Tiger barbs and water quality

[leafs]

I purchased 8 Tiger barbs a few months back and over a period of about a month I slowly lost all of them. My ammonia and nitrtite were 0 and my nitrate was around 20. I'd like to purchase another shoal of Tigers but I want them to survive, obviously. Is there anything I should know or do to increase there chances for surviving? I have a 30 gal with some platys, Harlequins and Corys right now. Is a nitrate level of around 20 too high?

Thanks

 

[Yenko]

A nitrate level around 20 is acceptable for most aquarium fish; it won't bother anything other than Discus and marine fish.

Edit: The commonly avaliable Tiger Barbs are so inbred I wouldn't even try if you failed in a well-kept tank.

 

[leafs]

A nitrate level around 20 is acceptable for most aquarium fish; it won't bother anything other than Discus and marine fish.

Edit: The commonly avaliable Tiger Barbs are so inbred I wouldn't even try if you failed in a well-kept tank.

Where else could I purchase some that aren't inbred? Do most lfs have inbreds?

 

[freddyk]

Unfortunately most LFS operate on the same level - cost. Tiger barbs, being one of the most popular aquarium fish, have indeed had the quality bred right out of them, and unfortunately it's often tough to find decent ones.

 

[leafs]

Unfortunately most LFS operate on the same level - cost. Tiger barbs, being one of the most popular aquarium fish, have indeed had the quality bred right out of them, and unfortunately it's often tough to find decent ones.

That's too bad. I really like these fish. How would you even know if there decent? Big Al's usually have very nice looking Tigers, but who knows.

Thanks.

 

[freddyk]

Big-als, at least all the ones around here, are stocked full of poor quality fish - they are the ultimate quantity over quality company. unfortunately big-als, along with the super-pet stores' have knocked all the good independents right out of business, so we have little choice when it comes to retail. I'd consider another type of Barb.

 

[digital_run]

Big-als, at least all the ones around here, are stocked full of poor quality fish - they are the ultimate quantity over quality company. unfortunately big-als, along with the super-pet stores' have knocked all the good independents right out of business, so we have little choice when it comes to retail. I'd consider another type of Barb.

I think it depends on your location.....I currently have 17 barbs...8 being tigers which ive had for over a year...all bought from a local BigAl's. I agree that there are certainly some issues with inbreeding but they shouldnt be shunned altogether. I've found that barbs prosper with frequent small water changes.... 20% water changes 2-3 times a week has worked great for me...HIH a little..

If you havent already seen this...it might help you a bit.


Tiger barbs

 

[k2snowboards88]

I got my 8 tiger barbs at petsmart. I didn't really knwo what iwas doing when i started my tank. I cycled with the barbs and never lost one of them.

 

[gwlee7]

My first thought when I started reading this thread was, I bet the tigers were one of the color morphs like green or albino. I lost eight albino tiger barbs over the course of about two months. Each time an albino one died, I replaced it with a regular "striped" one. They all are thriving. In my experience, it has been the albinos that are overly in bred. I have a great species tank of tigers now. I hope you don't give up on them. This problem has been discussed on one of the other tiger barb threads in this forum. It should not be hard to find.

 

[leafs]

The Tigers I had were the stripped kind, not Albino or Green. I just purchased another 6 Tigers from Petsmart. I hope the survive.