With barbs are agressive?

[kevy]

I know tiger barbs are very agressive and fin nippers, but which barbs arn't? And do they still school?

Any experiences are helpfull too

Thanks guys.

 

[Liz05]

Yes, you are correct, tiger barbs are aggressive fin-nippers, but if you school them they are a bit less mean.
I have rosy barbs, the males are kind of red and green, the females are silver. The males are beautiful fish and they get along peacefully with my all my other fish (see signature). I have never had an agression problem with them.

 

[smb]

Cherry and Tinfoil barbs are good community fish. Tinfoils get up to 14" and are a schooling fish tho so a big tank would be recommended.

 

[juliethegr8t]

I have some cherry barbs, and they're a lot of fun. I can vouch for their peaceful nature - they completely leave my gourami alone and never bother anything. However, they can be shy of their own species and may not necessarily school - depends on the fish. And wow, if you have room for them (like smb mentioned), I think tinfoil barbs are gorgeous! They have 7'' ones at one lfs near me, and they're just amazing looking. I wish I had a tank big enough for them - that gorgeous silver color is totally accented by their red fins.

 

[AquaNut]

I have tiger barbs in one tank and golden barbs in another, and a person would never know they were even distantly related. The tigers are feisty and the goldens are as peaceful as can be. I recently read that they're not actually a schooling fish (credit to Alien Anna, I believe), which was somewhat surprising to me, as my five school together as well as my five tigers do, although they're not nearly as active as the tigers. Four of the five golden barbs were acquired with a second-hand tank (I bought the fifth because I believed they were shoaling fish and there was one lone golden barb at my lfs) and, at first, I wasn't too impressed with them. I even remember thinking, "Why would somebody dedicate space to a school of these when there are so many prettier fish around?" However, after watching them for only a very short time, my mind was totally changed. Their golden colour is actually quite outstanding, and they're almost always front and centre in my tank.

 

[Death Penguin]

I think the Tiger Barbs get a bit of bad press over fin nipping. I admit that they can get wild at times, but if kept in a group they are generally fine. Or, that's what I have found. I currently have 3 Tigers, 3 Green Tigers and 3 Black Ruby Barbs, the theory was this accomodates the need to have a group as well as a bit of variety of fish/colour. They all play together as when it comes to chasing around the tank and leave my other Clown Loaches and Golden Gourami alone.

Has anybody had a problem with a Clown loach with an identity crisis. One of mine seems to think its a Tiger Barb, it happily swims around the tank with the other barbs at all levels. The wierd thing is the other barbs leave it alone?

 

[aquamanis]

I have 6 tiger barbs in my 140 lt with 15 other fish and the only thing they are interested in is each other. I also have 4 cherry barbs and these guys are totally different, one minute they are all together the next they are all split up all over the tank. The tigers are the biggest fish in my tank as they have grown the quickest but they make way when the platinum gouramis or the cory wants there space.

 

[Lateral Line]

The vast majority of barbs are perfectly peacful if kept with similaly sized tankmates.

 

[millym]

hi there,
as most people have mentioned tiger barbs are fine as long as you have a group of them - most agree 6 or more. we have 3 tigers & 3 green barbs that school together & only play & have small scraps with eachother.(they never seem to bite or do anything vicious when they have these 'fights' its more like a dance they spin around nose to nose with their dorsal fins up till one gives up & thats the end of it) we have neons, red eye tetras, zebra & leopard danios, an algae eater and 2 peppered corys in the tank - & have never seen the barbs go for anything, in fact its the corys that chase the barbs around occasionally & then the barbs just scoot away.
the barbs are gorgeous active fun fish to watch & are the life & soul of our tank.

 

[rosierabbit]

we have 3 tigers & 3 green barbs

do you mean green barbs or green tiger barbs?!?! i have green barbs, but when i mention them, people always start talking about green tiger barbs !! they're 2 different species!!

anyway, which do you have?

 

[rosierabbit]

i just re-read your message, millym, and i realised you put 'tiger barbs and green barbs'. which means you probably didnt mean green tiger barbs. stupid rosie! !

 

[millym]

i think green barbs are the same as green tiger barbs ie: theyre the same species but instead of being stripey like the plain old tigers the greenies are green does that make sense??? i dont think there is 2 different types - green barbs & green tiger barbs i think theyre the same thing. now im sounding really muddled, sorry.

all i know is my 'green barbs' school with my tigers(stripey barbs) and look exactly the same as the tigers, have orange fins, orange noses etc EXCEPT their main body is mossy green instead of being stripey.
i think im getting more confused, well i know what i mean, but im probably confusing you
if i was v clever i could post a pic of what i call a green tiger barb/green barb- but im not, sorry )

 

[millym]

rosierabbit - ive just read my reply to your q about green barbs & realized i make no sense whatsoever
what i was trying to say is i think the green barbs are exactly the same as green tiger barbs, its just a slightly different name for the same fish. ive seen them named both at different fish shops.
i know theyre the same species as actual stripey tiger barbs so maybe thats why some places call them green tiger barbs instead of plain old green barbs. maybe they think it makes them sound more interesting/exotic or something

 

[Lateral Line]

The problem is actually with common names in general. Green Tiger Barbs are colour mutants of ordinary Tiger Barbs thus the same species Barbus tetrazona. However, the name has been shortened to Green Barb. I suspect you have these.

Green Barb is the common name of Barbus semifasciolatus, a totally different fish, one that is sadly not seen much in the trade these days. I suspect Rosie has these - lucky girl.

 

[Shoto^Guy]

Yupz..they are all tiger barbs in general....apart from green, there are orange and red ones....all tiger barbs, just different colors thats all....
Rosy barb can be peaceful, but it also depends...dun keep fishes too small or fins too long though...and they can be as active as tiger barbs at times..
Cherry barbs are probably the most peaceful barbs among all barbs...small in size and goes well with most tetras and otehr kinds of fishes( neon ,emperor, red blood , zebra danios, Harlequin etc)they dun school like tiger barbs do though....and they tend to prefer tanks filled with many plants....
Tinfoil barb im not too sure, though I've heard they are generally quite peacful too..but they are bigger in size and requires more swimming area.