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| FAQs on Tiger Barbs Behavior Related Articles:
Tiger Barbs,
Barbs, Danios &
Rasboras, A
Barbed Response; Wrongly maligned for being fin-nippers, barbs are in fact
some of the best fish for the home aquarium by Neale Monks
Related FAQs: Tiger Barbs 1,
Tiger Barbs 2, & FAQs on:
Tiger Barbs Identification,
Tiger Barbs Compatibility,
Tiger Barbs Selection, Tiger
Barbs Systems, Tiger Barbs Feeding,
Tiger Barbs Health, Tiger Barbs
Reproduction, & Barbs,
Danios, Rasboras 1, B,D,R Identification,
B,D,R Behavior,
B,D,R Compatibility, B,D,R Selection,
B,D,R Systems,
B,D,R Feeding, B,D,R Disease,
B,D,R Reproduction, |
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Heavy Breathers
<Maris... Anthony Calfo here with bells on, in Bob's stead>
Could you tell me why my tiger barbs all time very fast breathe and very often
stand with the heads to ground, fast breathing?
<Perhaps because they know that the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to win the
Super Bowl (I'm feeling and acting the same way myself)... but all joking aside,
the symptoms you have observed are not necessarily normal or healthy. So many
things it could be... high water temperature, gill damage from medication or
infection, impending outbreak of a pathogen, toxin in the water, etc. Do the
fish act normal at feeding time or through most of the day with other fishes?
What readings do you get with water chemistry test specifically? How old is the
tank and how well is it stocked? Please reply with more info. Thanks kindly,
Anthony>Re: Tiger Barbs
<Maris... your English is very good. My apologies for making the joke
about football that was not familiar to you (smile). It is a pleasure to hear
from you from so far across the world!>
And so you said me to give more info about my tiger barbs. I have 45 litres
tank, the temperature is about 27-29 0C. I don't now how much it is in the
Fahrenheit scale.
<good but perhaps a tiny bit warm. I would maintain 27C as the maximum
temperature... especially in a well stocked tank to allow for more dissolved
oxygen>
But maybe you know. I have only 2 these tiger barbs in my tank, I have 9 other
fishes living in this tank. I now that they don't have enough room, but I don't
think that this could be the reason of so strange behaviour of barbs.
<yes... a bit overstocked which makes it more difficult to maintain water
quality. Check the pH if possible. If it is lower than 6.5, that may also cause
such strange behavior from acidosis with this creature>
I don't have the this water chemistry test equipment. I live in Latvia (If you
know this country. It lays at Baltic sea), where this water chemistry test
equipment that costs not so little money, how it could cost in America. My tiger
barbs at feeding time act normally, they only catch food very fast. In other
time my 2 tiger barbs all time try to catch each other, I own them almost 2
years,
<wonderful and mostly normal>
and they stand with the heads to ground very often all these 2 years.
<again... not terrible, perhaps normal. My main concern is the rapid
breathing>
And I know that they are healthy. My tank is clean too. Maybe you didn't
understand something of my story, because my English isn't very good. But I hope
you understood something.
<very clear and understood, Maris. I wish I could do you the honor of
speaking in your language
p.s.: Maybe you could tell me how often it is necessary to change the water of
tank and how much?
<25% monthly is a good start for water changes. With heavy fish loads you may
want to try 10% weekly which is even better>
I hope I didn't bother you much. I see you love bowling or maybe it is football.
<no bother at all... my pleasure! And yes, I am a good American football fan
and we have a championship event coming up... Go Steelers! Best regards to you,
Anthony>
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Tiger Barb Question
Hi. Been checking out your site since we started keeping tropical
fish. Very informative!!
<Thank you!>
My question; I've had a couple tiger barbs for a couple of months. It
almost looks like there is a very, very light film on them at times. The black
bands don't seem as "black" as they used to. When I looked
at them with a flashlight, I could see a green color on the scales in the black
bands. I don't know if that is the normal color or not.
<This sounds as if it may be Costia (Ichthyobodo), Please see http://www/wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwfshparasites.htm
for more info on the disease and for treatment.>
The tank they are in is just about done cycling. They seem to be doing very well
otherwise. Eating, chasing, etc.
