Tiger Barbs in planted tank

[tanya12382]

ADD MORE BARBS......A SMALL SCHOOL OF SMALLER ONES...SHOULD BRING THEM BACK TOGETHER,,,,,

[willnesssgt]

i need someones help, i have 5 tiger barbs and its only them in the tank. The smallest one out of the 5 hides in this plant i have in my tank, i put my hand in to move him out and he followed the other fish for about 30 seconds then went straight back in.. he has no intension at all to swim around with the other barbs. Can some one help me?

[creuzerm]

@willnesssgt Fish are going to do what fish are going to do. I have had no luck forcing fish to do what I want them to do.

Barbs are a bit more aggressive than other fish their size. The little one probably felt that he was being bullied more than he likes, so is seperating himself from the rest. Give him time, he will eventually catch up with the rest in size and probably 'rejoin' the school. If you watch him closely, you will probably see that he always knows where the others are at all times

[willnesssgt]

@creuzerm yes, he seems to watch them a fair bit but he doesn't eat the food i put in my tank as the rest do. But he seems to eat some of the plants around him, and he is getting more confident when they come near he pops out follows them then the next smallest one chases him as they all do (presume this is their game) and goes hide again but he is defiantly coming out more than often. Thanks for advice really helpful :)

[2jzdashgte]

@willnesssgt i've noticed a lot of sites that recomend hhaving AT LEAST 6 tiger barbs in the tank. maybe if you add more tiger barbs, it'll help. hell, go nuts, buy4 more. :) or maybe even change the layout of your tank. like rearange your decorations 'n' stuff, it might help. If it doesn't work well it's probably that the smaller fish is just at the lower end of the "food chain." Keep 'em well fed. heh heh. it's probably a fish dominance thing. I have 2 tanks myself and I'm learning as I go.

[willnesssgt]

@2jzdashgte it died a while ago :( probs stressed out abit but i replaced it with a rainbow shark and im pretty happy the way it is, half the time the rainbow schools with the tiger barbs and it never fights when it gets near its home unless they enter it. The tiger barbs think its a game quite intresting to watch :P might get 2 or 3 more tiger barbs in the future :D

[2jzdashgte]

@willnesssgt Thanx for the reply, too bad about your little one. :(

I'm happy to hear that your barbs are getting along with the Rainbow shark. (i just looked it up on goggle images, they look kewl!)

imo, tiger barbs are some of the most entertaning fish. I also have a tank of cichlids. 2 electric yellows, 1 jeweled cichlid and a Kribensis. I'll be getting more soon, I hope. lol They are also very interessting to watch. And they are soo pretty. Anyway, have a great day and enjoy your fish. :)

[MrGman0909]

@willnesssgt yeah i had the same issue with my gourami and betta and now its like iv had em for years but iv only had em for like 3 weeks

[JoseOJZ]

My tigers black strips hab a mix of green colour in it hopefully u can tell me what is it?

[creuzerm]

@JoseOJZ Pretty, isn't it? In my experience, it's probably a male and he's showing his 'breeding colors'. I've not seen an unhealthy fish with those colors, so your doing things right.

[JoseOJZ]

Hey i have 20tiger barbs but there"s 2 of them keep fighting i have no clue what their doing so can anyone tells me what is going on?

[creuzerm]

@JoseOJZ They face each other nose to nose and swim around and around and around? More vibrant color, and darker blacks colors?

I've never managed to breed barbs, but I am guessing that's male breeding behavior.

[JoseOJZ]

@creuzerm i guess ur right after much observation i found out that i got 18females and juz 2males

[Obitatis]

How many tiger barbs do you think could be fit into a ten gallon tank?

[creuzerm]

@Obitatis The experts say 1 inch of fish per 1 gallon of water. A full grown Tiger Barn is a touch over an inch long nose to the base of the tail, so by those numbers, not many more than half a dozen if its the only fish you have in the tank.

I over-filter my tanks (60 gallons worth of filtration on a 20 gallon tank) and the live plants help keep fish healthy, so I always have more fish than that.

