Tiger Barb Tank Mates

[slingham64]

Hey everyone, thanks to everyone who helped out on my first post.

I've got a 10 gallon tank set up with two regular tiger barbs and one green tiger barb, the fish are quite the characters. I was wondering if anyone had any good suggestions for some tank mates, I was thinking maybe a couple Cory Cats, or maybe a species of shark. But really i'm open to any suggestions.

[Glasstapper]

Hi there, and welcome to AC! I think you pretty much have a full tank right now. As adults, your tiger barbs will be three inches long, and they are active swimmers. They also really like to school together and are most happy in groups of at least 6, with 8 being ideal, but you won't be able to keep that many tiger barbs happy in a little 10 gallon. They're usually suggested for tanks sized 20 gallons or larger.

To answer your question, yes cory cats are compatible with tiger barbs, but both species must be kept in schools to be truly happy. I definitely would not suggest a shark at all.

10 gallon tanks are really limiting on stocking choices, unfortunately.

If you were to upgrade your tank to say a 20 or 29 gallon, then you could definitely keep both a school of tiger barbs, and a school of corys, but I don't know if you're willing to get a bigger tank or not.

The best fishies for 10 gallon tanks? In my opinion, I think any fish that stays under two inches would be good. Guppies and platys bring a lot of color to a tank, and can be happy in 10 gallons.

[gm72]

Some tetras in a 10 are good, too. Just remember the generic formula of 1 inch of fish to 1 gallon of water (although this is sometimes inaccurate depending on the particular fish).

[cocoa_pleco]

10g's are good for guppies, platys, or dwarf gouramis

[Incredulous_Ed]

You might want a fish that is also slightly aggresive ecause tiger barbs in small numbers like that may start to "attack" other tankmates

[NWMountainTroll]

I have 5 tiger barbs, a red-tailed shark, and a cory. Great combo so far!

[Severus]

Yea, becareful because your barbs can be little fin nippers. i have to agree with Glasstapper that your are fully stocked... unfortunatly.

[ropefishman]

Hi, I mixed my barbs with iredcent and tricolored shaks along with tripped and spotted cats and deppending on the size of your other fish you can get ropefish for in your tank and they are realy cool.

[slingham64]

Hi, I mixed my barbs with iredcent and tricolored shaks along with tripped and spotted cats and deppending on the size of your other fish you can get ropefish for in your tank and they are realy cool.

Thanks for the advice.. Unfortunatly, there's only one barb left... Turns out the tank wasn't cycled. So yeah, time for a new plan. But first I'll cycle the tank.