My Tiger Barbs Are Going Crazy !

[Loyal to the Oil]

Ever since i rebuilt my tank and put my tiger barbs back in on their own (i put them in first becuase i feel they are the most hardy of my fish and can survive the post cycle aquarium the best) they are acting crazy ! Chasing each other like crazy. Facing each other nose to nose and swimming in circles.

Is it the possibly poor water parameters causing this craziness or is this some sort of mating ritual now that they are the only fish in the tank ?

Any ideas ?

James

 

[WILDER]

How big is the tank in gallons or litres.
Water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.
The cycle can cause death to the hardiest of fish, there is never no guarantee's when you use a fish for cycling they will make it.

 

[Loyal to the Oil]

How big is the tank in gallons or litres.
Water stats in ammonia,nitrite,nitrate,and ph.
The cycle can cause death to the hardiest of fish, there is never no guarantee's when you use a fish for cycling they will make it.

Ya i realize that its a risk but the tank is heavily planted. I have read that having fish in with the plants in the early parts of the cycle is less risky then having no plants at all. The tank is a 33 gallon and the nitrites and ammonia reads very near 0. I kickstarted the nitrogen cycle with bio balls and substrate from the old setup.

But it seems to me that if they were getting poisoned then they would be acting slow and lethargic. Just kind of floating there and gasping. But they are being more active than ever before. Racing all over the tank !

What does everyone else think ?

James

 

[WILDER]

Well the levels are low so I wouldn't worry to much.
Good luck.

 

[screamingdonkey]

Ever since i rebuilt my tank and put my tiger barbs back in on their own (i put them in first becuase i feel they are the most hardy of my fish and can survive the post cycle aquarium the best) they are acting crazy ! Chasing each other like crazy. Facing each other nose to nose and swimming in circles.

My TBs do this from time to time. I thought it was strange the first time I saw the nose to nose 'aggression' and circular swimming. From what I can tell, it's usually just a hierarhcy/dominance issue. It can last a few hours at a time and settles down. The 'winner' usually moves on to be the dominant male, chasing others over the next few days.... until the next time.

Incidentally, I'm pretty sure it's not a mating/breeding ritual as such - as I only have male TBs in my tank.

 

[drbronco69]

Ever since i rebuilt my tank and put my tiger barbs back in on their own (i put them in first becuase i feel they are the most hardy of my fish and can survive the post cycle aquarium the best) they are acting crazy ! Chasing each other like crazy. Facing each other nose to nose and swimming in circles.

My TBs do this from time to time. I thought it was strange the first time I saw the nose to nose 'aggression' and circular swimming. From what I can tell, it's usually just a hierarhcy/dominance issue. It can last a few hours at a time and settles down. The 'winner' usually moves on to be the dominant male, chasing others over the next few days.... until the next time.

Incidentally, I'm pretty sure it's not a mating/breeding ritual as such - as I only have male TBs in my tank.

My larger Tiger Barbs do this a couple times a week. Very fun to watch indeed.

 

[mancin]

I guess I'm confused? Were they in another tank before, or were they removed from this tank and then later added back? Typically to reduce aggression, people advise to take fish out, re-arrange the tank, and put everyone back in. This kind of re-establishes the 'pecking order' so to speak. That could be what you are seeing as you've added them back and it's a 'new' environment for them. Mine do tend to continually chase each other, and the nose to nose behavior is definitely aggression/dominance.

 

[heartworm]

My green tiger barbs do this every week or so, never seems to do them any harm.

 

[LucaBrasi]

i have seen a video of two tiger barbs in the process of mating... they were facing nose to nose and swimming around in circles with each other, while ther fins were stretched out and very colorful..

maybe your barbs are mating too? lol who knows good luck!