Tiger Barb Behavior

[creeker]

Interesting. I wonder what would happen if you removed the rocks altogether?

 

[KISSfn]

Another interesting note I just noticed. When the tank light is off...they're all buddies swimming around together.
Weird?

Mine do the same thing. I just remembered something that helped when I had a bully Tiger. He was much nicer if the tank light was off during the day. I even bought a dimmer light just for him. Maybe you could try that to calm the beast!

 

[guppi]

Getting more barbs may well sort your problem out because they will squabble between them selves, but your lack of room is a problem. I had ten Tiger barbs in a 3 foot tank and they was fine with other fish including guppies. Now there is only seven left but now they are in a much bigger tank. Great fish to watch but greedy little buggers.

 

[Tizer]

@ Tizer
I take water readings everyday, and do a 20-25% water change every other. I have to watch it closely right now because I added a lot of fish at once, and I need to keep ammonia and nitrite level in check until the tank adjusts to the new bio load.

The idea of a fishless cycle using household ammonia is that you CAN stock a lot of fish at once and the filter will be able to handle it. So again, im confused about your method of doing it. Can you explain fully what you did? Its very hard trying to guess as it stops us giving you good advice.

Getting more barbs may well sort your problem out because they will squabble between them selves, but your lack of room is a problem. I had ten Tiger barbs in a 3 foot tank and they was fine with other fish including guppies. Now there is only seven left but now they are in a much bigger tank. Great fish to watch but greedy little buggers.

You cant stock more fish in his tank, thats possibly the worst advice to follow, especially if hes now in a fish in cycle.

 

[thisguyek]

just read through this thread. steve you sound just like me when i started. The only difference is that i was part of the stereotypical fish keeping population and just piled some fish in. I also started with barbs. after my first batch... and after i figured out what i had to do correctly... i got another, smaller batch of barbs. Same thing happened to me. After that group passed... i gave up on them for a while. A few years later, after i bought my self a nice large tank, and it was set up for months, i decided to take a nother shot at them. Worked up to a nice shoal of about...12-15... i think... lol and all was hunky dory. minor squabbles of course, but it was not one fish. it was actualy like 3 high ranked barbs, but it did appear that these three kept each other in check at the same time. I was quite happy with them for once! unfortunatly my tank got hit with the plauge and i was only left with a few guppies and platies (yes i kept barbs with guppies and platies and they actualy left them alone quite nicely)

long story short there is no reason a well educated person cant start out with whatever they want. sure it may be trial and error at times, which is wrong at times when we're dealing with life... but it is. barbs were maybe a bit of an off choice per size of tank as they should really be kept in groups of more than 6 (from personal experience) and another note... when the recommeded group size says 6+... double it! lol your fish will most definatly appreciate it

i remember reading a suggestion of taking all rocks and stuff out... i wouldnt do that. your fish do need some cover from this bully. removing all decor will make them sitting ducks and surly stress them further...

I am by no means an expert... just someone who has had a long rough road in fishkeeping, just trying to get better at it! hope this helped. dont give up, just keep at it! If anyone disagrees with anything I've said, please feel free to let me know

 

[Steve H.]

@ Tizer
I take water readings everyday, and do a 20-25% water change every other. I have to watch it closely right now because I added a lot of fish at once, and I need to keep ammonia and nitrite level in check until the tank adjusts to the new bio load.

The idea of a fishless cycle using household ammonia is that you CAN stock a lot of fish at once and the filter will be able to handle it. So again, im confused about your method of doing it. Can you explain fully what you did? Its very hard trying to guess as it stops us giving you good advice.

Getting more barbs may well sort your problem out because they will squabble between them selves, but your lack of room is a problem. I had ten Tiger barbs in a 3 foot tank and they was fine with other fish including guppies. Now there is only seven left but now they are in a much bigger tank. Great fish to watch but greedy little buggers.

You cant stock more fish in his tank, thats possibly the worst advice to follow, especially if hes now in a fish in cycle.

 

[Steve H.]

I don't plan on adding more fish due to the tank size I am at my max, and due to the aggression of the fish I chose I decided to go with only one species tank to start. I could probably get away with adding one more Tiger Barb, but I don't want to at this point.

