Would Tiger Barbs be ok?

[Smiffy]

Hi there,
Newbie question.
I am in the process of setting up my new Jewul 96 (20 gallon) tank.
My first fish are going to be 6 Zebra Danio's as I understand that these are hardy little fish (as well as being quite pretty).
I really fancy having Tiger Barbs in my tank ( maybe 4 or 6) but am put off a little by their "fin nipping" reputation.
My brother, who has kept fish in the past, thinks that the Danio's would be ok with the Barbs as they are quite quick swimmers!
He said Barbs tend to cause more grief to slow movers such as Guppies (which I don't intend to keep).
I also plan to introduce 6 to 8 Rummy Nose Tetra's.
Would you risk the Barbs in this community tank?
I really love the look of the Barbs.
Thanks in advance for your honest opinions.
Rob

 

[Aquascaper]

Hi Smiffy,

First off, 20g is a little small for zebra danios As you say they are quick swimmers and need a resonably long tank for them to be really happy. There are a few other hardy fish which will help you cycle your tank (i'm guessing that's why you're loking for hardy fish as your first lot ), I can't recall what they would be at the moment as i'm a bit tired ) but i'm sure someone will fill in the gaps.
Secondly, the tiger barbs. They are community fish but also fin nippers, as long as they are kept in a group of 4+ they shouldn't bother anybody else too much. You're right about staying away from long finned fish with these guys as that is just tempting fate.

It sounds like you've done a bit of research already and found out a bit about what fish you want to keep but your projected stock levels are a little high for a 20g tank. Most aquarists try to follow the 1" per gallon guide when starting up a tank, this means a 20g tank like yours should comfortably hold 20" of adult fish. The more inches of fish you add per gallon the more work you and your filter will have to do and it can spell disaster if things get out of hand.

The stock you are planning will come to at least 32" (The Danios, Barbs & Tetras grow to around 2" each [2 x (6 + 4 + 6) = 32]).
This is overstocking your tank and will cause problems. If you are set on these three types of fish I would suggest dropping one of the groups off your list and sticking to two (I would go with the tigers and the rummys). Alternatively, research a few more types of fish and try and find some that will live in smaller groups, that way you can get more variety in your tank (neon tetras, although common do not have a huge impact on your tanks bioload and therefore you can usually get away with 2 for 1 )

Good luck with it all and I hope some of that was useful

Remeber: This is all just my opinion, it's not the law