<This is very good.>
Is this a fungus or disease? Or have I just been staring at the fish
too long?!?
<Most likely a parasitic disease>
Appreciate your help!! Jan Emerson
<You're welcome! Ronni>
Tiger barbs acting oddly (06/21/03)
<Hi! Ananda here today....>
I have a ten gallon tank with Tiger Barbs (2 male?), Black Mollie (I think a
balloon, 1 female), Pineapple Swordtail (2 female), Cory (copper?1), Frog(1), a
fry net hanging off the side with two baby mollies, and a few plastic plants.
<Ouch! Your tank is quite overcrowded....I would suggest a substantially
larger tank. Both the tiger barbs and the Corydoras fish are happier in larger
groups.>
I have two questions, first, the barbs occasionally sit nose down in the tank,
is that normal?
<Nope.>
The smaller of the two has recently gotten into the habit of doing that more
often, I'm worried that it may be sick?
<Check your water quality: ammonia, nitrites, nitrates... if you have *any*
ammonia or nitrites, do water changes to get the levels down. The fish can take
some nitrates, but you should try to keep those levels under 40.>
My second question is just recently one of my swordtails turned belly up on my
and i was thinking of replacing her with a male, but i don't know if i should do
to the barb nasty fin
nipping.
<Nope! You need another tank, first. One for the barbs, one for the fish with
fancy fins.>
Let me know what you think, any help would be appreciated!
Thank you
Dave
<You're welcome. --Ananda>
Some not so green Green Barbs
Your site kicks xxx <butt>. I never new there was so much to aquariums. <Just
glass, glue, and some plastic trim> I'm new on the block when it comes to fish
and aquariums, its helping me to no end. I've only got a small set up, 40L tank,
with a 55W heater and AquaClear 200, which was given to me by a mate. I recently
introduced some moss green tiger barbs to the tank, and they are/were traveling
fine, although they have started to lose the really deep green they had when I
first got them. I've kept the pH at 7, am not sure whether it has something to
do with this, or the temperature or what. <Keep temp steady and in the mid to
high 70's> They haven't really questioned off with respect to their activity,
except for chilling out under a rock setup I have. Is there anything I'm doing
wrong that you may be able to think of? Thanks heaps for your help.
Cheers for now.
Brenton
<Hi Brendon, Don here. How long has the tank been running? Do you do partial
water changes? Test the water? If so, post the numbers. If the set up is new,
then it must cycle. Until then the fish will be stressed by the build up of
their own waste, ammonia. Also, you said you have "kept the pH at 7". Was it
something different at one time? pH is something better left as is, unless very
high or low. It's the swing in pH that does the most damage. If all that is
good, then look into a good quality "color food" or a more varied diet to get
the brightness back. Darker substrate will also deepen the color of the fish.> Mad-Crazy Barbs!
We have two tiger barbs, one small and one much larger. Unusually, from what we have heard, they pretty much totally leave our other fish alone, only acknowledging each other. Mostly the little one chases the fatter one all over the tank non-stop, but every once in a while their colors will darken and they will do this thing where they spin in a circle, nose to nose, sometimes for several minutes at a time. They don't appear to be fighting for real, as neither sustains injuries. Is this some sort of play fighting or sparring for dominance, or something else?
>>Yes, your barbs are sparring. Tiger barbs are schooling fish that will chase each other all the time. Because you have only two the less dominant animal is always under stress. The little more slender fish may well be a male, the fatter fish a female. It may be a good idea to add two more tiger barbs.
Good Luck, Oliver <<
The
Beach Boys Givin' off Good Vibrations? 4 Vibrating Green Tiger Barbs
Hello!
<Hi there>
I have a 37g tank with 4 green tiger barbs and 1 albino Pleco. It's running an Eheim 2026 with all biological filtration: Ceramic noodles and Eheim
EhfiSubstrate. I do ~10% weekly RO water changes. I've tested nitrates which are < 20 ppm, nitrites don't register, nor does
ammonia. The water has running a bit warm at 80.
<Okay>
My problem is this: especially later in the day, the tiger barbs stay towards the bottom of the tank and vibrate, mostly in the same spot. Have you ever
heard of this type of behavior? I'm at a loss to what to do. Could it be the temperature? I'm going to go through my master test kit and test all the
water parameters... anything I should look out for?
