Tiger barbs

[Martinbaker]

Hi

I have a new 140lt tank the plan is just to have tiger barbs I was hoping to have 10 or 12 is that to much or ok I would like a algae eater as well

 

[Byron]

You could have a few more Tiger Barbs. A group of 10-12 in a 29g tank is minimum, so with a bit more space (I am assuming this may be a 36-inch (90 cm) length tank?) a few more would not hurt, but I wouldn't go over 15.

As for other fish, no upper level fish. The "algae eater" is probably not a good idea, depending what species of fish this might be. Algae eating fish are a bit of a misnomer, as many of them eat only one type of algae, or in some cases like the common Chinese Algae Eater, not even that, plus this one can often get very nasty to other fish.

Some substrate level fish can work, depending upon the species, but many of these are also shoaling that require a group so one has to bee careful.

Byron.

 

[Martinbaker]

Hi Byron

Thank you for your help. Do you think the bronze cory will be ok with tiger barbs



Martin

 

[Byron]

Hi Byron

Thank you for your help. Do you think the bronze cory will be ok with tiger barbs



Martin

You're very welcome. And yes, the Bronze cory (Corydoras aeneus) in a group of 7-8 should be fine. Tiger Barb in my experience do not bother with substrate fish.

I didn't ask about water parameters previously, but I am assuming nothing extreme. Both the TB and the cory are relatively adaptable from moderately soft to moderately hard.

Byron.

 

[Martinbaker]

You're very welcome. And yes, the Bronze cory (Corydoras aeneus) in a group of 7-8 should be fine. Tiger Barb in my experience do not bother with substrate fish.

I didn't ask about water parameters previously, but I am assuming nothing extreme. Both the TB and the cory are relatively adaptable from moderately soft to moderately hard.

Byro.

Thats brilliant I go for 15 tb and 7 corys. the water is hard so hopeing that will be ok

Martin

 

[Byron]

Thats brilliant I go for 15 tb and 7 corys. the water is hard so hopeing that will be ok

Martin

How hard exactly? Do you have the number for the GH (general or total hardness)...the data on your municipal water authority's website may have this if not already known.

 

[Martinbaker]

How hard exactly? Do you have the number for the GH (general or total hardness)...the data on your municipal water authority's website may have this if not already known.

This is what they said on there website

 

[Essjay]

The two units used in fish keeping are ppm and German degrees aka dH.

Your hardness converts to 252 ppm and 14 dH.

This is at the upper end of tiger barbs' preferred hardness range, and right at the limit for bronze cories. I would prefer to keep fish somewhere in the middle of their preferred ranges.

 

[Byron]

This is what they said on there website

I take it you are in the UK, so essjay will be able to explain this reading better than I, as it seems to be calcium alone rather than total GH, and she has commented in other threads on the difference.

EDIT...ha, great minds, etc...essjay was posting as I was typing, so there's your answer.

 

[Martinbaker]

So are tiger barbs out of the question then

 

[Essjay]

It seems that most UK water companies use mg/l Ca as their default unit. Some, like mine, also have 'convert to other units' button.
I use this website to convert to and from units not in TFF's own calculator https://www.cactus2000.de/uk/unit/masswas.shtml


My son used to work as an analyst for a water testing company. He explained to me that what water companies call hardness is actually a measure of all the divalent metal ions present in the water. This is mostly calcium, with some magnesium and trace amounts of other divalent metal ions. The water companies list the amount of each of these metal ions separately in their water quality reports.
But hardness is all of them added together, and for convenience they express hardness as if it was all calcium ions, or all calcium carbonate, or sometimes as if it was all calcium oxide.

Similarly, KH is a measure of all the buffering chemicals in the water but it is expressed as though it was all calcium carbonate. The term alkalinity is used by water companies because it is measured by adding acid to a sample of water until the pH drops to 4.5.





I'll leave Byron to comment on the suitability of tiger barbs. They may be OK at this hardness as Seriously Fish gives their hardness range as 18 to 357 ppm, but if the fish are wild caught they need the lower end of that range.

 

[Martinbaker]

It seems that most UK water companies use mg/l Ca as their default unit. Some, like mine, also have 'convert to other units' button.
I use this website to convert to and from units not in TFF's own calculator https://www.cactus2000.de/uk/unit/masswas.shtml


My son used to work as an analyst for a water testing company. He explained to me that what water companies call hardness is actually a measure of all the divalent metal ions present in the water. This is mostly calcium, with some magnesium and trace amounts of other divalent metal ions. The water companies list the amount of each of these metal ions separately in their water quality reports.
But hardness is all of them added together, and for convenience they express hardness as if it was all calcium ions, or all calcium carbonate, or sometimes as if it was all calcium oxide.

Similarly, KH is a measure of all the buffering chemicals in the water but it is expressed as though it was all calcium carbonate. The term alkalinity is used by water companies because it is measured by adding acid to a sample of water until the pH drops to 4.5.





I'll leave Byron to comment on the suitability of tiger barbs. They may be OK at this hardness as Seriously Fish gives their hardness range as 18 to 357 ppm, but if the fish are wild caught they need the lower end of that range.

Thank you that was very well explained I will for Byron about the tiger barbs

 

[Essjay]

For completion I now have a screen shot of my hardness from my water company's website. I clicked the 'convert to alternative measurement' button.

You can see that they give my hardness as "mg/l as calcium" and "mg/l as calcium carbonate". They don't say this is the amount of calcium or calcium carbonate, they say "hardness as.....". In other words, this is the value it would be if it was all calcium or all calcium carbonate.

 

[Byron]

Thank you that was very well explained I will for Byron about the tiger barbs

I would proceed with the Tiger Barbs and Corydoras aeneus. Both have been commercially raised for decades now, and while this certainly does not mean they can or have adapted to differing parameters from those for which they are designed, these two species have shown they can live healthily. I cannot say if like many soft water species they will definitely live a shorter lifespan as a result, and certainly I agree with essjay that wild caught fish would be a very different story, but you are not going to encounter wild TB or CA in stores unless they import direct.

 

[Martinbaker]

I would proceed with the Tiger Barbs and Corydoras aeneus. Both have been commercially raised for decades now, and while this certainly does not mean they can or have adapted to differing parameters from those for which they are designed, these two species have shown they can live healthily. I cannot say if like many soft water species they will definitely live a shorter lifespan as a result, and certainly I agree with essjay that wild caught fish would be a very different story, but you are not going to encounter wild TB or CA in stores unless they import direct.

Thank you both so much for your help I will put a upload a photo when I add my fish to the tank once again thank you for your help