Tiger barb mates

[Darkness]

Im gonna get a new 55 gallon tank soon, with tiger barbs being the main species in the tank. Now im trying to find out what other fish to put in the tank. I was wondering if a school of about 12 neon tetras would be able to survive in the tank with 7 tiger barbs. Also would panda corys get along with the barbs? Any suggestions for tank mates if those wont work?

Also I have hard water, so does that cancel out neons all together? My brother has kept neons for the last year, living in the same town, a few miles away. I assume we have the same water. Would a slow acclimation be able let them adjust?

[troy]

Yes a slow acclimation will work and neons with tiger barbs should work. Make sure the cory's get food because barbs are pigs.

[zackish]

Barbs are really aggressive but if you have a big school of them they might not be as bad. Especially because neons are faster moving fish. This might be a cool idea because if the barbs chase the neons maybe they will school tighter which will look really cool. However, they could end up putting a lot of stress on the fish as well.

[dev]

I would have a look at something like Trigonostigma heteromorpha (Harlequin rasbora). These exist in the same biotopes as Puntius tetrazone (Tiger barbe), and handle hard water a lot better than Paracheirodon innesi (Neon tetra). Neons tend to be a bit sensitive in the first place.

You will also find that the tigers are a lot less agressive if kept in decent numbers. They will then create a social hierarchy amongst themselves and will be busy bullying eachother.

Fish as small as neons or harlequins will be ignored for the most part.