plz help me with my tiger barbs

[vik_luvs_fish]

This post is interesting reading, I have a school of Albino and regular Tiger barbs and was curious to know about breeding them, and now I know


*Tiger barbs are known for nipping, fortunately if you have enough of them they usually keep it between themselves, if you had more space I would of recommend you buy a couple more Tigers to give the other picked on ones a break from the largest one.

 

[Grouchy]

update: i decided to put my TBs in my 20 gal with my rainbow shark and 3 spot gourami. it seems to be going well except my rainbow shark will chase the TBs away when he sees them near his caves. he hasnt been able to catch them yet and hurt them at all. is this normal behavor for the shark?

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Just curious, how big is your rainbow shark? I recently had a bad experience where I introduced a red-finned (rainbow) shark to my barb tank and the barbs were just merciless to the poor thing, I had to relocate the shark to more docile waters.

I've seen this behavior before. One of the oriental food places I eat at have a tank with six assorted tiger barbs and a rainbow shark, it chases them.

Maybe my rainbow shark was not mature enough yet? Or maybe it didn't have to establish itself in the bully-schoolground that is my tiger barb tank.

 

[fish_keeper2]

im not sure on its exact length....i think its somewhere around 3 inches. he mostly shows this behavor when the TBs come around his caves, the caves have been in the tank since i got him so hes established them as HIS caves. when i introduced the TBs i removed the shark and gourami and then moved stuff around then put the TBs in and about an hr later the shark and the gourami. the gourami could care less about the shark and the TBs and the shark could care less about the gourami. and the TBs dont mind the gourami and the shark, they move out of the way when ever the shark or gourami come near. is it possible that my shark is acting like that towards the TBs becuase of the red and black markings they have?

does anyone know what could be wrong with the 5th TB. he hid behind the filter all day yesterday and wasnt very interested in food?

max11180: by no reason why they shouldn't all school together, did u mean that theres no reason why the green, albino, and regular TBs shouldnt school together?

 

[UBigBobby]

Yea all tiger barbs shouls form a shoal together. Green, Albino, and Regular. I have 3 albino and 3 regulars. The 3 regulars are the original fish and I added the albinos after. They shoal together and the one Albino has actually become the dominant one.

 

[max11180]

in better english They should all shoal together, no matter their type (green, tiger, or albino). They also shoal with anything stripy looking. Unless they feel threatened by it of course!

Im gonna try an get some pics of my tank when i get the plants trimmed a bit, it's all rather planty atm .. in fact the middle of the tank is almost to dark to see anything with the "canopy" thats developed

 

[UBigBobby]

in better english They should all shoal together, no matter their type (green, tiger, or albino). They also shoal with anything stripy looking. Unless they feel threatened by it of course!

Im gonna try an get some pics of my tank when i get the plants trimmed a bit, it's all rather planty atm .. in fact the middle of the tank is almost to dark to see anything with the "canopy" thats developed

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Sorry, us damn Yankees have trouble with the whole english thing

 

[fish_keeper2]

so once/if the fith TBs thats acting funny dies will it be ok if i get up to 3 more TBs making a shoal of 7 if i get 3?

is the behavor my rainbow shark showing towards my TBs normal....is it just because they have black and red on them?

wow i wish i could have a tank with that many plants in it.....live ones just dont like me much and with fake ones its a little hard to fill it up like that

 

[fish_keeper2]

anyone?

 

[digital_run]

so once/if the fith TBs thats acting funny dies will it be ok if i get up to 3 more TBs making a shoal of 7 if i get 3?

Havin a hard time with that sentence huh... If im reading it correctly, then i'd ask why would it die?. These fish are in a 20gal right....As you probably know that isn't enough to house any of the fish your talking about long term. When you have a tank overstocked with what can be aggressive fish then you amplify that aggression compared to the same fish in a large tank. IMO Rtb's/Rainbow sharks aren't good tank mates....But with any fish personality plays a huge role and i lucked out and got a male RTB that did nothing but run a body count when it came to Tiger barbs....he was relentless towards them. Your also need to get atleast another two tiger barbs....I wouldn't want to throw gas on the fire but the only way your going to loose the aggression is if you keep them in groups of 6+...and you will definately need to upgrade the tank...They aren't overly fast growers but if kept healthy and kept on a good varied diet then they will grow quickly
Was this 20gal tank cycled before you added all these fish ¿ Tiger barbs are notoriously sensitive to less than perfect Nitrite/Nitrate and prolonged exposeur to poor water conditions will hurt them long term and dramatically shorten there lifespan.

 

[digital_run]

so once/if the fith TBs thats acting funny dies will it be ok if i get up to 3 more TBs making a shoal of 7 if i get 3?

Havin a hard time with that sentence huh... If im reading it correctly, then i'd ask why would it die?. These fish are in a 20gal right....As you probably know that isn't enough to house any of the fish your talking about long term. When you have a tank overstocked with what can be aggressive fish then you amplify that aggression compared to the same fish in a large tank. IMO Rtb's/Rainbow sharks aren't good tank mates....But with any fish personality plays a huge role and i lucked out and got a male RTB that did nothing but run a body count when it came to Tiger barbs....he was relentless towards them.And i find it hard to believe that tiger barbs would actually kill an RTB...Tigers are fin nippers but are quite skittish and more nip than actually bite..Just doesn't seem like somin they would do Your also need to get atleast another two tiger barbs....I wouldn't want to throw gas on the fire but the only way your going to loose the aggression is if you keep them in groups of 6+...and you will definately need to upgrade the tank...They aren't overly fast growers but if kept healthy and kept on a good varied diet then they will grow quickly
Was this 20gal tank cycled before you added all these fish ¿ Tiger barbs are notoriously sensitive to less than perfect Nitrite/Nitrate and prolonged exposeur to poor water conditions will hurt them long term and dramatically shorten there lifespan.

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[max11180]

so once/if the fith TBs thats acting funny dies will it be ok if i get up to 3 more TBs making a shoal of 7 if i get 3?

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TO be honest.. you may be better adding them now, whilst the one thats acting odd is in there. The introduction of more will give the rest of the barbs something else to think about, and thus, leave the bullied fish alone.
This will probably give the bullied fish a bit of a breather, and draw him out to join the pack to nudge his/her way into the pecking order.

incedentally, one of my female barbs quite often sits behind my vallis plant for a few hours a day, just chilling out .. or watching the computer

 

[abstract]

tiger barbs should be in a longer tank...they are very active swimmers...putting 7 in a 20 gallon can only lead to problems down the road

 

[fish_keeper2]

digital_run: yes the tank was cycled....i had my shark and my gourami in there for about 3 months now and i do a small partial(around 15%) every week. the reason why it might die is because he isnt acting well: he hides behind the filter all day and isnt very interested in food. last night i moved him to the 10 gal and he is now resting againt the side of the tank near the surface breathing heavily( i did that so he wont be bothered by anyone) and before you ask yes this tank is cycled too.....the poor thing maybe its just one of those things that happen for no appearant reason.

abstract: what kind of problems do mean?

btw my shark has calmed down quite a bit. now he only gives the TBs a little warning type of chase and he doest go very far.

 

[abstract]

well if they aren't overly aggressive yet, when they get larger they won't appreciate the tight confines and will nip at each other more...not to mention that the rainbow shark will probably love to have gos at the TB's and in that small of a tank he will be able to nip them no problem..it's just not ideal to keep very active fish (danios, tb's, etc) in anything less than a 3 foot tank IMO

 

[fish_keeper2]

o i c.....how soon could that be before they start to get real aggressive