Tiger Barb Behavior

[mancin]

One of my Tiger Barbs has been acting a bit strangely the past few days. I'm 2 weeks into my Fish-In cycle and just got my first nitrite reading yesterday, which was taken care of with a 50% water change. I just took a sample about an hour ago and the stats look good:

Tank Size: 29 Gallon
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 0
Water Temp: 78 F
pH: 7.5


I caught him/her pointing downwards the other day and shaking the back fin back and forth as if it was trying to swim. I was worried about it being nipped at by the other Barbs (I have 6 Tiger Barbs total), so I put it in the breeder tank that sits inside of my full tank. The next morning it was acting completely normal, so I let it back out. I caught it doing it again later in the night about 30 mins after the tank lights went off. The next morning everything seemed to be back to normal again until today.

When I was doing research on Barbs, I believe I read that they point downward when they are overfed, but I have been feeding them very sparingly due to the Fish-In cycle. I also thought I read that male Tiger Barbs point down and "shimmy" to get a female's attention (I actually don't know if I even have any females?). When I was taking water stats earlier, I caught it doing it again. Since I was heading back to work, I thought I'd seclude it again (to prevent the nipping) and try and find out if this behavior is normal.

I did some quick searching on here and on the Internet.... some people seem to say their Tiger Barbs also do this, but others say it's not normal? Other than this behavior, everything else seems normal. It swims along with the other Tigers and has been eating fine.

 

[mancin]

Well I'm guessing it's not normal because once I got home from work the fish isn't doing so hot. He was pretty pale and seemed quite stressed, so I turned the tank lights off early in hopes of giving him some relief. I honestly don't know if it will pull through... I sure hope so but I already lost one Tiger Barb previously. *sigh* The stupidity of Fish-In cycling....

 

[badenmate]

my tiger barbs did the same some just seem to go a bit crazy some time
i might watch this post

 

[mancin]

I checked on the fish this morning and he seems to be doing better than last night -- he definitely has a bit more color back. He's still in the breeder tank. I hesitated to take him out of it this morning since he still seemed a little off balance, but I'm going to check on him again on lunch and take another set of water stats.

 

[mancin]

He (she?) is doing much better today. What a trooper! When I got home from work he was acting normal, so I let him out of the breeder tank. Took water stats and nitrites were up to 0.25. Ammonia was probably at about 0.10. Nitrates are still 0. Did a 50% water change. Will test again tonight. Hopefully the little guy keeps doing well!

 

[dcarmor927]

(I actually don't know if I even have any females?).

male tiger barbs will have bright orange noses, while the females are the same color as the area within the stripes...also the females get much bigger bellies, especially when filling with eggs...

also are you trying to breed them? noticed you had "a breeder tank"

i also did a fish in cycle with tiger barbs, ugh, i'll never do that again...i only lost one in the process but it was a major hassel...

to address the original problem...was the barb struggling to stay in his position, like was he trying to swim downward with no luck? if yea then i would say it was a case of swim bladder...even though you are feeding sparsely with the fish in cycle, this fish maay have had more than he needed to eat lol...also these fish "sleep" in that position and sometimes lose alot of their color...i notice this with mine (i have moon lighting so i can see in the dark lol)...hope this helps you out...good luck with the fish!!

 

[mancin]

Water stats are back to normal. I'm safe for about another day... The nitrites have really begun to show themselves the past few days. Lots of water changes, but I don't mind!

male tiger barbs will have bright orange noses, while the females are the same color as the area within the stripes...also the females get much bigger bellies, especially when filling with eggs...

I've read this as well, but I think they are too young to tell? (They are probably about an inch long) I go back and forth between trying to figure out their sex. I've tried to tell by their dorsal fin as well, but that hasn't helped me much either! If the little buggers would stay still, I could try and post pics.

also are you trying to breed them? noticed you had "a breeder tank"

Nope, not trying to breed them. Since I'm a newbie I didn't understand the importance of having a quarantine tank so when I had my first Tiger Barb go south, I panicked and needed a way to keep it safe from the other Tigers (because they WERE nipping at him when he started acting strangely) so I got a breeder tank to throw him in. Unfortunately, that one didn't make it.

to address the original problem...was the barb struggling to stay in his position, like was he trying to swim downward with no luck? if yea then i would say it was a case of swim bladder...even though you are feeding sparsely with the fish in cycle, this fish maay have had more than he needed to eat lol...also these fish "sleep" in that position and sometimes lose alot of their color...i notice this with mine (i have moon lighting so i can see in the dark lol)...hope this helps you out...good luck with the fish!!

You hit it right on the nose! He was definitely struggling to stay in his position and wasn't having very much luck. Last night when he was doing poorly, he even flipped over a couple times and struggled to get back over. I've heard of swim bladder but I didn't really know what it was.. after reading a little bit that makes sense! You are right -- even if I'm feeding sparingly I can't control very well how much he gets compared to everyone else! I will be fasting them a couple days to make sure. Thanks for that! I read about feeding crushed peas for constipation problems.... is that worth trying for him or since he's doing better should I just let it be?

