Is My Green Tiger Barb Carrying Eggs?

[SammiYoung]

I hope you all can view these pics and help me determine whether or not my tiger barb is carrying eggs? I know nothing about fish who lay eggs She just seems to be getting a bigger belly but im not 100%

my barb

another pic

another one

another one

another one

same barb again

and again

Hope the pics helps

 

[Colin_T]

if the fish is still eating well and swimming around with the others, then she is probably carrying eggs

 

[SammiYoung]

yep she still swims and plays and eats well...nothing unusual. If she is carring eggs then what do I hafta do to save them?? Cause wont they eat the eggs afterwards?? Do I have to seperate the male and female in order for the male to fertilize them? I have no idea what to do

 

[Colin_T]

If they want to breed they will scatter the eggs in the plants. Unless you specifically want to breed them I would just let them be.
If you do want to breed them, put the male and female in a 2ft tank with some fine leaved plants. Do a 50% water change on the tank each day and wait. When the female is skinny, you can remove the adults and put them back in the main tank. A few days later you should see little tiny semi-transparent things moving around the water. Then add some baby fish food (Sera Micron or something similar) and see what happens.
Male tiger barbs have a red mouth/ lips and are slimmer than the females.

 

[SammiYoung]

I do want to keep the babies if possible without buying a seperate tank. The only seperate tank I have is the birthing tank I used for my platy but that is way too small for 2 tiger barbs, right? Do males automatically fertilize the eggs once the female drops them? I have one male tiger barb and 2 females(one is green tiger barb which is the one I think is preggers). Actually, I just checked up on them and I think both females are carrying eggs cause the other one is got quite a gut on her compared to the male.

 

[Colin_T]

Unfortunately a breeding trap is too small. You have to breed them in a separate tank otherwise the eggs and fry (baby fish) get eaten by everyone in the tank.

Males will show off to the females and display to them. They flare their fins out and swim back and forward near the girls. Then they nudge them a bit around the belly region and try to coax them into some plants for a quickie. Both fish swim into the plants for a few seconds where they shake next to each other. They are releasing eggs and sperm during this time. The eggs will sink down into the plants and the fish swim out and continue showing off to each other. This breeding behaviour can go on for several hours and usually occurs in the morning.

 

[SammiYoung]

sweet thanks I think im just going to let nature take its course and stick to breeding the platy's lol Besides, the tiger barbs are kind of bitches to be frank lol I would really like to get some angel fish but cant until the tiger barbs are gone lol...Also, breeding platys seems to be a heck of a lot easier

 

[Colin_T]

you could take the tiger barbs back to the shop and trade them in. Most shops give you a credit for unwanted fish, and this can be used to purchase other fish or plants. The amount you get for the fish is usually a bit less than half of the retail price.

You are correct about platies being easier to breed than barbs. They do it all and you only have to catch the babies and put them in the breeding trap/ net

 

[SammiYoung]

Ill just keep the TB's for now and let them live their lives I almost lost my platy's fry cause she tricked me and didnt look like she was ready and then had her babies in the community tank and I thought i lost them all until 3 days later I spotted one in the plants. That caused me to search the whole tank and I found another one. I hope both of them survive in the trap