Tiger Barbs Not Active

[BigChiefSmokem]

Hey all, i'm new to the forum, and new to fish keeping. I have been lurking here for a while though. I recently got a 10 gallon fish tank for free, and hence started my little fishkeeping hobby and i have been enjoying it. Someday, i plan on getting a bigger tank when i can afford it and using the 10 gallon for a sick tank.

On to the question... I went through the cycling process for about 6 weeks with 10 zebra danios. They were zippy little fellas and fun to watch, but i wanted some bigger fish, but still as active so i went and took back the danios and got 6 tiger barbs. I've had them now for about a month or more and they seem to be very shy. At first i thought they were just scared of their new surrounding and would have to get used to it. Now they get active in the morning when i turn on the light cause they know its feeding time. However, after the light is on for a while they seem to get very shy and stay near the bottom of the tank and kinda float... They dont chase each other or roam around the tank. However, when i turn the light off they get really active again for a while and then they aren't so shy and swim around all parts of the tank. Currently with the light off they are all roaming around all parts of the tank, but not really "playing." But its dark in the tank and i cant see them they way i want to! The danios didnt seem to mind the light being on...

What could be the problem?

 

[aquamanis]

Hey Big Chief, hows it goin. Have you got any driftwood or rocks in there for them to dart in and around? Mine love playing around a piece of mangrove root thats got plenty of branches. They also like going through the "caves".

 

[smb]

Welcome to the forum, Chief.

What are your ammonia and nitrite levels?

Have you done a water change/gravel clean? How much?

Not saying this is it because they seem to become active on-cue when the lights are switched off.

How are their colors? Do they look washed out or are they colorful?

A 10g is pretty small for 6 tiger barbs to roam and they'll outgrow it real fast if they haven't already. The smallest tank I would keep a school of tiger barbs is a 20g personally.

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

Welcome to the forum, Chief.

What are your ammonia and nitrite levels?

Have you done a water change/gravel clean? How much?

Not saying this is it because they seem to become active on-cue when the lights are switched off.

How are their colors? Do they look washed out or are they colorful?

A 10g is pretty small for 6 tiger barbs to roam and they'll outgrow it real fast if they haven't already. The smallest tank I would keep a school of tiger barbs is a 20g personally.

Yeh, i thought 6 tiger barbs would be too much, but the guy at the pet store (mom and pop shop, not petsmart, or the like) seemed to think 6 would be fine. Dont know my ammonia/nitrate levels, i have done a 20% water change since the cycling process was finished and about a month after i put the tiger barbs in. They do seem to react to the light coming on and off..> But with the light on, they do not swim around the tank and generally stay in one spot 'hiding' and near the bottom of the tank. I have had the light off all day today and they have been happily swimming around, but not playing. The colors seem fine, though i dont think i'd know what to look for if they were off color or washed out. Do you think living in a smaller tank would make them this unhappy? if i took out 2, do you think they would be more active?

 

[smb]

Do you think living in a smaller tank would make them this unhappy? if i took out 2, do you think they would be more active?

To be honest, I do think they will be happier in a tank a bit bigger. Taking out 2 will ease the bio-load but they like to be in larger groups, so I can't say for sure if that would make them more active. They get to about 2.5" so realistically they could "fit" in a 10g but I'm not sure how happy they would be.


But don't just take my word for it. It's jmo. Maybe others have a differing opinion and you can weigh all the posts you get and decide.

 

[AquaNut]

Hi Big Chief. Welcome I was just wondering if there's anything in the tank with the fish? Are there any plants or wood/rocks/ornaments of any sort? It sounds like they're feeling insecure and that's why they're only active when the lights are off.

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

Hi Big Chief. Welcome I was just wondering if there's anything in the tank with the fish? Are there any plants or wood/rocks/ornaments of any sort? It sounds like they're feeling insecure and that's why they're only active when the lights are off.

I have a small cave in the middle of my tank. its not very big though, only room for maybe one or two to go in there. and I have 4 plastic (or silk, i dont remember) plants, 2 on either side of the cave. But i kinda placed them near the back of the tank. I guess you could say i dont have a whole lot of cover for them. Do you think if i arranged the plants differently, maybe putting them closer to the front of the tank, that that would make a difference? I have pictures of the tank, but have no place to upload them.

 

[jumpman]

try doing another 20% water change and get a test kit to take ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings. If you follow the booklets that come with these, that should help. Tiger barbs are always active when I have seen them.....even in bare tanks. Suggests to me that something might be affecting them.

