# Barb Tank Concept



## Community90 (Jan 22, 2011)

Im definitely a beginner compared to the rest of the people on this board but I was wondering if there was any input on my barb tank concept.

I want to have my own fish tank at my house and it should be the kind that I can put in the living room as a center showpiece and so I want to go for beauty over anything else 

I was thinking of doing a colorful barb tank. I already take care of a 75 gallon live-bearer tank and want to do something different on a smaller scale. I am not set on a size but I think 29 would be most appropriate for the space. I could go bigger if necessary. I was wondering how I could fill a tank with barbs and other compatible fish to show off a plethora of color and maybe some other cool fish that aren't high maintenance. I know some are recommended to be kept in schools but I would rather have as many different colors and species as possible. 

I have these in interest:
tiger barbs
gold barbs
green barbs
rosy barbs
cherry barbs
clown barbs
roseline shark (I dont know if thats the right name)
maybe even a rainbow shark

If there are any other compatible fish that would be nice. Looking for suggestions on pretty much anything from water requirements to stocking. Not expecting a ten page paper by a single person but if someone has anything to contribute it would be greatly appreciated.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Have you seen 'river 'tanks with a strong current in them. I think they are neat and barbs might enjoy one.


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## Community90 (Jan 22, 2011)

emc7 said:


> Have you seen 'river 'tanks with a strong current in them. I think they are neat and barbs might enjoy one.


is there any other difference in a river tank besides making the current strong?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Some people scape them to look like a river bank, all the driftwood parallel, backgrounds like rocks and roots where water has washed away the mud. 

I think the idea is to make the current flow all in one direction, you put pvc under the gravel and suck the water in from the opposite side of the tank and blow it out with a power-head. In practice, the currents aren't very well behaved, but fish from fast-flowing water like hillstream loaches love it and so do a surprising amount of 'normal' aquarium fish


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## Plecostomus (Jul 31, 2006)

If you are going to do a 29 gallon tank with barbs, you will probably want to narrow down your selection to have more fish of just a few species. I remember when I was just starting fishkeeping I had too few tiger barbs and one killed off all the others. So you gotta have big schools to spread the aggression around. Some barbs on that list, like Cherry barbs, are less aggressive than the others.


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## egoreise (Mar 16, 2011)

I think if I were you, I would transfer the livebearers to the 29 gallon tank (maybe rehome a few....) and put the barbs in the 75!


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## Community90 (Jan 22, 2011)

referring to river current tank**** if that isnt to hard i'll give it a thought


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## Community90 (Jan 22, 2011)

ok max id like to go is 55 gallons is that enough to have multiple species? I can't move the livebearers because they are being taken care of by me but at the workplace


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I always heard a 55 was minimum for full-grown tiger barbs. Fewer species with more of each will give you more chance of seeing natural schooling behavior.


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## Community90 (Jan 22, 2011)

emc7 said:


> I always heard a 55 was minimum for full-grown tiger barbs. Fewer species with more of each will give you more chance of seeing natural schooling behavior.


alright then I guess 29 will be simply to small... i'll have to get as close to a 55 as possible.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Get a 75 gallon and you can do what you're after. Also, don't forget Green Tiger Barbs and Albino Tiger Barbs. Just remember to have a school of at least 5 of the Tiger Barbs and their variants.


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