<Have heard/seen this... and do think it's temperature related...>
Thanks!
- Chad
<I would add a mechanical "bubbler", some sort of added circulation, aeration here... turn your heater down, or if the lighting is boosting temperature, set this on a timer and leave off during the mid-day... see if you can add surface disruption and keep the temperature under 78 F. Bob Fenner>
Tiger Barb Beh. 1/6/07
Hi folks,
<Doug>
I am VERY sorry if this information is already here, I did use the search
engine, but I was not able to find what I was looking for.
<Many topics not discussed, as yet>
I am also sorry if this is a silly question, because I feel pretty sill asking
it! I have had 4 tiger barbs darting around like little bumble bees in my 30
long for a couple months now, but I noticed something for the first time the
other day.... Are their stripes green?????
<Mmm, depends on the angle of viewing, light source/quality... these small
minnows have chromatophores (color) and iridophores (reflective) that give their
appearance a variable quality>
I know I have seen green tiger barbs, but I suppose I never paid attention to
the stripes on the "regular" tiger barbs. The reason I ask, is that I just want
to make sure it is not a sign of illness.
<Mmm, unlikely>
Also, I noticed a few folks talking about their Tiger Barbs doing
headstands. Mine do this as well, and I have seen it in some of the LFS tanks
also.
<Mmm, typically a response/reaction to too much feeding... particularly of dried
foods... better to feed more frequently, smaller amounts>
When mine do it, they do it "in formation" noses straight down, tails straight
up. Sometimes for 5 minutes or so at a time, and typically they quit in a day
or so. No change in appetite, no changes in the water quality no ammonia,
nitrates or nitrites, no discernable pattern as to when (i.e. before/after water
changes, night or day, ) they will do it. Just thought I would share...
<Appreciate this>
Thanks so much! You folks are GREAT!!!!!! You should be given some type of
world recognition award!
Doug Alley
<You've just done so, and I/we thank you. Bob Fenner>
Tiger Barbs 4/3/07
I have 4 tiger barbs, they seem to be pretty healthy but sometimes one of
them swims nose down & stays like that for sometime by the driftwood. Is that
normal for tiger barbs to do that?
<This behavior is often in response to poor water conditions, especially high
levels of nitrate. Please check your water parameters.>
<Chris>
A few questions... Tiger Barb
beh. – 10/10/07
We have just set up our first, what I like t call, 'proper' fish tank with
tropical fish in. We have 4 Tiger, 6 Green, 3 Albino Tiger Barbs, 3 Black Widows
and several Neons.
My main reason for asking a question is that two of the green barbs seem to kiss
each other and then swim side by side and nudge each other. Can you suggest why
they are doing this? Or is it normal behaviour?
Also, what level should the nitrate and pH be?
Thanks in advance!
<Greetings. Tiger, green (moss), and albino tiger barbs are all the same species
of course (Puntius tetrazona). They are intensely social fish, and spend much of
their time jostling for position in their hierarchy. They don't normally fight,
but they can get a bit rough. That's what you're seeing at the moment. It's
normal. For the selection of fish you have, aim for a nitrate level of less than
50 mg/l. In many English cities at least this might not be practical; Thames
Water for example comes out the tap at 50 mg/l thanks to urban development and
intense agriculture. But provided you don't overfeed your fish and you do 50%
water changes per week, the nitrates should stay love enough not to cause
long-term harm. Certain fish (such as mollies and many cichlids) are
nitrate-sensitive, but for the most part barbs and tetras are quite tolerant.
The pH should be somewhere between 6 and 8 for these fish. The ideal would be
around 7. Don't focus on pH though; what matters is hardness, since that's what
directly affects the fish and the water. Your fish will appreciate soft to
moderately hard water, though barbs and black widows at least can prosper in
very hard water (Neons tend to be a little more sensitive). One last thing: all
three varieties of barb and the black widow tetras are NOTORIOUS fin-nippers, so
under no circumstances add anything slow moving or with flouncy tails. No
angels, Gouramis, fancy guppies, Bettas, etc. Just fast moving fish. Good luck,
Neale>
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