Tiger Barb Tankmate Ideas

gopro30622 · Nov 20, 2011

Hi guys, i have 10 tiger barbs in my planted 30 gallon ( juwel 125 ) tank and need some more colour, i was thinking either 2 pearl gouramis or a german blue ram just something like that, ive done research and alot of sites say gouramis and tigers dont mix and other say they mix great, if so should i get just the 1 pearl gourami or a pair as i know 2 males dont go great together, if not just throw some ideas at me as to what colourful fish i could add ...thanks

onidrase · Nov 20, 2011

Gouramis will not work, sorry to burst your bubble. Tiger barbs are nippy and pesky as they grow, even in large numbers. I'd avoid german blue rams, fragile fish who need a low pH and high water temperature which is too uncomfortable for the barbs.

2 good choices would be either a bolivian ram pair, they're tough as nails and share the same water quality preference, or kribensis cichlids, which have a bit more attitude than bolivians, which I think is the better choice since they'll better keep the tigers at bay.

gopro30622 · Nov 20, 2011

thanks alot

smokeyjo · Nov 20, 2011

More barbs would look good get some moss barbs and some ruby barbs and they are the same species so you won't have problems they will work out their pecking order but those little fights very rarely do any damage

MBOU · Nov 20, 2011

I agree, more barbs would be great, Cherry Barbs, Black Ruby Barbs (males), Gold Barbs and Rosy Barbs are all really brightly coloured!

Serpae Tetras go good as well, some really naff Serpaes knocking around in shops atm so if you do get them, only choose really nice bright red ones or look elsewhere.

I would avoid both blue/german rams and gouramis, its asking for trouble, in a much bigger tank then maybe, i kept tigers and pearls together but in a very heavily planted 260L tank, the gouramis get quite big anyway.

Kribs would be quite cool , i like the albinos too...

Love Laetacara Curviceps dwarf cichlids! Gorgeous and not too difficult to source.

Decent Harlequin rasbora, Rummynose, Cardinal Tetra etc all get on ok...