 

[Moe]

I had the same problem with my tiger barbs. I had them for about 2mo. They were sort of active during the day but the longer the lights were on the more they hid in caves, under plant leaves etc. as soon as I turned the lights off they became really active. There was another post asking the same question about a month ago. If you have a 10g you could switch the light hood for one with incandescent lights. They are not nearly as bright as florescent lights. I eventually got rid of the tiger barbs because they kept nipping the other fish. My daughter has a 10g with guppies and cory cats they are both really active and fun to watch. I know a lot of people don't like guppies but for a 10G they are really active, swim all over the tank and they are very colorful.

 

[revengeishere]

Maybe its beacues they are sad that the tank isnt any bigger?? I have 12 tiger babrs in a 75(with loads of other fishies, too) and they love it! They always come up to me as if its feeding time, and they have been doing the mating dance recently, but I dunno if they have spwaned yet. The males get really orangey, and they flare up for the females, or to intimidate other males. Ive also seen females flare up! I also saw the samw theing from my zebra danios. I'm so happy

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

I rearranged the plants and the cave in the tank and kind of pushed them middle forward and turned on the light. So far they seem to be a little better about swimming all around the tank, but i think some of that has to do with them eating some of the gunk i just stirred up by digging around in the gravel I'll update later tonight after teh FSU Game and keep the light on and see how they're doing then...

Unfortunately, i'm moving soon (this coming friday) so i'm trying to decide on whether to keep the little guys or take them back to the pet shop. I'll give them a couple of days to see if they are better about being active or if they are still scared. I dotn want to give up on them Maybe i just need some more tall plants to make them feel safer...

 

[millym]

hi there,
10 gal seems a little small for 6 barbs - theyre usually v active fish, brilliant to watch & life & soul of any tank. can you get a bigger tank??? i know its not always that easy or possible but tiger barbs are fantastic fish & worth investing the money in to get them a better home.
good luck

 

[BigChiefSmokem]

Update:

Well, they're still pretty much huddling at the bottom of the tank under plants and in the cave... Maybe if i took out two of the tiger barbs and only had 4 so that the tank isnt so crowded? I seriously think it is the light though. its like they're afraid of it. As soon as the light goes out, everyone of them is out and swimming around... the light is an "Eclipse Natural Daylight F15/T818" it gets pretty hot when its on.. do you think they dont like the heat? I think this means its a 15Watt 18" flourescent bulb. Is it possible they just dont feel comfortable in the tank? the tank temperature as of right now after havin the light on for the pst 4 hours is 78 degrees F. That reading is at the middle of the tank. My zebra dainos didnt have any problems with the light on and were much mroe fun to watch.... I need help quick!

BTW, i know the tank is small, i want a 20 or 30 gallon when i move, but i simply dont have the money. So i have to stick with the free 10 gallon i have now.. But i think if the size of the tank was making them feel bad, then they would act the same with the light on and off...

Could i just have some queer barbs?

I dont knwo if i mentioned this or not, but im moving soon. So i'm thinking of instead of stressing the fish for al ong move i may just take the fish back to the pet store, have the water tested there just to see if it was the water, and set up the tank and cycle it anew once i get to my new place. And get maybe a variety of fish for the tank.

 

[millym]

hi there.
your barbs do sound a little stressed! is there anything else around the tank that could be scaring them??? ( child banging on the glass, cat eying them up for lunch etc etc) sorry i dont mean to be patronizing, i just think its a shame if you have to give up on the barbs cos in my experience (limited ) barbs are the best! very active & the life & soul of any tank but i can understand if you dont want to stress them anymore & take them back BUt still a shame
let us know how you get on.

 

[Alien Anna]

Hi,
just making sure we're all on the same page here.

When you said: "Dont know my ammonia/nitrate levels, i have done a 20% water change since the cycling process was finished and about a month after i put the tiger barbs in."

What do you mean by "the cycling process"? Did you put some hardy fish in that you have since taken back to the LFS, or did you do some form of fishless cycling?

I am slightly concerned because of the number of newbies we've had on this forum who've been mislead into believing that cycling happens as a result of putting water into an aquarium and just leaving it for a while. In case that is your situation, please follow the link in my sig and read what cycling really is - it could be the reason for your problems.

When you said "I have done a 20% water change since the cycling process was finished" are you saying you have only done one water change since then? If you don't know what your ammonia and nitrIte levels are how can you know if your tank has cycled? How long ago was this 20% water change? Particularly with fish that aren't doing well you should be doing very regular water changes, in case there is something wrong with your water.

You also failed to distinguish between nitrite (with an 'i') and nitrate (with an 'a'). That may be a mis-spelling, but its a vitally important one. Nitrite is a poison found in un-cycled tanks, a common cause of fish deaths; nitrate is a fertiliser that might give you an algae problem but is unlikely to affect your fish much.

In general I have a concern that you have been mislead by the LFS about the nature of cycling a tank. OTOH, if this is the root cause of your problems, at least we know what to do to fix it. Get back to me when you've had a look at my article. Good luck!