# tiger barbs attacking my blue rams



## ir0n_ma1den (May 13, 2007)




----------



## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

Well, rams are sensitive and most lfs rams are farm bread in asia. They are hormoned up, and usually easily stressed.

What is your tank ph, temp, nitrite, ammonia, nitrate.


----------



## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

I think the tiger barbs are telling you something.


----------



## ir0n_ma1den (May 13, 2007)

yea...

Well I called the lfs and i can return them so i will probably do that today.

sigh... i really liked the rams but they will not do well in my tank.

I didn't know that they are pumped with hormones either; thats somewhat disturbing.

And they were probably stressed at the lfs since they just got them in.

Its weird though, my barbs get along very well with my platies.

what would be good tank mates with tiger barbs?


thanks for your help.


----------



## moogoo (Dec 7, 2007)

tiger barb tankmates will need to be just as aggressive as them otherwise they will get abused. I would say some species of african cichlids may do well with them. but i've never kept barbs, so just a thought.


----------



## seAdams (Jun 2, 2008)

Agree that Tiger Barbs must have larger fish who are also semi-aggressive as tankmates. Also, they should be kept in schools of 6 minimum.

One type of fish that goes very well with them is the Red Tailed Black Shark, or Rainbow Shark, but you can have only one.

I'm very sorry about the poor Ram.


----------



## greatfish123 (Oct 14, 2007)

Another type of fish that goes best with Tiger barbs is Serpae Tetras


----------



## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Looks like it might have dropsy.... hard to tell from the pics though.

I am not a doctor and I don't play one on TV so YMMV.


----------



## plakat (Mar 2, 2008)

Bolivian rams I think are a bit hardier. I would get some apistos provided your tank is large enough.


----------



## Uwish (Aug 19, 2008)

Tiger barbs need about 6 or 8 in order to not bother tank mates.

Introduction of any fish will make the barbs curious but when kept in large schools they tend to loose interest in the new additions fast. I keep 8 TB in my 35 gal with two Bolivian Rams, and tetras. I even have ottos in the tank and the barbs are far to busy chasing each other to engage in much harassment of other fish.


----------



## pteronotropis (Aug 21, 2008)

I kept tiger barbs ONCE, then i decided that they are miniature pirahnas that will pester anything that will not eat them first. What else is in the tank besides the platies and how big is it? It may be hard to introduce anything near their size that is not aggressive if they are already in the tank.


----------



## bs6749 (Aug 11, 2008)

For one thing, you bought "BALLOON RAMS" which are FAR from being good quality. It's already been said that most Microgeophagus ramirezi that appear in LFS are bred in Asia and are subjected to growth and coloring hormones. This is true and what it does is shorten the lifespan of the rams significantly. Look for some good quality rams from a breeder and you won't have any problems keeping them with tiger barbs. Mine would go after a 3.5" BN pleco to protect their spawn. Here's some top notch quality rams. Note how the ones you had were round...this isn't natural at all.

Edit: Looked at the pic again and maybe you don't have balloon rams. It's just the way the female was laying.


----------



## MikeS (Apr 27, 2008)

Tiger Barbs *HAVE* to be in a school of no less than 6-8. They live in a pecking order, and with too few TBs, they will include other fish. Now with 40, and even at 20, my TBs stopped bothering anything else. At 12, they still bothered my rainbows. I have even added fish since, and if anything, I might get the "hey your new, but not one of us so we'll let you be" check out. They do care about the frogs, rainbows, even my small 2 remaining Ember Tetras. Ghost shrimp are food though :hihi:


----------



## TJT (Jun 8, 2008)

Would Rosey barbs be the same type of fish as Tiger barbs? I had some problems with my Rosey barbs and its a lot of what people have described so im wondering if im dealing with the same "family" of fish?

They have chilled right out but it took about 2 months, actualy now they hide behind my drift wood all 6 that i have about 75% of the time.

Sorry just thread jacking i thought i could get a quick answer.


----------



## lauraleellbp (Feb 3, 2008)

Roseys are not as aggressive as tigers, but have a reputation for eating plants.


----------

