tiger barb question(s)

**Pot Puffer** · 02-02-2010, 06:41 PM

hey everyone im new to the forum and been reading a pretty good bit about tiger barbs.. i have 4 in a 45-55 gallon aquarium with a dojo loach.. may soon add 2 more tiger barbs because they mess with the loach every once and a while.. but it started with the 1 male tiger barb had him in temporarily with 2 leporinus and 2 jack dempseys heh.. well hes out now and i read that tiger barbs usually need to be in schools of 3-5 then i read alot that they prefer at least 6.. thats after buyin the 3 makin the total 4 of course.. they are all doin fine but the new male.. got 1 male and 2 females from the fish store.. anyway i have been watchin and readin about this downward swimming hes been a doin.. and i heard it could be resting, overfed, swim bladder disorder, constipation, intestinal parisite, or a mating ritual, but as this has been goin on for a couple days now i decided to join this forum as it was the first i gathered information from.. and ask what it may be i fasted them last night and i fed em peas maybe a half a day to a day after he started.. the other barbs mess with him a bit because hes not swimmin with em so much kinda tryin to keep distance or whatnot. been thinkin about movin em to this maybe 1.5 gallon to give em some time to not be messed with, but i dont really want to break up the shoal or school.. but i also dont want any casualties.. i ruled out ich as theres no white spots on anyone in there.. he seemed to be eatin normal at feeding time yesterday mornin (1 1/2 pea for everyone) i also dont think its swim bladder because he doesnt struggle to stay where he is (which is mostly sporadic, behind the tubing sometimes close to the bottom) he moves when the other barbs start messin with em.. i havent noticed any worms or parasitic looking critters on any of em, so i dont think its that, ive been thinkin constipation but still im not quite sure. also i dont know if its normal barb behavior, but they like to be kind of petted or played with when i put my hand in the tank and they eat out of my hand, even the new barbs are, they saw the old one and started following suit was pretty cool.. also the water quality is i think alright 0 nitrate/nitrite somewhere between 80-120 alkalinity and the ph is around 6.8-7.2 but the water is pretty hard 150 (gh) but ;/ im usin a quick dip pond test kit that expired 2008/01 and im workin on gettin a new one, but i got this for free and i figured its better then nothin. thanks and preciate it

**Northernguy** · 02-02-2010, 06:52 PM

Welcome to the Fabulous AC!
Tiger Barbs do not usually hide!I would say something is wrong with it!
It doesn't sound like the fish is doing very good at all.Your other tank is is too small and may stress the fish out more.
Barbs also need to be in larger schools of mostly females.That keeps the aggression down.
Here is more info on them.
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/barbs/tigerbarb.php

How did you cycle the tank?
Do you have a proper test kit?

**Bristley** · 02-02-2010, 06:57 PM

Welcome, glad to have you aboard.

**Pot Puffer** · 02-02-2010, 07:07 PM

well i guess i shouldnt or wouldnt say hide really, he kinda just moves around when the barbs mess wit em,(his color seems fine also) hes still swimmin downward but right now hes up towards the front middle-lower (not bottom) region, but like i said the test kit i have is a bit old and ive read a good bit about em already, the tank cycled with only substrate, and a little early but the old tiger barb, because he was gettin messed with pretty bad by the bigger of the two leporinus in the other tank. but the others seem fine, i was thinkin it may be new tank disorder but he seems a little plump like he ate alot, which they do but i havent fed em in around 28 hours (as for that 1.5 gal, could it be used for fry?) for thought of maybe overfeeding them peas the night before i gave em 1 and 1/2 for breakfast, i fed em 2 peas the night before. also thanks for the advice on the male too female ratio, it makes sense and ill keep that in mind when i increase the shoal. what do ye think though?

**Pot Puffer** · 02-02-2010, 07:08 PM

preciate the welcome too

**Northernguy** · 02-02-2010, 07:11 PM

The fish may have dropsy!

Test kits do not have much of a shelf life.Maybe a year and and a half.
What are your perameters? Ammonia,nitrites and nitrates?

What type of filter?

**Pot Puffer** · 02-02-2010, 07:58 PM

the test strip only measures nitrates and nitrates no ammonia water hardness alkalinity and ph.. top fin 40, i think the tank is 45 at most maybe 40.. was thinkin 50-55 but its probably not its around 2 feet tall 5 sides 3 are a foot wide roughly and the back 2 are 1 1/2 feet

**Northernguy** · 02-02-2010, 08:03 PM

Those test strips shouldn't even be sold.They are highly inaccurate
What you need is a liquid test kit.They are much more accurate.
Get an API master test kit.

**Taurus** · 02-02-2010, 08:09 PM

Yeah, welcome a board. Do you ever use periods at the end of your sentences? Or do you talk in just one big long sentence with no pauses? Posts like that scare me.