Torpedo Barb Aggression

Lawrence1584 · May 20, 2011

I have recently bought a torpedo barb, was told it's a peaceful fish. I have 2 large clown loaches, cardinal tetras and 2 silver sharks. Every now and again he keeps chasing the silver sharks around. Will it calm down after a while or can they be semi aggressive. Many thanks

eaglesaquarium · May 20, 2011

Barbs are shoaling fish. Everything I've seen about them and many shoalers says that they will be more aggressive if not kept in a shoal. Kept in a shoal they will (usually) contain that aggression as they build their hierarchy within the shoal.

Wills · May 21, 2011

Hi as said above the Torpedo Barbs are a schooling fish so should be kept in groups of 6 or more - it is probably perstering the silver sharks as they look similar. However Silver Sharks should also be in groups as should clown loaches.

How big is the tank? Bala Sharks get huge and need a truly massive tank due to how active they are. Clown loaches get equally large but take much longer so long as they are in over a 4 foot you will have a few years of growing them out

But for the Balas your looking at minimum 6 foot but given their speed and activity much bigger is often prefered for adults (which is usually under a year)

Wills