sleeping tiger barbs

[skiltrip]

i don't know if this is normal or not, but i thought it was kinda neat.

last night i looked in on my tank (the light was off already) before i went to bed, and one of my tiger barbs was laying totally sideways on a plant leaf. i've seen fish do this before, and it usually means they are hurt/sick/dying. i turned on the light to see if he was ok, and he looked really startled, but woke up, and started swimming around. i had no idea they slept like that. anyone else ever see them do that?

- kip

 

[Eelzor]

I had fish that 'slept' like that a long time ago, and like you, when I turned the light on it woke up. Indeed, i found out about a week later they died . By the sounds of it they are probably not sleeping, more likely sick/hurt/dying.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Haha weird... I've had probably over 10 tiger barbs in my entire aquarium experience, and almost all of them "slept"! Maybe it's a species thing. The one I have right now is a green tiger barb and he always sleeps. When I come to bed and turn the light on for a few minutes before laying down I check on my fish and he's usually in the back resting on a plant at an almost vertical, nose-down position. He always does this, and always has - since I got him. If the light stays on he wakes up and resumes swimming around, he's definitely healthy! Crazy fish.

 

[smb]

I'm not going to say that there's nothing wrong but IME this is usual for Tiger Barbs. Most I've ever had always sleep nose down but I've seen some sleep in the plants like that.

I've had a few cichlids (my last Midas infact) that would wedge himself on his side under a rock while he slept. It freaked me out the first couple days I turned the lights on and saw it, and he was perfectly fine...until my Flowerhorn killed him.

 

[AquaNut]

When I first got my tiger barbs, they freaked me right out. I didn't know that they spent so much time hanging vertically in the water; I thought they were all going to croak. Nothing freaked me out more than my loaches, though. Seeing a dorsal fin poking out, horizontally, from under a piece of bogwood when you get up in the morning isn't a good feeling. My skunk botias still squeeze themselves under that piece of bogwood to sleep.

 

[Death Penguin]

Yo dudes,

I have a few different types of Barbs. All of which seem to exibit the same sleeping habits. Most/all sleep with nose pointing down at around 30 degrees of so. I have seen some nessle up in the weeds as well, so i wouldn't be too worried about that.
Going slightly off topic but still relating to Barbs, or more precisely Green Tiger Barbs. I have three of these, all bought at different times/places. My worry is that two are on their last fins . NO LOL . They seem to have lost their appitite for randomly swimming and food, choosing instead to swim on the spot. Only moving to let other fish past. One has been like this for a week or so now. It doesn't seem to be there natural behaviour, anyone any ideas whats up?

Water parameters are well within tolerance, virtually zero across the board (except pH). Tank setup a few months ago.

I do have quite hard water, but this hasn't upset any other fish?

Any help/comments appreciated.

Later Dudes

 

[Moe]

I had a green tiger barb that would stay still in the exact same spot nose pointed down, not the usual tiger barb sleeping or pointing down after feeding thing. He did this for about a week and finally died. He also turned very dark. I never figured out what was wrong with him. There were 5 other tiger barbs in the tank and they were all fine. I talked to a few people who keep barbs and they said this is how most of them end up dying. They point down all the time, don't eat or swim. I also read that tiger barbs are very sensitive to nitrite and will point down when there is any nitrite in water. My levels were 0 the same as yours but I thought I'd mention it anyway.

 

[mostanks]

i dunno about that pointing down thing but i can tell ya it's totally normal for them to sleep that way,mine fall right to sleep not five minutes after lights out,their colors fade dramatically while sleeping.
if you don't to startle them...just turn the room lights on before the tank lights,thats what i do.
*sigh*they'r so peaceful when they'r sleeping and a nightmare when they'r awake

 

[skiltrip]

*sigh*they'r so peaceful when they'r sleeping and a nightmare when they'r awake

Ain't that the truth.

My tiger barbs often do the "pointing downward" thing too when they sleep or are resting.

- kip