tiger barbs

[abaigael04]

So I know you are supposed to keep them in groups so the aggression is spread out BUT I HAD 7 of them and one died of old age, and 2 other were killed/chased/nipped (whatever) to death by the other tigers! (before the oldest one died).... I am seriously considering getting rid of them all... (I have 4 left) I know the amount I have now is not enough but even at 7 they were still super aggressive. Is 7 not enough? When I feed I have to over feed because the barbs race around and grab all the food so fast my bottom fish don't get any!!! now the tiger barbs are little balloons! If I feed them less, they get meaner! :confused: Should I just give them to someone? I feel I'm cursed! No one else with tiger barbs has these problems if they have more than 5-6! Actually now that I have 4, the latest one that was being picked on is actually healing himself and for now they are happy! I don't get it? Is there another, more peaceful fish that is a mid-swimmer? I only want like 6 medium sized fish that are semi active and pretty! I also don't want to have to constantly re-stock because of aggressiveness!

[Nick89]

I don't think 7 is enough long term. If you have like a good size tank like a 20g Long , then 9 would be best from what i heard. And tiger barbs will occasional chase each other, just to show whos boss lol. But it shouldnt be too bad. Try to have 9 of them if you have a tank size appropriate.

[abaigael04]

they chase each other all the time but actually nip each others fin! They are in my 125 everything else in that tank is a bottom swimmer. I just don't want to buy more and have it not stop! They fight all the time, too. How do you sex them? If I had all males would that make it worse?I'm just confused maybe 7 isn't enough. They fight amongst each other but will also at times all go after one of them.

[donvichu]

I have 4 in my 10G....they do chase eachother all day long...funny to watch..but never nipped at each others fins...not one injury.........been having them over a year now:22:

[Dave66]

So I know you are supposed to keep them in groups so the aggression is spread out BUT I HAD 7 of them and one died of old age, and 2 other were killed/chased/nipped (whatever) to death by the other tigers! (before the oldest one died).... I am seriously considering getting rid of them all... (I have 4 left) I know the amount I have now is not enough but even at 7 they were still super aggressive. Is 7 not enough? When I feed I have to over feed because the barbs race around and grab all the food so fast my bottom fish don't get any!!! now the tiger barbs are little balloons! If I feed them less, they get meaner! :confused: Should I just give them to someone? I feel I'm cursed! No one else with tiger barbs has these problems if they have more than 5-6! Actually now that I have 4, the latest one that was being picked on is actually healing himself and for now they are happy! I don't get it? Is there another, more peaceful fish that is a mid-swimmer? I only want like 6 medium sized fish that are semi active and pretty! I also don't want to have to constantly re-stock because of aggressiveness!

Jade,
If you'd read my Barb Primer stickied at the top of the forum you'd know you'd need a minimum of eight Tiger Barbs to prevent aggression.

Check out Checker Barbs in my primer. They are far more mellow than Tigers, and in a group of six or better, when they grow up and develop full colors, they are much more attractive than Tiger Barbs.

Dave

[abaigael04]

the one I just lost I had had 2 years. He killed 2 others but that was when I only had 4. Dave- yes I just read your primer but every other site has said only 5+ and you said 8, I had 7. I guess I still don't have enough though. I will look at the checker barbs or consider a group of ten or more barbs. Thank you. Donvichu- my friend has 6 and has never had one problem - but I guess mine need more fish. :) now I need to decidewhat I am going to do about it...

[jakefish]

hey all,

I am also having trouble with my tiger barbs. I had read for a while before getting them thinking I could handle it but apparently not.

I have a 55G tank that i have just set up and introduced 8 tiger barbs at the same time with no other tank mates. The tank is maintained at 76 degrees Fahrenheit with a Ph of about 6.8. The tank has moderate decoration with several fake plants and some fake rock stuff but, overall has plenty of room for them to move. The tiger barbs have been in there for about three days now where I can tell that the fins on many have been nipped away. I have also had trouble feeding them which I may think could be causing what seems to be only two dominate tiger barbs nipping all the others. I feed them tetramin tropical flakes a couple times a day but they dont seem that interested in it and dont eat as ravenously as described on some sites. Will they settle out once the pecking order is fully established? Should i try different food such as brine? Do i need to introduce other tank mates? Is more decoration needed such as more fake plants or live plants?

It is to the extent to where one has almost no fins left and others have alot of nipping damage to show, some hide on rocks all day, and others reside at different levels and ends of the tank to be be separated from the two dominate ones which for the most part seem to get along.

any advice or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[jakefish]

edit: I have read daves primer and was also wondering if a back paper would be a good idea on hurrying up on as i have not gotten one yet because i havent really found one i liked.

[Daybis]

So I know you are supposed to keep them in groups so the aggression is spread out BUT I HAD 7 of them and one died of old age, and 2 other were killed/chased/nipped (whatever) to death by the other tigers! (before the oldest one died).... I am seriously considering getting rid of them all... (I have 4 left) I know the amount I have now is not enough but even at 7 they were still super aggressive. Is 7 not enough? When I feed I have to over feed because the barbs race around and grab all the food so fast my bottom fish don't get any!!! now the tiger barbs are little balloons! If I feed them less, they get meaner! :confused: Should I just give them to someone? I feel I'm cursed! No one else with tiger barbs has these problems if they have more than 5-6! Actually now that I have 4, the latest one that was being picked on is actually healing himself and for now they are happy! I don't get it? Is there another, more peaceful fish that is a mid-swimmer? I only want like 6 medium sized fish that are semi active and pretty! I also don't want to have to constantly re-stock because of aggressiveness!

abaigael04, I had a similar problem with mine. I had 12 of them in my 46 gallon and they still showed aggression. They also kept eating about 90% of the food so the other fish couldn't eat. My synodontis likes sinking pellets, but my tiger barbs had gotten large enough where they could fit the whole pellet in their mouth and carry them around so the whole tank had to chase them down to get food. The medium sized ones were a little better, but they had learned to carry the pellets. The only way my other fish in my tank would eat is if they swarmed to the food first or showed some sort of dominance. Because of this attitude, because I felt like they were keeping the other fish in the tank from reaching their potential, and because I wasn't really all that impressed with them, I traded them into my LFS this morning.

[abaigael04]

yes all mine can fit shrimp pellets in their mouth too - I have to feed enough to keep them busy! I think I will be getting rid of mine too sometime soon.
I wish I had an answer about the barbs but I don't - though I would let them settle in a bit more for now.

[Nick89]

Reason why they are showing aggression, is just seeing whos the 'boss' of the tank. Maybe if you added more plants, like floating plants, more coverage for them, they will settle down a little. Mine i have get along good, but some times occasionaly they chase each other around. I have 5, but im adding them slowly each week to introduce them to a new tank.