Tiger Barbs

[MAM]

i really like tiger barbs and am setting up a species specific tank for some. i really love the regular ones but have seen they also come in the albino and green varieties. i saw some very pretty red ones, but when i was told they just regulars that had been dyed, i said no thanks. so i'm wondering, are the green ones naturally green or are they dyed too? are the albinos true albinos or are they the result of some sort of dye job? i DO NOT want dyed fish, i don't want to perpertuate that horrible cycle. my concern being that i thought the green tiger barbs were just another variety, but reading that petition someone posted, it listed green tigers as dyed. so i'm a bit confused. anyone who can clear this up for me would be great, as i was hoping to mix some greens and albinos in with the regulars................

 

[AquaNut]

Hiya Molly

Green tigers and albino tigers are both legit fishies. Although I only have the original coloured tigers, they should all school together very happily.

 

[smb]

I agree with Kirsten. I was wondering where you saw that they were dyed?

 

[MAM]

as for the red ones, thats what a clerk told me when i asked about some in the tank. what raised concern over the greens was the post by rsz "dyed fish...disgusting" which had link to a petition which mentions painted tiger barbs (not green specifically), so i jsut wanted to double check on this.
good, i can get a nice mix then.

 

[aernympha]

i didn't think they was dyed....

 

[ketyana]

There are 2 pet stores that sell fish in the town here,

One has legit green tiger barbs (the mossy green of the stripes blended into one) and legit red barbs (stripeless)

The other has jaded and ruby tiger barbs, the green is a pale but bright green the red is a light but bright red (if that makes any sense)..........Im pretty sure these are not natural colours, they do not look natural to me (think the shade of watered down food colourings!!) I think these are dyed albinos

Both types definately exist I have seen them!!

 

[Lateral Line]

The greens that are mossy green as a result of the stripes merging, and the reds which have the normal red colouration of the original tetrazona but without the black pigment are also legit, as are albinos.

Beware of any "brightly coloured" anything is the best advice - there is just too much of it going on.

 

[juliethegr8t]

Gah.. this just makes me remember seeing my first painted barbs at Petco a week or two ago. Made me so mad, I asked for the manager but he was "busy". lol probably what they say when enraged fish people stomp up to them and ask that. Anyways, I'd never seen these guys before - they looked so unnatural! I think the natural greenies and albinos/goldens are soooo much more beautiful. Red tiger barbs, bleck.

 

[krazitrain]

red tiger barbs can't help what may or may have not been done to them.. i gave 2 of them a home w/ my 2 striped tigers, 2 green, and 2 albinos. the barbs own the tank...lol

 

[Debo]

Green Tiger barbs are NOT dyed. They are bred that way. I have 6 Green Tiger Barbs and they are really cool fish. The green ones don't seem to be as aggressive as the striped ones. I have them in a very peaceful community tank and they all get along very well. See sig. below.
Deb

 

[bgraber]

My greens "lost" their green.. It was a green "sheen" on the sides.. Now they are just black and orange

 

[c1tyfc]

Krazitrain, With regards to your comment "red tiger barbs can't help what may or may have not been done to them.. i gave 2 of them a home ".

Yes, I agree they can't help what has happened. But purchasing these fish may only encourage the shop owner to buy more, thus encouraging his supplier to buy/manufacture more etc....

The quicker this practice is stopped the better. The dye is given to the fish via injection, i believe, not a nice operation.

 

[Mustang5L5]

The green ones don't seem to be as aggressive as the striped ones. I have them in a very peaceful community tank and they all get along very well.

That's odd. I have 1 green barb and he's the most aggressive out of the 9 barbs i have (5 are tigers, 3 are albino)