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One of the most popular species we keep today. Through selective breeding many different variations are on the market. They tend to nip fins so it is best to keep them in groups of six or more.

Quick stats: Listed tank sizes are the minimum Size: Up to 3" (7cm) Tank: 24 inches Strata: Bottom, middle PH: 6.5 to 7.5 Hardness: Soft to medium. dH range: 3.0 - 10.0 Temperature: 68ºF to 78ºF (20-25°C) Classification Order: Cypriniformes Suborder: Cyprinoidei Family: Cyprinidae Genera: Puntius

Tiger Barb, Sumatra Barb

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Distribution

Borneo and Sumatra, also reported in Thailand.

Tall and stocky with a large Caudal Penducle. This barb has no Barbels. Males are slimmer with brighter colors.

There are many different variations of the Tiger Barb available today. They range from the Albino to the Green, I will describe the "original" and in my opinion the prettiest, here. Counting the eye stripe there are four wide Black-Blue bands running across the body The third band starts at the Black base of the Dorsal fin and extends down to the start of the Anal fin. The Dorsal and Anal fins are a bright Red-Orange and the rest of the fins are a paler shade of Red. The rest of the body is a Brown-Orange color and the Back is almost like an Olive Green. The scales viewed under the right light have an iridescent Gold or Brass look to them. Beautiful!

The only drawback to these fish is their tendency to nip the fins of fish in the tank, especially angels. Single specimens tend to be aggressive and should not be kept. Tiger Barbs should be kept in a school of at least six fish. The tank should be sparsely planted with plenty of open space for swimming with a sandy bottom for digging. Feeding is not a problem as they will accept all types of food including flake and frozen, don't overfeed as they are ravenous eaters and will eat all you give them. They prefer a temperature of between 73º and 82ºF and a pH of 6 to 7.5 with soft to hard water.

Bottom areas of slow moving and calm waters on Sumatra and its' other locals.

Male tiger Barbs are slimmer and more colorful than the females. They breed similar to other Barb species. The breeding tank should have a thin layer or no substrate and a few leafy plants and be as large as possible. Condition the spawners with the best food possible for a few days before transferring them to the breeding tank. They usually will spawn the morning after being introduced to the tank, a partial water change can also induce spawning. The female is the more active partner and will lead in the courtship. After chasing and false matings the pair will spawn in the plants, with the partners coming alongside each other and the male twisting around the female. The eggs are scattered among the plants and they can be quite large in number. Tigers, like most Barbs are spawn eaters and should be removed from the tank right after mating. The transparent eggs will hatch in about 24 hours at a temperature of 75º and the small young must be fed the finest of food like Brine shrimp Nauplii, once a little growth has taken place they are fairly easy to raise.

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Tiger Barb Click photo to buy From Live Aquaria Normal Albino Green

