# Tiger barb



## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

I have 3 platys, 3 albino corys and 1 dwarf gouramie, how many tiger barbs can i add in there? I only want tiger barbs, i dont want to add other fish to my aquarium stocking

Tank is 20gallons


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

lamonsas said:


> I have 3 platys, 3 albino corys and 1 dwarf gouramie, how many tiger barbs can i add in there? I only want tiger barbs, i dont want to add other fish to my aquarium stocking


I would not mix Platys and Tiger Barbs. I have kept Tiger Barbs for quite some time and they are fin nippers to the extreme. It is best to keep Tiger Barbs with other Semi-Aggressive fish such as other types of Barbs. However, Cories can be mixed with just about anything. Also, what size tank so you have?


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

its 20 gallons, the tiger barbs will go fine with 1 dwarf goramie?

But stil, how many tiger barbs canni add?

I heared if i have like 3 or 5 they will only fight with other tiger barbs and leave the other tank mates alone


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## FishHead (Nov 16, 2006)

I agree with Ghost. I have barbs in my 55 and they are pretty aggressive with most passive fish. Also, Gouramis would possibly get harassed due to their long whisker things or whatever they're called.

Barbs are also very active. I would personally suggest a 55 gal tank as a minimum. Mine use the entire tank


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

Are you sure they will harse my dwarf gouramie? But i read if there are like 5 of them they will not harase other fish, only other tiger barbs.. 

Many ppl have tiger barbs in 10, 20 gallon tanks


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## sarahbellum (Feb 28, 2008)

lamonsas said:


> Many ppl have tiger barbs in 10, 20 gallon tanks


Doesn't mean its the right thing to do.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

Yes, they might harass the Gourami. Tiger Barbs should be kept in schools of at least 4 and should be in at least a 55G tank. They are fast swimmers and like to have a great deal of room to get their energy out.


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

My friend had 4 tiger barbs in a 20g tank with some neons plattys a black molly and a groumi. The tiger barbs were all over that tank messing with every fish but the neons. He eventually gave them away to another friend of mine with a 37 gallon tank and they did fine there.


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

I would not put tiger barbs in a 20 gallon.


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

bump, are you 100% they will attack my gouramie? what if i buy like 5 of them..


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

lamonsas said:


> bump, are you 100% they will attack my gouramie? what if i buy like 5 of them..


Better to be safe than sorry. I would not mix Tiger Barbs with any Gouramis except the Blue Gouramis and Blue Paradise Gouramis. Those are the only types of Gouramis that are safe for a Semi-Aggressive tank and Tiger Barbs. I have always suggested a minimum of a 29G for Tiger Barbs and I think they would feel cramped in a 20G.


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

would they feel cramped in a 10 gallon? i have a 10 gallon tank also which only has 3 corries and 1 dwarf gouramie.


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

use common sense if they feel cramped in a 20g then a 10g is your answer?


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

how do you know they feel cramped tho? and i asked because i have less fish in the 10 gallon..


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## Asully70 (Aug 22, 2008)

its the amount of space they have to swim. tiger barbs are the only fish that have been proven to have different more aggressive behavior in smaller spaces. so regardless of how many fish you have the swimming space it smaller


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## FishHead (Nov 16, 2006)

Barbs are very active swimmers. They use my entire 55 gal to swim around. I would NOT put them in anything smaller than a 40 breeder and that is pushing it. Barbs are semi aggressive and placing them into a smaller space will probably cause more aggression and bullying.


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

i decided to buy them , ihave 24 hours to return them to the store if i see some serious fighting.

How many should i buy, 4 or 5? i cant buy 6 as i dont have the money and ill be pushing my tank limits.. i might be pushing my tank limit with 5 barbs also but 4 should be perfect. 

but 4 wont be enough to make them keep their aggresion to themselves?


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

No it will not be enough. The question has kind of been asked a lot here, and responded to a lot here. I hope that your fish are all okay, but ultimately they are your fish so enjoy!


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

so if i buy 5 ill be good?(MOST LIKELY, not %100)


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## trashion (Aug 24, 2007)

No, because there is not enough room for them.

If you don't want our advice, don't ask the question. We told you what is in our opinion the best situation for the fish, that is, don't put tiger barbs in a 20 gallon. You blatantly ignored it. Sorry if this sounds b!tchy, but it annoys me when people ask for our advice and then ignore what they are given.


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

lamonsas said:


> so if i buy 5 ill be good?(MOST LIKELY, not %100)


Just don't put Tiger Barbs in a 20G please. Either go with a community tank or get a larger tank (40G or larger) if you want a semi-aggressive tank.


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## lamonsas (May 31, 2007)

im gonna be buying baby tiger barbs tho, i decided im gonna buy 4 and not 5, petco will refund me my money within 15 days if they fight or whatever..


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## Ghost Knife (Mar 12, 2008)

lamonsas said:


> im gonna be buying baby tiger barbs tho, i decided im gonna buy 4 and not 5, petco will refund me my money within 15 days if they fight or whatever..


You're not understanding. In this case it is not about size, but their required space. This applies for all Tiger Barbs, regardless of how large they are. They need plenty of room to swim properly and a 20G is NOT large enough.


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