New 20 Gallon Need Help!

[diablo44]

ok so i just got a new 20 gallon tank. And i want to put tiger barbs in it. How many tigers can i put in and what other fish could be compatible with them? also i wanted to add some red cherry shrimp will the barbs eat them?

 

[the_lock_man]

The number of tiger barbs you can have depends on what else you want in the tank.
 
With most barb species, I tend to recommend at least 6, but with tigers, I'd go higher, at least 8 and probably 10. At these higher numbers, they tend to keep their agression within the species. However, that doesn't leave you much room for anything else. If you want a variety of fish, you could go for a mix of tiger, green tiger and albino tiger (and have a total of 10), as the fish will shoal together anyway.
 
If you were to go with only 6 tigers, then there aren't too many options for tankmates that are robust enough, but small enough for your tank. Maybe cories or a bristlenose plec, not too sure, maybe someone else can chip in on that one.
 
The other alternative is pentazona barbs. These look very similar to tigers, but without the psychopathic behaviour. With 6 of these, you could have a shoal of 6 panda cories and a shoal of something small like chilli rasbora or celestial pearl danios.

 

[evan47]

i agree with the pentazona or 5 banded barb. i have just added 6 to my tank.
they coloured up within an hour of me introducing them and are a nice rosy red with silver undersides and beautiful metallic green stripes
they are usually grouped together nicely and not aggressive to themselves or other fish, even long finned varieties..

 

[diablo44]

The number of tiger barbs you can have depends on what else you want in the tank.
 
With most barb species, I tend to recommend at least 6, but with tigers, I'd go higher, at least 8 and probably 10. At these higher numbers, they tend to keep their agression within the species. However, that doesn't leave you much room for anything else. If you want a variety of fish, you could go for a mix of tiger, green tiger and albino tiger (and have a total of 10), as the fish will shoal together anyway.
 
If you were to go with only 6 tigers, then there aren't too many options for tankmates that are robust enough, but small enough for your tank. Maybe cories or a bristlenose plec, not too sure, maybe someone else can chip in on that one.
 
The other alternative is pentazona barbs. These look very similar to tigers, but without the psychopathic behaviour. With 6 of these, you could have a shoal of 6 panda cories and a shoal of something small like chilli rasbora or celestial pearl danios.

ive seen people keep tigers with a school of neon tetras. would this work?

 

[the_lock_man]

 

The number of tiger barbs you can have depends on what else you want in the tank.
 
With most barb species, I tend to recommend at least 6, but with tigers, I'd go higher, at least 8 and probably 10. At these higher numbers, they tend to keep their agression within the species. However, that doesn't leave you much room for anything else. If you want a variety of fish, you could go for a mix of tiger, green tiger and albino tiger (and have a total of 10), as the fish will shoal together anyway.
 
If you were to go with only 6 tigers, then there aren't too many options for tankmates that are robust enough, but small enough for your tank. Maybe cories or a bristlenose plec, not too sure, maybe someone else can chip in on that one.
 
The other alternative is pentazona barbs. These look very similar to tigers, but without the psychopathic behaviour. With 6 of these, you could have a shoal of 6 panda cories and a shoal of something small like chilli rasbora or celestial pearl danios.

ive seen people keep tigers with a school of neon tetras. would this work?
 

 
Purely in terms of numbers, you could have 6 of each, but my previous comments about the aggression of tiger barbs in small groups still hold true.