# Tiger Barb Tank Mate Issues



## eser21 (Apr 19, 2011)

I dont have a lot of advise but if you like tigers but also want a community tank then 5 banded barbs are very similar but are non aggressive. Just for future reference


----------



## Wheely34 (Jul 15, 2011)

I'm seeing that maybe the shoals need to be made up of 7 or 8, but at that point, any additional fish after that may start crowding the tank. Judging by how they acted with the tetras, I can't see any increase in shoal size keeping them from attacking new comers. Maybe a fish that is bigger in size and is also aggressive would be okay? I'm wondering if a bigger, aggressive fish would be intimidating and would cause them to leave each other alone...

The banded barbs are very similar. Would have been a solution before I purchased these tigers. I could remove them, but that isnt an option now. The only other tank I have access to is my girlfriend's 10 gal tank with a 4 year old betta....which obviously can't happen. But anyway, all the tigers seem happy and healthy and I wouldn't want to compromise that. Not to mention, I am one who does get attached to my fish and wouldn't be able to just remove and replace :biggrin:.


----------



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Tiger Barb's have a well earned reputation as fin nipper's ,especially with much smaller fishes such as neon's.

Serpae tetra's may be able to hold their own but I would not bet the farm on it.
In the wild,,these fishes shoal in the hundred's perhap's thousand's, and are constantly establishing new pecking order's and weeding out weak fish.The minimum suggestion's for number's in the aquarium are just that, minimum.
perhap's in four foot tank or longer,,the tiger barb school could be large enough that they would confine nipping to amongst themselve's, but in smaller aquarium's and smaller school's, they often behave as you have noted.
The rosy barb's are not as aggressive in my view, but they too would prefer larger number's and larger tank due to their adult size of nearly six inches.
Barb's I have kept along with tetra's, often seem to do better in groups of a dozen or more which your 45 gallon may not be able to provide room for.


----------



## Wheely34 (Jul 15, 2011)

roadmaster said:


> Tiger Barb's have a well earned reputation as fin nipper's ,especially with much smaller fishes such as neon's.
> 
> Serpae tetra's may be able to hold their own but I would not bet the farm on it.
> In the wild,,these fishes shoal in the hundred's perhap's thousand's, and are constantly establishing new pecking order's and weeding out weak fish.The minimum suggestion's for number's in the aquarium are just that, minimum.
> ...


The rosies definitely are a more peaceful fish. I may increase my shoal sizes to 6 or 7, but anything beyond that I think you are correct in that my 45 won't handle it. I do plan to upgrade to a 100+ gal in maybe 2 years or so once these fish become their full size.

Guess being a novice got the best of me here. Do you think there is any hope for a bigger, more aggressive species such as a rainbow shark in my 45, or should I expect the same issues. I mean, I see tigers living alonside these fish on youtube, but again, the shoals aren't usually the same size and in most cases, the barbs probably weren't the first ones introduced..


----------



## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

Rainbow sharks are not as aggressive as Red Tail sharks and would probably stake out an area closer to substrate than go looking for fish to harrass. Tiger barb's I do not believe would pose seroius threat to shark.
Sometimes,if you purchase very small juvenile Tiger barb's and keep them with tetra's from the outset, they can co-exist without much trouble but usually in a bit larger tanks.
Were it me,,I might re-home tiger barb's and consider Black ruby Barb's.
They are way less aggressive and prettier in my view.


----------



## gtu2004 (Feb 17, 2010)

And it also depends on the temperament of individual barbs as well. I like my tiger barbs, but keeping neon+cardinals with them was a failure, though over time. I have a pair of kribensis + GBR + >2inch Amano + a dwarf puffer in there with them now, and no aggression is taking place. My dwarf puffer even hangs out w/ the barbs sometimes.


----------



## Wheely34 (Jul 15, 2011)

Well I did notice that the regular tigers were far more aggressive then the green tigers. After a while, the greens lost interest and left the tetras alone, but the regulars would not let up. It usually started with one tiger attacking and then the rest would spring into action, so not sure if there is one with a bad temper and he's influencing the others. I really think a shark would be okay, but it would be that initial release I'd worry about, especially since the shark will most likely be maybe 2.5 or 3 inches at first.


----------



## monk E (Sep 25, 2010)

I've had tiger barbs for years in almost every tank....i don't think it's a matter of who was introduced first. The Ottos are just bottom feeders and don't usually swim freely in open water so the barbs take no notice of them. Aggressive fish have to be stocked with other aggressive fish, period. Don't put anything in there that is slow moving or with long fins because they will be picked on.


----------



## CaliEAB (Aug 17, 2009)

I second Roadmaster's comments. Go with the rainbow shark and give him a cave to guard. Get juvenile barbs and add them after everyone else is settled in for a while.


----------



## koebwil (Jul 6, 2011)

personally I have 18 tiger barbs (6 regular, 6 green, 6 albino) in my 37 gallon tank and they do fine together with 5 otos. I would not really do anything else with these guys, they are very aggressive and if the otos are not resting on a leaf or feeding they get noticed and chased almost every time. they are so aggressive that they go after my arm when I am scaping (it feels weird, always makes me laugh).


----------

