Tiger barbs

[CARNO]

Hi I would like a couple of tiger barbs but many would fit in a 180liter tank plus a gold pleco

 

[PheonixKingZ]

What is your pH, GH, and KH?

You can find this information out by going to your local water providers website, or by calling them. We need actual numbers. (Ex. ppm)

 

[CARNO]

What is your pH, GH, and KH?

You can find this information out by going to your local water providers website, or by calling them. We need actual numbers. (Ex. ppm)

Thx I'll have a look

 

[Retired Viking]

You should get at least 6 of them if you have the right water for them, less than 6 can be trouble.

 

[PheonixKingZ]

Tiger Barbs (Puntigrus Tetrazona) require pH between 5 and 8 ppm.

Their hardness, ranges between 18ppm - 357ppm.

 

[Byron]

This needs some thinking through. Leaving aside the parameters...

Tiger Barbs need a group of at least 8, but 10-12 is preferable. This species has a feisty disposition and will almost certainly fin nip with smaller numbers. The minimum tank for this sized group on their own is 30 gallons (113 liters) so you're OK there. A group of 10-12 is possible.

BUT...this means tankmates need to be very carefully selected, with no sedate fish and no long-fin fish as these will incite the nipping. I've no idea what fish you have in this tank now, but Tiger Barbs may not be suited.

 

[Naughts]

Assuming the parameters check out I would go 12-15. I have found them tricky, Byron wisely advised me to have 10 minimum in my 125 litre. But they bullied my cories so I spent a fortune buying another tank. Ten were fine for a few months but two got ill (deformed gill plates when I got them - possibly from fighting in the transport bag, the store put them all in one bag) then died. The remaining 8 got very hierarchical and picked off 4 more one by one. I gave the last 4 to a friend with an empty tank so I could use the space. But at first they were stunning with a shimmering golden sheen as they dashed around the tank. Beautiful shape too. I think if it wasn't for the gill plates I could have maintained a large school and kept the stability.

 

[mbsqw1d]

Ive never had any tigers, or any barbs at all (yet). But why are tigers so popular given their obstructive temperament?

 

[Byron]

Ive never had any tigers, or any barbs at all (yet). But why are tigers so popular given their obstructive temperament?

They are very attractive fish, and they have been available for decades (I remember having them in the early 1960's though they shredded my other fish because I didn't know better). Along with cherry barbs, Tiger Barbs are often the one "barb" that most every store has.

A much better and very similar patterned barb is the peaceful Black Ruby Barb.

 

[Narideth]

I've had tigers in a number of tanks and a number of grouping sizes. I read and read all of the information pages saying that they are quite aggressive, however this hasn't ever been my experience. Granted, I do get them in a group of at least 6, but I currently have a tank with electric blue acara, the school of tigers, a school of corydoras and a few outliers in the community variety.

The tigers don't bother anyone but each other, which is the whole point of getting the school - they love to bully each other and as long as they have enough targets, no one gets bullied enough to harm them. They eventually establish a pecking order and the rough housing seems to settle down save for occasional spurts.

Introducing new ones to the tank can be tricky, just like the original school, if you ever need to add more, you should get several to give the existing school multiple targets to spread out the bullying. Similar sized fish is also important, since many LFS sell them in as dime-sized all the way up to their 2-3 inch full growth.