5 vs 6 Tiger Barbs

[Howie6267]

We bought 5 Tiger Barbs along with a couple other fish to get our tank going. My wife has read in several places that you should always have 6 of these or more. Does one less really matter? Should I go buy another?

Thanks

 

[xXMrBonesXx]

keep an eye on if they keep thier nippiness within their group, if they dont and go after other fish add a few more t barbs

 

[digital_run]

Go buy another 3 if you can fit them safely....Tigers as a general rule shouldn't be kept in groups of any less than 6...But i've also seen groups of 8+ where one individual fish is singled out...and i've seen 3 kept together with no problems at all...It all comes down to the individual fish's in question...If this is an establised pack then i would add another 2 anyways as its safer for two to intergrate into a pack then a single one. Really you just have to keep an eye out for overaggression and accomidate accordingly.

Great fish aren't they!?

Tiger Barbs

Ðigital

 

[Howie6267]

Ok I will keep an eye on them. Will probably go ahead and get 2 more. We are just starting the tank. I don't think 2 more that small is going to make a big deal with cycling.

Yes they are great fish. I think I am really going to enjoy having these guys.

 

[digital_run]

eeek...your tank isnt cycled yet?...Tiger barbs are extremely sensitive to high Nitrite/Nitrate levels which come with a cycle and do quite poorly and usually end up with long term affects. You will have to do frequent water changes for them and they will show signs of poor water conditions when they ahng still in the water with their heads down...they should be very active and curious..especially in a new tank with a new group of tigers swimming around.

Ðigital

 

[Howie6267]

Yes I read that about the Tiger Barbs. We will be keeping an eye on that and doing the water changes.

 

[fatguppy]

We have 6 Tigers - 1 male and 5 females although we started off with only 3. They were fine in a group of 3 but the male thought all his birthdays had come at once when we introduced 3 more females. They definitely are happier in the bigger group - and the male is not so aggressive chasing the females around now becuase he obviously hasn't the energy to cope with 5 rather than two! Occasionally the two females would hide because they were fed up with him. So a larger group is better for your females I think.

We have also noticed with the Tigers that if the water conditions are not optimum the stripes become paler. They are an excellent indicator of conditions deteriorating in between tests.

 

[Se7enUK]

I have recently put 6 green tiger barbs in a newish tank and a couple have displayed this hanging in the air syndrome? Is this down to the water quality?

 

[SCORPIOCUPCAKE]

I have recently put 6 green tiger barbs in a newish tank and a couple have displayed this hanging in the air syndrome? Is this down to the water quality?

To add my experiences..........I have 10 tiger barbs, 3 green, 3 stripy and 4 albino........my tank is cyled and water stats great and they do the head hanging, which I read elsewhere was a sign of them sleeping/resting, they do seem to drift a bit then "wake up" and swim off, it seems to fit that they are resting but I am no expert !

Even in a grp of 10 they can still be little devils chasing other fish in the tank, some of our fish had to be returned due to the hardcore bullying and relentless chasing.

Even though my water is good, they do go pale from time to time without any obvious reason, they arent sick, just seem to do it randomly !