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From: Lori Date:10/26/2007 When I started my tank I got 2 Tiger Barbs, 2 Long-Fin Rosy Barbs and a Cory Cat Fish. The Rosys would chase each other playfully and the Tiger Barbs seemed OK until one of them became substantially bigger than the other. The bigger one constantly chased and nipped at the smaller one, until he hid. Eventually I came home one day and found the smaller Tiger Barb so chewed up and nearly dead, and witnessed the larger Tiger Barb gnawing at him some more, unopposed because he was so close to death. Anyway the smaller Tiger Barb didn't survive (obviously) so I went to the store and they said either I could buy 3 more Tiger Barbs and hope they school or get some other fish that are more peaceful. I opted to get other fish, but apparently the Tiger Barb that I had left had no intention of leaving my tank in peace. One of my new fish was a Clown Loach, and the exact SECOND that he was in the water the Tiger Barb aggressively chased him around the tank. The Clown Loach hid.. Eventually came out, and the Tiger Barb chased him again. I eventually was able to catch the Tiger Barb (who was not easy to get with the net!), but the damage had been done. The Clown Loach was under so much stress that he didn't eat and died the next day. Be careful with Tiger Barbs, they are beautiful and fun to watch, but they are extremely territorial and can be lethal if not kept in large enough groups. I wanted to tell this story because the person who sold me only two Tiger Barbs failed to mention that fact to me! Had I known as much about Tiger Barbs then as I do now, I never would have bought only 2 in the first place. From: Robert Date:06/21/2007 Be careful with tiger barbs. I bought three adult tiger barbs and put them in a 30 gal tank with four mollies. The barbs didn't swim around much. They just hovered in the same spot most of the time. The same was true with the mollies. When I found out the barbs should really be kept in larger groups I got three more babies. The barbs started swimming around much more but they became much more aggressive too. A couple months later I added seven male guppies and BOY that was a big mistake. The next morning one of the guppies had its tail completely torn to shreds. The next morning five of the guppies were missing. I can only imagine the horror they must have experienced in during the night. The bottom line, if you keep tiger barbs keep them in large groups with other aggressive fish. From: Liz Date:01/20/2006 The biggest problem that I'm reading with your complaints about barbs is that you are keeping slower moving fish with them. I have 6 (3 albino and 3 regular) and don't have a problem with nipping. I had 3 larger barbs in my last tank and quickly learned that barbs do not like angel fish. If you feed 2-3 times a day and keep other fast moving fish, or even gouramis, tiger barbs pose no threat. From: Carlo Date:07/14/2006 I have three albino tiger barbs and three regular tiger barbs. I thought they would school with each other, and I would have both six tiger barbs and still have some variety, but they don't. They clearly hang around in groups of three and three. I have not had problems with aggression, except at first, with the albinos. I solved the problem by taking the fish that had been attacked (his tail was completely eaten off, and I thought he was going to die) and placing him in a breeders net for separation and so he could eat in peace. Once his tail grew back and he could swim, I released him into the tank, and then put him back as soon as there was aggression. Every day. After four days, the aggression stopped, and I've have no problem since. They are great fish, very alert and interested in everything that's going on, and they enjoy chasing each other all around the tank. From: Annath Date:06/16/2006 We have 18 tiger barbs, 8 larger ones and 10 smaller ones, in a 55 gal. tank with 5 angels of various sizes, 2 rainbow shark, 5 bala sharks and 14 fancy tail guppies (left over from when this tank was a feeder tank for our Oscar, food afterall should taste good AND be pretty). We haven't had any trouble with aggression past the first day of introducing the new angels to each other and increasing the # of barbs. The barbs keep to themselves mostly with the littler ones schooling with the bigger ones most of the time or drifting off on their own to explore. So far so good anyway. From: Adam B Date:06/06/2006 I agree with what Cancer said! I have done the same with my tank. The convicts keep my barbs in line. I noticed that they would pick on my smaller fish so I decided to put them in my cichlid tank and the picking stopped promptly. They now group together, tigers and albinos both and don't bother a thing. I would also recommend placing these fish in schools of 5 or more that way they can pick among themselves and leave the others alone. From: DJ Cancer Date:04/01/2006 OK Tiger Barbs are a bad idea for community fish. I started off with 3 then they started taking the fins off of my other fish. So I got 3 more for them to chase around. They ended up killing 2 of the new ones. So I decided to start putting Cichlids in my tank. Boy did this stop them. They stay in a group and they stopped chasing each other. My cichlids could care less about them. So if you like the tiger barbs and you want to keep them in a community tank I would go with more aggressive fish. I would make sure that they wont get eaten by bigger fish. From: Jason Date:07/01/2005 For people truly wishing to breed this I highly recommend this article: A Manual for Commercial Production of the Tiger Barb, Capoeta tetrazona,A Temporary Paired Tank Spawner. It is for commercial production of breeding Tiger Barbs but I found it extremely useful and gave me alot of ideas. As far as the fin nipping, I kept mine with Blue Gouramis, Rosy Barbs, a Bala and a Red Finned Shark and they never had a problem. I only had three and yet they were extremely happy and pretty much never showed aggression. A had a light gravel substrate with a single plant, but with plenty of structure to hide in, though it was rarely used. From: Michelle R. Date:05/18/2003 I love my Tiger Barbs. I have 3 and they are a hoot. The trick to keeping them in a community tank is to make certain of 3 things: 1. They are the last fish introduced to an established community 2. They are the smallest fish in the tank, and 3. Never keep less than 3 of them - 6 is better. By following those rules I've had no problems. From: Don Date:04/08/2003 You will read almost everywhere (mostly I think from people repeating what they have read somewhere) that Tiger Barbs when kept in groups of 6 or more will chase themselves and not bother their tankmates much. Baloney. I had a shoal of 18 Tiger Barbs that absolutely terrorized my rainbowfish, clown loaches and cory catfish in my 75 gallon aquarium. Being part of a large group did not settle down the Tiger Barbs in the least-and this large shoal when it worked together to attack other fish was much more dangerous and destructive than any individual Tiger Barb could have been. An entertaining fish when it isn't acting up-but if you get Tiger Barbs be prepared to move them into their own tank when the bad behavior begins. From: Stevie Date:2/26/2001 This is not a beginners fish period! That was a mistake I made. I got 2 baby tiger barbs and 2 neons and a silver tip tetra for my first fish at the pet store. The neons and the silver were fine and the barbs chased eachother around playfully. then one of the barbs got bigger than the other one and started picking on it. then he killed him. then I got two guppies which was a big mistake. As soon as I put them in there the barb started chasing the male around and the next morning he was dead and when we got back from church the female was dead so i decided to not bye any fish for a while. then yesterday i got some baby white clouds because they were only a dollar for three. as soon as I put those guys in he went for them but i got him with the net before he could do anything. my advice is to get atleast 3 or 4 or else they'll go after your fish. CLICK HERE FOR MORE COMMENTS

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