Tiger Barbs Kissing

[Something Fishy]

I bought a few tiger barbs yesterday and have introduced them to mym tank. this morning I have noticed that 2 of them appear to be kissing! I'm sure this isnt what they are doing but is this a known behavioural thing?

 

[chishnfips]

I might be totally wrong but is that not a way that they show agression towards each other, kind of like a dominance thing.

I am not sure I seem to remember reading that somewhere.

 

[grumpymole]

kissing gourami do this all the time, hence the name although im not sure why...

 

[kat and james]

it is a sign of aggression, but more than that i cannot say, i'm sure someone with a little more knowledge of these fish will be able to tell you what it means, and how you can deal with it if it does develop into something more

kat

 

[annka5]

Know nothing about tiger barbs, but in some cichlids it's generally seen as a trial of strength, and with gourami it's aggression.

 

[BLASK]

i talked to a guy who used to breed kissing gouramis, and he said that the kiss signifies the border of the territories. Where they kiss is where the border is between two territories. As for tiger barbs I don't know. Maybe the same thing?

 

[Jules H-T]

I'd wager that they are just deciding who is the boss, and once that's established you'll won't see it happen again.

 

[Something Fishy]

I do hope you are right! One keeps chasing another around so I'm thinking maybe I have 2 males & a female ... not that I know how to tell the difference!

 

[chishnfips]

Hi there

the males should be smaller, and more brightly coloured than the females, apart from that I cant think of any other signs about their sex.

as jules says once they sort out who is the boss, they should calm down, how many are in your group a good number is around 6 I think. rather than just 3.