# Tiger barbs questions!



## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

So for those who have been following my story you can skip the next paragraph and move on to the new Q's if youd like 

I got out my old tank a few days ago, a 14 gal hex aquarium my parents got for my bday when I was a younger teen. It had been stashed away for years. We decided to restock it with fish! Very exciting I know! Ive been doing some research on different types of fish (appearently not enough! LOL), and in the end we decided to go with something smaller and hardy so they could hopefully survive the cycling process. I chose 4 tiger barbs on Thursday (I didnt want to put too many in during cycling) however 4 wasnt enough and I had an aggressor in the bunch! He picked on my others pretty bad, they were swimming at the top breathing heavy, werent too happy. I then added 4 more yesterday to make it more like a school, it did help greatly with settling the aggressor down. He does still get after them but not as much and he seems to get confused about who hes chasing rather quickly lol. I do understand now that I will need to upgade my tank eventually...right now they are tiny, babies, maybe between half inch and an inch. I cant afford to upgrade now and probably wont be able to for another 6 months. 

Questions:

-Whats their growth rate?

-What other kinds of fish mix well with them? (not adding more til the upgrade but just curious for future reasons!) 

-Can I mix in more tigers later on or am I better off getting all my tigers as babies? Im curious because if some of them die id like to replace them to keep a school going et. 

-My tigers appear to hang out around the surface and swim in place facing downward, normal? sleeping? 

-Everyone is eating and swimming, but two struggle a bit to get to the bottom, they keep wanted to float upward. They are eating and appear not injured. 

-They are eating tetra flakes right now, what else should I feed them? They are eating twice a day right now (they seem to fight more when they are hungry).

Thursday, the first 4









Their home









This morning with all 8, much quieter braver bunch now


















And just for kicks...Draco loves watching his new fishies!


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## IAoddball (Jun 19, 2012)

You can put other semi aggressive fish with the tiger barbs. I have 4 in my tank now in my sig. The aggression could be them figuring out the "leader" of the pack. They grow fairly quick, all of mine are around 2 1/2" - 3", and that's almost full grown. As far as feeding them, they eat almost anything. But I also feed mine some lettuce twice a week and they love it, as well as bloodworms. If you ever see them facing downward when you turn lights on, their sleeping, not dead. 

Hope this helps a little, enjoy the barbs!


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

Questions:

-Whats their growth rate? they usually grow fast until they hit the 2inch mark when they slow down

-What other kinds of fish mix well with them? (not adding more til the upgrade but just curious for future reasons!) semi aggressive's and avoid long flowing fins also avoid smaller fish

-Can I mix in more tigers later on or am I better off getting all my tigers as babies? yesyou can add more later just get them the same size or roughly also you can mix the colors of the differnt tigers. 

-My tigers appear to hang out around the surface and swim in place facing downward, normal? sleeping? mines do the same its a effect of the tank being th
inner then wider.
-Everyone is eating and swimming, but two struggle a bit to get to the bottom, they keep wanted to float upward. They are eating and appear not injured. could be swim bladder or internal ingury i wouldnt worry too much if they are eating

-They are eating tetra flakes right now, what else should I feed them? They are eating twice a day right now (they seem to fight more when they are hungry).
i feed twice a day and i feed mine a mix tropical flakes crisps veggie flakes and twice a week frozen brine shrimp.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

they will get big pretty quick. 

i can tell you the main problem right now is the tank size with the big deco taking up 75% of the swim space leaving yourself with like 5-9 gallons of water instead of the whole 14g. if i was you id take the fish back all of the barbs and get yourself something else. the tank looks way to small for them, other then that it looks nice. id get something that stays small, fancy guppies or neon tetra school. then put some plants down there. that would look good. but the barbs are just going to give you a ton of problems.


