Tiger Barb Information Clarification =d

[paul112]

Hello all. I was just wanting to know if then following information is correct. I was told by the lfs that Tiger barbs should be kept in even numbers, so that each one has someone else to chase, true? I was also told that they will school with similar barbs, regardless of color or origin, aslong as they are similar shape.
Any input appreciated,
Paul

 

[millym]

hi
my experience is with tiger barbs & you need to have a shoal of at least 6 of them as their whole lives are devoted to who is being boss for the day/week/month, they constantly have power struggles where they will have fights with eachother ( will spin around nose to nose at a million miles an hour- a little joust, hillarious to watch) and there will be a king barb of the pack. in numbers of 6 or more it will ensure no one barb is picked on constantly by whoever is the bully barb at the time. i dont think its crucial to have even numbers of them just as long as you have a decent number of them as i said at least 6, 8 is better if you have room. also in 6+ you should find the barbs are so busy annoying their own kind they should leave your other fish alone. but still ensure you have no fish with flowing fins in with the barbs or species that dont like the mad frantic fast barb activity going on around them all day ( like gouramis)
green tiger barbs, albino & stripey tigers will all hang out together..........i dont think they realise they are different colours. as for tbs hanging out with say ruby or pentazona babrs i dont know as ive no experience. tbs are fantastic fish but you need to think carefully about what is going to live with them ( for the other fishes sanity & safety) & also you need room for them, they need a long swimming space ( no tall tanks please)

 

[The-Wolf]

Tiger barbs are one of the most hierarchal fish out there.
I'd go one stage further than milly and say at least 8 for a starting group.
TBs will school with thier own colour morphs (blue,green,albino & red)
but not with other barbs.

However they will accept some black ruby barbs Puntius nigrofasciatus into the fold but they will
always be bottom of the hierarchy.
HTH

 

[paul112]

Thank you for clarifying. I might get a small shoal for my 55G. Just out of interest, new additions to shoals are welcomed right? I was thinking of a shoal of 8, then adding a few later on.
Paul

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

It should be fine , but if you are going to add more later its better to decide on the exact number you'll be adding now as everytime you add new barbs to the group it will change the pecking order a bit, which in a larger group, should be for the best, but the changing of the pecking order experience due to new barbs in the group can still be stressful for the whole group.
So its best not to add new barbs too regularly later on after you have established the first shoal/group i.e. like 1-2new barbs a week for a month etc, but rather instead decide on exactly how many you'd like as time goes by and add as many of them on that descision as you can (of course making sure to avoid upsetting the bioload/filtration of the tank too much though, as you don't want the tank to mini cycle from adding too many new fish at once).

 

[millym]

hi
to add to that id also say its usually best if adding barbs to get ones of a similar size/age, in our experience baby barbs when added to an older mature pack can turn into complete terrors and drive the older barbs into hiding!!! we love getting teeny tichy new barbs & watching them grow but had a bad experience a while back with a teeny green tb who was the biggest bully youve ever seen, the older mature barbs took to hiding in the plants all day for weeks ( you literally never saw them in daylight hours)..anyway to cut a long story short,titchy mean green has grown up & still has fights but is no longer the terror he was when small and our older barbs are now out & about like they used to be.