I don't think that I am in a "fish in" cycle at this point. Maybe to some degree I am.
For Tizer from the beginning:
Just over 6 weeks ago my wife came home with a 10gl tank and a 27 cent goldfish for my son.
Goldfish lived for just over a week.
I took over aquarium because I did not want my 4 year old to go through a dead fish every week.
Read that because there was a fish in there(especially a dirty goldfish) that this could be enough to start the beginning process towards achieving a nitrogen cycle.
For 5 weeks tank was empty while I monitored waiting patiently to cycle.
In that time I noticed:
Cloudy water...which I assumed were the bacteria blooms
An ammonia spike...did a 50% water change
Then a nitrite spike....did a 50% water change
Did some 20-25% during this period as well to help control ammonia and nitrite levels
When water tested for nitrates at the 5 week mark

I don't plan on adding more fish due to the tank size I am at my max, and due to the aggression of the fish I chose I decided to go with only one species tank to start. I could probably get away with adding one more Tiger Barb, but I don't want to at this point.
I don't think that I am in a "fish in" cycle at this point. Maybe to some degree I am.
For Tizer from the beginning:
Just over 6 weeks ago my wife came home with a 10gl tank and a 27 cent goldfish for my son.
Goldfish lived for just over a week.
I took over aquarium because I did not want my 4 year old to go through a dead fish every week.
Read that because there was a fish in there(especially a dirty goldfish) that this could be enough to start the beginning process towards achieving a nitrogen cycle.
For 5 weeks tank was empty while I monitored waiting patiently to cycle.
In that time I noticed:
Cloudy water...which I assumed were the bacteria blooms
An ammonia spike...did a 50% water change
Then a nitrite spike....did a 50% water change
Did some 20-25% during this period as well to help control ammonia and nitrite levels
When water tested for nitrates at the 5 week mark

I felt the cycle had started and the tank was ready for fish.

 

[Steve H.]

Because I have read that it is a beginner mistake to add too many fish at once, but I did anyway only because of the type of schooling fish I chose. I now am monitoring water chemistry constantly and doing water changes of 25% every other day so the tank(even though I feel its in cycle) can catch up to the new bio load.

 

[fluttermoth]

If the tank was empty for five weeks with no ammonia source being added, any bacteria that may have started to grow while the goldfish was in there will have died off, so I would say you are in a fish in cycle and need to be acting appropriately.

 

[Steve H.]

Thank you.

I do hope to have a bigger tank soon. But for the time being my moving the decor is helping.
Also, for some reason leaving the tank light off is keeping the peace?
Don't exactly know why this is helping, but hey if it works...

 

[Steve H.]

Thanks...I think I am. Water chemistry has been stable, and changed/monitored constantly.
If anything I worry I might be changing water too often. 20-25% every day or every other day.
Fish have been in over a week and approaching 2 weeks in a few days.
I don't think water quality is an issue for me at this point....my issue is I chose the wrong type of fish for my tank size, and now trying to figure out how to deal with that issue.

 

[Tizer]

As flutter has said, you've not been adding ammonia yourself, therefore it is very unlikely the correct method has been used and the only way to keep your fish alive and to cycle the fiulter correctly is to assume you are in a fish in cycle. You are quite correct to be doing water changes very often, but it might also help to let us know what your ammonia and nitrite levels are measuring. You will find many threads on this forum which people have created to help them monitor their cycle and it might be worth a read through a few of them.

I did a fish in cycle myself with young tiger barbs in a 90 litre tank myself early this summer, it might be worth a read through as other people also chipped in a little.

Since doing the tank above and then moving them to my 425 litre, i can honestly say, from experience, i wouldnt keep more than one dozen tigers in a 90 litre species only tank, which is why i say your fish are in cramped conditions and are exhibiting agression. Do not add more, of you could start losing them slowly and see if you can get that upgrade sooner than later, you wont regret it. Remember, they are likely to grow 4/5 times bigger than the size they are now. eBay has some excellent deals to offer.

My Tiger Tank

 

[Steve H.]

Just took a water reading.
Now I'm using test strips so I can't give you an exact number

Ammonia = 0
Nitrite = between 0 and 0.5
Nitrate = between 0 and 20
Hardness = between 75 and 150
Ph = between 8.0 and 8.5
Alkalinity = between 180 and 300

 

[Tizer]

top two are the only ones that really matter at the moment, a 0.5 reading of nitrite is toxic to your fish, you need to do a 90% water change, dont let it get over 0.25

I would also recommend the API freshwater master kit, strips are terrible for accuracy. £18 on eBay, might sound expensive, but its a must have.

 

[Steve H.]

top two are the only ones that really matter at the moment, a 0.5 reading of nitrite is toxic to your fish, you need to do a 90% water change, dont let it get over 0.25

I would also recommend the API freshwater master kit, strips are terrible for accuracy. £18 on eBay, might sound expensive, but its a must have.

Just completed the large water change, and just found a supplement that must have come with the tank as it was an all in one kit. Wife stuck it in the net that came with the tank as well as a small bottle of tropical fish flakes.
It's called "Nutrafin Cycle". It is a "responsive biological aquarium supplement that ensures that all aquariums are immediately inoculated with a powerful team of beneficial bacteria providing a safe biological habitat for your fish. These highly effective micro-organisms will create a biological flora that quickly metabolizes lethal ammonia and nitrite".

So, I ask....help or hype?

I guessed help, and added the recomended dose for after adding new fish.