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## Guest (Aug 11, 2012)

Tiger Barbs stay small, they don't get any bigger than 3 inches. So your tank is fine for them. You can possibly add more tiger barbs. Here is a link to a description of the tiger barb:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiger_barb

Hope this helps. BTW: Nice tank


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

i would not add anymore to that tank, did you see how much room is taking up by the large deco! how much water did you add to that tank? like 5-10-14g. because with that much space already taken up i think you are already way over stocked and you should look into getting a larger tank or sending the barbs back to the fish store.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

plus that tank is tall not wide, barbs need a wider tank more then they need a tall tank. its like if i keep you in a closet. theres no room in there.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

cory they dont swim much in lap space they need more laterial actually


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

they do get big, not huge but for that small of a tank they dont have much room to swim around. you redhead have a 50g not a problem because it is somewhat wide and also tall. so you wont have as many problems, as for a 14 gallon HEX TANK bottom is maybe a foot wide and tall. but to also factor in that huge deco your really going to end up with like what 10 or so gallons and theres talk of adding more! would you guys seriously add 15 barbs to a ten gallon tank? not to be a @!! hole about it but i really think its over stocked and with semi aggressive fish theres only going to be problems.


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## Redhead305 (May 30, 2012)

i was suggesting around only 6 and the tank is fine but the decor is not


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

thats what i was trying to say. the deco is taking up so much room that it pretty much renders the tank to almost nothing. a tank that size with the outrageously huge deco is about right for a couple of guppies not a school of barbs. for the 8 barbs that are in there now is already way to much. i personaly wouldnt even have them in there because they need to be in a big school and there is just not enough room for them.

you should remove the barbs get something else like i said before. you will run into so many problems if you keep them. 

fish i would put in that with the huge deco,
1. guppies thats my first choice.
2. neon tetra school of 10-15
3. two plattys both male so theres no breeding

now without the huge deco your list opens up a bit more but not much. hex tanks are awesome and i like them but they are not good for much since the odd shape and them being taller then wide and most fish need wide not tall. 

if your serious and you want to stay in this hobby what you can do is look on craigslist you can find a tank on there for pennies. alot of people have super low price on there tanks and set ups. so look threw and grab one off of there turn this tank into a guppie tank. or even keep the huge deco, add some plants and put your betta in there.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

i think that the decor was made for a 55g plus because in there it takes away all the swim room.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

I don't know that I would go so far as to say that he would have to do what you say if he is serious and wants to stay in the hobby. This is the tank that he has for now, lets help him work with it. He can decide about future tanks. 

Quite frankly I think it is kind of a cool tank. I agree I wouldn't put barbs in there, they are too big and too active for it, they do need more space. But many of the smaller tetra's or rasborra's or guppies or, or , or... will work just fine.


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## Guest (Aug 12, 2012)

Cory: tiger barbs only get 3 inches, which isn't at all huge. They stay small. Yes the decor is too huge for the tank, but it does look nice in the tank. The OP stated that they are going to upgrade to a bigger tank. If you don't believe me on the size of the tiger barb, take a look at the link I posted. Tiger barbs don't get any bigger than 3 inches.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

I know how big they get iv kept barbs before, I'm just stating that the tank is way to small for them. I'm not trying to be a *** hole but I'm trying to help him/her out. I may come off as one from time to time but in this case I know for a fact the tank is to small. I said before I really do like the tank, it looks awesome for a small corner tank and the deco is kind of cool as well. I'd keep the tank just like that but swap the stock. There is a lot of fish that can be kept in that small space. I said before if he adds some plants keep the deco I'd put neon tetras in there. The comment about being serious in the hobby is me trying to say if he wants to stay in the fish keeping hobby and not have the first tank fail miserably. Most people dont know much when they start and I know the op took our advise on getting more and the op went and got more. So we know they want the tank to work and not fail. So now that we know what he is working with we now know that there is less then 10g of water in that tank from the deco. So if the op wants the tank to work we now know that it needs to be fixed before the problems get out of controle. I want to help them out not have them fail on there first tank then giving up.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

The 4' recommendation comes from an author on a book on barbs. Even < 3" long tigers really will use all of a 55 zipping around. You will know when barbs have outgrown the tank by the floating corpse(s). 