 

[dcarmor927]

I've read this as well, but I think they are too young to tell? (They are probably about an inch long) I go back and forth between trying to figure out their sex. I've tried to tell by their dorsal fin as well, but that hasn't helped me much either! If the little buggers would stay still, I could try and post pics.

lol its fine...i've had mine since they were about 1.5 inches so they might be too young idk lol...im trying to breed some as we speak (or type lol) but yea, you could look at their anal fins, the males have much brighter edges there than do the females...

Im not sure about feeding peas, but i have heard this as well...whenever my barbs got it, it subsided withing 24 hrs so i never had to worry about it...i would try the pea feeding but if he/she is on the way back to normal it might have worked itself out...

You are right -- even if I'm feeding sparingly I can't control very well how much he gets compared to everyone else! I will be fasting them a couple days to make sure.

this is the right move for sure...i know what you mean tho lol...one of my clown loaches punks all the little one and gets more food than the others...maybe try sprinkling the food out evenly atop the surface so that the others can get a better chance at it...

 

[mancin]

Just wanted to report the Tiger Barb is still doing well.

 

[The-Wolf]

Male Tiger Barbs point their snouts downwards to attract a mate.
it is perfectly normal behaviour

 

[LetsBeFriends]

agree with The Wolf, also when tiger barbs "sleep" they act in a similar way bye pointing downwards and staying in one place. you may be seeing that at times, but again i wouldnt worry about him, tiger barbs are absolute troopers.

 

[dcarmor927]

Male Tiger Barbs point their snouts downwards to attract a mate.
it is perfectly normal behaviour

this is true but...

to address the original problem...was the barb struggling to stay in his position, like was he trying to swim downward with no luck?

You hit it right on the nose! He was definitely struggling to stay in his position and wasn't having very much luck. Last night when he was doing poorly, he even flipped over a couple times and struggled to get back over.

seemed more like swim bladder with that

 

[MarineMoney]

Well I'm guessing it's not normal because once I got home from work the fish isn't doing so hot. He was pretty pale and seemed quite stressed, so I turned the tank lights off early in hopes of giving him some relief. I honestly don't know if it will pull through... I sure hope so but I already lost one Tiger Barb previously. *sigh* The stupidity of Fish-In cycling....

To be quite honest, there is no reason whatsoever to use fish whilst cycling a tank, its cruel. Its perfectly feasible to do so without stock and there is plenty of information available to guide you through fishless cycling. Im not trying to be harsh or undermining but its unnecessary.

 

[mancin]

To be quite honest, there is no reason whatsoever to use fish whilst cycling a tank, its cruel. Its perfectly feasible to do so without stock and there is plenty of information available to guide you through fishless cycling. Im not trying to be harsh or undermining but its unnecessary.

Yes, I understand this. But if you had read my previous posts, I cannot return the fish due to LFS policy and have nobody to re-home them to. I had been given bad advice by the LFS and had bought the fish before I found this site. I have been doing everything in my power (water changes every other day -- in the past couple days every day) to keep the fish safe. I have also been testing the water diligently (once if not twice a day). I understand that fishless cycling is the better and more "humane" way, but just because I'm in a fish-in cycle doesn't mean I don't care about the fish!

Everything I've read promotes fishless cycling, but members say they will still help in a fish-in cycle situation. But it seems everytime I post anything, I get some grief from somebody about having fish in there!!

 

[MarineMoney]

To be quite honest, there is no reason whatsoever to use fish whilst cycling a tank, its cruel. Its perfectly feasible to do so without stock and there is plenty of information available to guide you through fishless cycling. Im not trying to be harsh or undermining but its unnecessary.

Yes, I understand this. But if you had read my previous posts, I cannot return the fish due to LFS policy and have nobody to re-home them to. I had been given bad advice by the LFS and had bought the fish before I found this site. I have been doing everything in my power (water changes every other day -- in the past couple days every day) to keep the fish safe. I have also been testing the water diligently (once if not twice a day). I understand that fishless cycling is the better and more "humane" way, but just because I'm in a fish-in cycle doesn't mean I don't care about the fish!

Everything I've read promotes fishless cycling, but members say they will still help in a fish-in cycle situation. But it seems everytime I post anything, I get some grief from somebody about having fish in there!!

Grief is not what I would exactly call a comment on a forum, its merely the truth so that part of the equation doesn't make a difference. Yeah you are doing everything in your power to make them comfortable, responsible fish keeping, that is great. Of course people on here are going to help, most of them are great keepers with a great knowledge base. We are all newbies at some point, mistakes happen, had a few myself and we all need advice at some point, dont deny that, however, its simple with a bit of research and so many people dont do that when its so easy to do so, ignorance is just a poor excuse.