then a small tank is fine. I've been in the water keeping hobby for a while and don't recommend a tank smaller than 30 gallons. 40 is better and 55 gallons is optimum. But, we learn by doing.

Good luck,

10

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Welcome! I'll concur with what has already been said, and add my own spin. I've kept panda garra, and I personally wouldn't keep them in anything smaller than a 29 gallon. They are robust, active fish, and while they aren't generally aggressive, they do enjoy having a lot of room to explore. They also prefer current, but don't absolutely require it. A smaller tank with a strong powerhead and lots of rocks/roots might work for them, since the current would keep them more active and they'd have places to explore.

I've never kept tiger barbs with pandas, but I suspect they'd do fine as long as the tigers are in large numbers and have plenty of room to spread out and get away from each other.

There are lots of options for a 70 liter. Tiger barbs aren't the best.

 

[WhistlingBadger]

A little more to think about: A 55 gallon tank would be better, and a 75 MUCH better, for what you have in mind. Time to shop those Black Friday tank sales! (do they have those on the Isle of Man?)

If it were me, and I was determined to keep the G. flavatra, and upgrading to a bigger tank isn't an option, I would design the 70l around the panda garra: Lots of structure, lots of water movement, an oversized filter. Basically a hill stream setup. Then I would research other small, schooling fish that might be comfortable in such a setup: Danios or white clouds would probably top my list. If you have hard water, platies or swordtails would be an option, as they like some current. There are others, but those spring to mind.

 

[Niko144]

Hello Niko. Small tanks are the main reason for failure among new water keepers. You simply can't keep the water clean enough to support fish. If you want to keep snails and plants, then a small tank is fine. I've been in the water keeping hobby for a while and don't recommend a tank smaller than 30 gallons. 40 is better and 55 gallons is optimum. But, we learn by doing.

Good luck,

10

Okay..

Welcome! I'll concur with what has already been said, and add my own spin. I've kept panda garra, and I personally wouldn't keep them in anything smaller than a 29 gallon. They are robust, active fish, and while they aren't generally aggressive, they do enjoy having a lot of room to explore. They also prefer current, but don't absolutely require it. A smaller tank with a strong powerhead and lots of rocks/roots might work for them, since the current would keep them more active and they'd have places to explore.

I've never kept tiger barbs with pandas, but I suspect they'd do fine as long as the tigers are in large numbers and have plenty of room to spread out and get away from each other.

There are lots of options for a 70 liter. Tiger barbs aren't the best.

Thank you for the great info , im moving to a bigger place next month and i will move the garras to a bigger tank , ill add a dozen barbs in there , as for the 70 liters ill find some good use for it

 

[MuddyWaters]

I have a 15 gallon tank (56 liters) and I keep glowlight, neon & green glofish tetras, 1 otocinclus and 2 corys. The tank is a bit overpopulated, but there are lots of plants, very clean water and I've done it slowly.

You can have a great tank at 70 liters, but looks like those garras grow too big? I looked them up and consistently see recommendations for 29 gallons or more.

On the small tank: Definitely more prone to dramatic changes just because there's less water, so when things change, there's not much buffer to minimize the effect. However, I have just learned to be very consistent with frequent water changes, and make sure I have really good biofiltration as well.

I'll be excited to see what you do with the tank!

 

[The603]

Welcome to the forum.