Barbs

[waggy1]

can you keep different types of barbs together or will they fight

 

[fluttermoth]

Most barbs will happily exist with other barbs; even tigers are usually ok, as long as you don;t get the long finned rosy barbs.

 

[waggy1]

cool so could i have a shoal of 1 odessa,1 black ruby, 1 golden,1 cherry,1 normal rosey

 

[fluttermoth]

No, they won't feel safe in such small numbers of each species; you really need at least six of each.

 

[waggy1]

ok mate thought that but just thought id ask

 

[moto]

i have 3 tigers 3 albino 3 ruby 3 rosy and 2 torpedo and they are fine together. the tigers and albinos went in firs then the rubys and rosys with the torpedos last. im thinking of adding a couple of rams in the next couple of weeks.

 

[Akasha72]

my Dad has 5 black ruby and 5 golden in his tank. They've sorted out amongst themselves who the boss of the tank is and they seem to get on fine

 

[dbanner]

Tigers are known to be notorious fin nippers and need to be in groups of 6+ to even out any aggression later on. Also torpedoes are another barb that needs to be in groups. Around 5 or 6 of them is best. What size tank have you got them in? Torpedoes need a tank of around 5 foot. Preferabley 6 foot long though as they get big and are very fast ad active swimmers. Any tank smaller than 5 foot in length is definitely no good for them

 

[moto]

im having a bit of a problem and need some advice. i had 3 albinos,3 rubys, 3tigers and 2 torpedos. i lost all 3 albinos in the space of three weeks, then i noticed one of the rubys had what looked like fin rot, its top fin looked like it was shredding away from the top.the fins on my other fish are ok. my water tests are really good i test every few days.
ph-7.6
amonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate0

i treated my ruby for fin rot when i noticed the problem but he had died the next morning.

now i have noticed that one of my tigers colours fade through the day, he is nice and bright on a morning. i only have the lights on for 5 and a half hours a day and that is on a night,
all my tigers are chasing each other but this one never chases the others. i dont want to add any new fish till i know everything is ok.

any ideas what the problem could be?

 

[Saltcod]

I think tigers can lose their colour when stressed. I've notice this with mine on the odd occasion but it doesn't last long and have had no diseases or anything. Is yours like this constantly then?

 

[moto]

I addded a few more fish yesterday and my tiger seems ok now. the colour was ok on a morning and then faded more and more through the day.

 

[KISSfn]

All Barbs need to be in groups of 6+.

 

[Tizer]

i have 3 tigers 3 albino 3 ruby 3 rosy and 2 torpedo and they are fine together. the tigers and albinos went in firs then the rubys and rosys with the torpedos last. im thinking of adding a couple of rams in the next couple of weeks.

Rams need high temps, Torpedos require much much lower. Bad combination.

 

[Lateral Line]

>>> All Barbs need to be in groups of 6+.

This is another common piece of advice I would put a question mark, or at least a qualifier, against.

Whilst it is most definitely true in the case of most barbs seen in the trade, I suggest that in certain cases, it is not.

My own, (40 years +), experience with Barbs, and I mean Barbs in the traditional broad sense, states that, for example, P. titteya, the Cherry Barb, works fine as a male and 1 or ideally 2 females in most size tanks is good. 2 males in almost any size tank leads to issues, small scraps, but issues none the less.

 

[lloyd]

>>> All Barbs need to be in groups of 6+.

This is another common piece of advice I would put a question mark, or at least a qualifier, against.

Whilst it is most definitely true in the case of most barbs seen in the trade, I suggest that in certain cases, it is not.

My own, (40 years +), experience with Barbs, and I mean Barbs in the traditional broad sense, states that, for example, P. titteya, the Cherry Barb, works fine as a male and 1 or ideally 2 females in most size tanks is good. 2 males in almost any size tank leads to issues, small scraps, but issues none the less.

its quite true that not all barbs require large numbers. its quite common to see large carp on lakes cruising around alone and alot of indian fisherman claim that torpedo barbs often live a more of a solitary life in the wild (according to an article in pfk). but as a rule of keeping barbs in aquaria, as far as novice keepers are concerned the rule of the more the merrier has got to be the best way to go