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Tiger Barbs

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Juice

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So I just got 4 albino tiger barbs into my 15 gallon, with 2 tinfoil barbs, and the biggest male tiger barb chases and nips the little tiger barbs. Theres not much of a size difference, but I was observing for a while and noticed the biggest one was chasing every one, even the tinfoil barbs too.

So i took him out, dont want any more nipping. Is there any way I can put him back in?

I think its a dominance issue because hes the biggest and theres only 1 female, so hes attacking the other 2 small males

Hes in a net right now...
 
Juice said:
So I just got 4 albino tiger barbs into my 15 gallon, with 2 tinfoil barbs, and the biggest male tiger barb chases and nips the little tiger barbs. Theres not much of a size difference, but I was observing for a while and noticed the biggest one was chasing every one, even the tinfoil barbs too.

So i took him out, dont want any more nipping. Is there any way I can put him back in?

I think its a dominance issue because hes the biggest and theres only 1 female, so hes attacking the other 2 small males

Hes in a net right now...
Click to expand...

Tiger barbs I would recommend 5-6 minimum in a group to minimize nipping, it will spread it out over the group.

I would also take the tinfoils back right now, they get huge 12"+ easily. To put it plainly your tank is MAJORLY overstocked. Even a normal group (say six) of tiger barbs alone would find a 15 gal cramped. Although you are having issues with aggressive barbs, definately DO NOT add more fish, and find a new home for the tinfoils.

Sorry, but keeping them in a tank that small is just going to stress the fish... with adult tinfoils you are looking at 150gal+ easily for them to even have swimming room.
 
Juice said:
(coming soon 4 Tiger Barb, 2 Clown Loach)
Click to expand...

Also, clown loaches get WAY too big for 15 gal as well. You can read on many sites or in books that these can reach 12"+
Personally I would say 6-8" is not unreasonable, but either way a 15gallon tank is many times too small. Again, think 75 to 150 gallons for adults... You should also consider that both clown loaches and tinfoils are happier in groups, much like most barbs and many other loaches.

If you are serious about keeping barbs such as tiger barbs, I would recommend nothing smaller than 30 gal setup. Most of the larger barbs need at least a 55g, but they will outgrow even this size. If you cannot have a tank this large, perhaps you should switch to different types of fish, most barbs need decent space. Not trying to be a jerk, just trying to advise you so you don't lose fish and have problems with your tank.
 
yea I agree with rushingchamp...i have 5 clown loaches <3" in a 55 gal, along with 5 tiger barbs...(i only have female too) but she is the one who usually chases the males around...i think the size of the tank is causing them to nip more...mine are very calm with each other most of the time...i would scratch getting the clowns and re home the tinfoil barbs, like stated...once the tinfoils are gone, maybe there will be less nipping...good luck
 
Oh I didnt know clown loaches grow that much.

Anyway, I had 3 tinfoils before, I know they grow big, but theyre only an inch now, so how can you say im majorly overstocked?
 
If you are upgrading to a larger tank later, then no, you are not currently overstocked. But I can't tell you how many numerous people that say they will upgrade later, but never do. So if you have no intentions to upgrade to a larger tank, then yes, you are overstocked. Also, for the tiger barbs, they would be better in a bigger group (6 minimum, but 8's better), but I agree that they need at least a 30 gallon. And tiger barbs and tinfoils together since they both should ideally be kept in schools, a 55 is absolute minimum; a 75 gallon would be better (being that that's usually a deeper tank and would be better for them to turn around in when they are adults).

15 gallon tanks can be a good setup, but not for your current setup in the long run. That's just my opinion.
 
wendywc said:
If you are upgrading to a larger tank later, then no, you are not currently overstocked. But I can't tell you how many numerous people that say they will upgrade later, but never do. So if you have no intentions to upgrade to a larger tank, then yes, you are overstocked. Also, for the tiger barbs, they would be better in a bigger group (6 minimum, but 8's better), but I agree that they need at least a 30 gallon. And tiger barbs and tinfoils together since they both should ideally be kept in schools, a 55 is absolute minimum; a 75 gallon would be better (being that that's usually a deeper tank and would be better for them to turn around in when they are adults).

15 gallon tanks can be a good setup, but not for your current setup in the long run. That's just my opinion.
Click to expand...


Yes, what wendy said was what I'm getting at. Those 1" tinfoils will grow to at least 3-4" EASILY in a year on a normal diet. The youngest of the ones I own are between 5-6", bought exactly 1 year ago. Plus as far as fish go they are very active, and will start to fly around your tank like its a racetrack. Unfortunately most barbs just cant be kept in small tanks like this one. I also agree with the 8 tigers as an "optimal" number...

If you absolutely love the clown loach and cannot upgrade tank size, perhaps you could go with zebra loaches (Botia striata) or dwarf loaches (Yasuhikotakia sidthimunki). While they dont have the same orange and black pattern, they have nice patterns and stay far smaller than clown loaches, even when they reach adult size. If you have decent LFS you should be able to find one or both of these species.


Another species you could look into would be Puntius pentazona (Five banded barbs) (not to be confused with Puntius tetrazona, tiger barb). They are very similar in both look and size, but tend to be much less of a nuisance as far as fin nipping, so they could be nice in a small tank that might not be able to accommodate larger tiger barb groups. Slightly harder to find but they are around. Any of the mentioned species should be attainable...

Hope that helps.
 
Tiger barbs are great fish and I had 9 of them in a 125L on there own. They form a strict heirachy and the males will often nip at each other sometimes having spectacular sparing matches where they spin around whilst nipping each others noses. This is perfectly normal and I have never seen any injuries.

They really need a species only tank in my opinion
 
Yep, I just had that issue. Got 10 and was keeping them in a 10g quarantine for a few days and they bullied one so much it couldn't eat or anything. Found it dead today. :(

(it was a runt, btw)
 
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