Hex tanks are neat-looking but a PITA to stock. Small fish usually need a school and more swimming room, bottom dwellers want a territory bigger than the footprint of the tank. Mid-water slow movers like angels and gourami will want to be an 'only fish' in a tank shorter in every direction than they can charge. 

There is some time yet as those tigers are pretty small, but it would make sense to trade the lot for a school of smaller fish like harlequin rasboras or CPDs. A shorter fish can get more mileage from the small laps. Or a tiny livebearer such as heterandia formosa.

One problem with stocking recommendations is that the chain stores don't have the cool little fish that really suit the small tanks they sell beginners.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

That's true, I think for now with all the barbs in there you should pull out the deco for now if you plan to keep them. They are all cramped up in there and can't swim much. I'd swap them for something else as soon as possible.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

I actually like the decoration. It has a peaceful look to it. I would personally scrap the barbs and keep the Buddha. Hmm a cool theme fish to go with the Buddha? Some cool killi fish would look awesome in this tank. Oh snap! Scarlet Badis (Dario Dario) would really go nice with the browns in the aquarium. some1else how is your local fish selection?


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

hmmm, only problem is, I dont think the petstore takes them back unless their dead, then theyll only stand by their guarentee if you used their water and all the levels were correct. I may very well be stuck with them. If I am stuck with them, as I said I do intend to upgrade, I just wanted a window of time in which I would need to save the money til, I will need a tank and stand as I dont have a place for a larger tank at this time so even used it will be a little more than $150 around here. 20 gals do run a bit cheaper and are easier to come across used and new...perhaps I should aim for a 20 gal? The filter I have will work in a 20 gal so that will cut cost there and it will be easier to find a place for it in the meantime without the need of a stand at this time or will they also outgrow a 20 gallon? There is only 8 of them and sometime I hope to add 2 corys. I guess that will have to be my limit. Do you think anyone would take them for free if I put them on local sale sites?


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## endlerguppy (May 7, 2012)

at the time being get a plastic storage box as big as you can get and put the barbs in there until you can get a bigger tank but also try and get a box which is clear or quite clear so you can see the fish.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Do not add Cory's to that tank. The foot print is not big enough and also two is not enough.


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## Obsidian (May 20, 2007)

Going to a 20 will not solve your problem. If you are saving for a tank, save for the size you need. Use Craig's List. I got a 100ga tank for 100 bucks out of someone's yard. That included a solid oak stand and canopy. Many deals are out there, you just need to keep the eyes open. I wouldn't go less than a 55 for the barbs. You can also put your fish on Craig's List if you can't get them back to the store.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

I also like the deco but for the time being you need to remove it if your keeping them barbs. I know they are pretty cheap do giving them away on Craigslist is your best bet if the store won't take them back. And by the sounds of it you got them from Petco I'm guessing? If so they will put them in a bucket and give them away for you. It's the best thing for the fish. You wouldn't buy a pit bull and keep it locked in a tiny closet your doing the same to the fish with them having almost 0 room to swim. Even small ones like to move around. The footprint of your tank is also not big enough for Cory cats to move around. Exsp. With te huge deco. 

Like I said give the fish away, buy a few fancy guppies


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

thanks everyone


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

I think the decor is awesome, but it does cut into the swimming space. Need a cave dweller.


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

We have talked outside of the thread by pms. 

He knows of the space problem and is going to upgrade when the op gets a chance. 
There also will not be any Cory's in this tank. But in a future tank.

So we can put this thread to rest.


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## grogan (Jan 23, 2011)

Thanks thread delegator bahahaha


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## Cory1990 (Jun 14, 2012)

Lol, he pm'ed me and had a talk about it with me. An he knows what's wrong with the tank but doesn't want to be bashed for it.  I'm just a good people person lol.


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## FRIENDLYFISHIES (Aug 7, 2012)

GOOD NEWS! I finaly bugged the petstore enought theyre taking them back! I think I called everyday for 3 days LOL, im sure they just had enough. They also arent going to freeze dry kill them thankgoodness, I talked them into putting them into a plant tank for adoption...now I just need to be careful as to what I chose next. Wish me luck on their return, happy, healthy, alive and safe.


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