tiger barb is weird

[juanveldez]

hey guys I really don't think that this is an emergancy cause he hasn't died yet.....but I bought 8 green tiger barbs and one of them seems to always stay off by himself and I also noticed that he seems to always keep his head pointed to the gravel. what the heck should I do or should I just name him charlie brown?

 

[val]

Usually, fish pointing their heads to the gravel is the first sign of nitrate poisoning. But since only one of them is doing it, I'm not sure. I'd check nitrates, just in case.

Valerie

 

[juliethegr8t]

Does your fish do this at certain times? Because often tiger barbs will float nose down, often after eating. I always observed this with my fish - some do it more than others. However, if your fish is doing this while showing other signs of stress (such as not eating), he may be feeling sick, so you should definitely take val's advice and check your water for nitrites/nitrates, ammonia, etc.

 

[The_Budmaster]

our Green Tiger Barbs float nose down all the time, they also swim on their side....pretty weird , most other fish dont do this but it seems common amongst tiger barbs

 

[skiltrip]

my tiger barbs do the same thing too. float nose down. sometimes they'll all do it together (i have 6). weird behaviour i suppose but normal!

- kip

 

[jumpman]

hey skiltrip, how is the firemouth doing with the tiger barbs?? Has he shown them who's boss yet??

thinking of getting one myself....

are you going to get him a lady friend???

 

[skiltrip]

So far he's ok. At first he was really nervous around the tiger barbs. Not sure what to make with them, but you knew he didn't like them. haha. It's been a couple days and now the tiger barbs will follow him carefully, like they want to nip him, but they're not sure that they should go through with it. The firemouth usually evades them or just turns around and gives them the look and they scatter.

I'm hoping he takes control of the tank, cause the barbs need to be humbled a little bit.

I don't know whether a lady friend would be a good idea or not. If they do breed, they are gonna get real territorial, and i know the barbs and gonna try to mess with the fry and probably get a firemouth whooping as a result.

You should definitely get one though. It's a really beautiful fish. He's really showing a lot of personality. What else do you have in your tank?

- kip

 

[Rose_22]

one of my tiger barbs always seems to swim like that for a few hours after he has been fed. none of my other ones do it though.