[creuzerm]

@Obitatis The 'experts' say no more than 1 inch of fish per gallon of water. Tiger barbs get a little over an inch long nose to start of the tail, so the experts wouldn't put more than half a dozen in your tank.

Me, I over-filter my aquariums - I run 2 different types of filters both rated for tanks twice the size of the tank. Having a heavily planted tank helps support a few more fish as well. I'd go twice that number in my tanks.

[dt587]

how do u keep the PH at a stable level with it's dropping rate in a planted tank?

[creuzerm]

@dt587 I use Course Crushed Sea Shells as part of the filter media in my canister filter. When the PH drops, a bit of the calcium carbonate dissolves, raising KH, thus raising the PH back up. It wants to hold the water around 7.4 if I remember correctly. It doesn't take much. I just have maybe 1/4 a cup mixed in with the course aggregate.

[starthi]

thnks man for u help! if u need help on fishes or birds, im ur man! not so much if u need help with plants! thnks again!

[starthi]

hi! nice tank! plz tell me wht did u use for substrate ( sand, potting soi;, kitty litter) also when algae prob come wht do u do? plz respond i need ur help! thnks

[creuzerm]

@starthi The substrate is a mix of a fine aquarium gravel and a course aquarium gravel and also a small package of Laterite. The gravel is 4 inches deep, which is probably a tad deep, but the Amazon Swords love it.

When the tank is growing well, there isn't an algae problem unless I over-fertilize. I struggled with the black hair algae for a while, but when I started injecting CO2, that went away. I am also probably a bit more algae tolerant then many.

[starthi]

@creuzerm hey thnks for ur reply, i hav a new question. i dont hav a UV light for my planted tank. im currently using normal light from the tank it already had. do u know if plants can use tht light for growing/ photosy.... ? wht light do u use? thnks for ur reply i really appreciate!

[creuzerm]

@starthi Amazon Swords need LOTS of light. I use a florescent light fixture. When that video was taken, it was a Coral Life 130 watt system. Your 'regular' light hoods that come with most aquariums are probably a 18-20 watt bulb(s).

I've never run a UV light. They are used in marine tanks to sterilize the water.

The amount of light depends on the plants you want to grow. Crypts would just melt under all my light, but grow ok on 'standard' light hoods.

[starthi]

@creuzerm ohh so my light should be fine? my light is 6watts, and i have two tht go into it. so thts 12 watts. and my plants i have is.(wisteria plant aquarium,java fern plant,anubias plant) all baby plants. currently i only hav 6 watts on it because i wasnt sure. so should i put 12 watts in it? and do u know how these plant do with CO2, do they need alot, little? sorry to ask u so many qustions. im new to this, and there is no one to ask for help. so every thing u say, i appreciates it!

[creuzerm]

@starthi Your plant selection looks like they all want moderate lighting, which is 2 to 3 watts of light per gallon of water. So for a 10 gallon tank, I would have at least 20 watts of lighting. Using just regular, cheap light bulbs, I would probably go closer to 40 watts on a 10 gallon tank myself - especially if your not planning on replacing the bulbs every 6 months even though they still work. Florescent bulbs loose a significant amount of brightness over time.

[starthi]

@creuzermhey i just started a planted tank, i dont have a specific light for the tank, im using the light tht the tank came with. i think its a fluorescent light( tube kind) so would this work or do i need to buy a specific light for the tank, plz respond i neeed ur help!

[stinger30045]

the water probably isnt fully cycled and tiger barbs love vegetation with a clearing to swim around

[newerafrican]

Hey Brennan, try adding more TB's. They're a schooling fish and will probably behave more at ease with more mates. I'm no expert but I have a 55 gal with 6 TB's and they are great, swim right out in front and don't bother the 4 long-fin black tetras they live with. Higher numbers are key with TB's as they will mess with each other rather than tank mates and seem to be more relaxed.

[brennansheppard1994]

thank you :) i got 3 more TB and he seems to be ok now :) showing all the others whos boos but it seems to be calming down now :) im getting 3 more tomorrow thanks for the advice much appreciated :D

[brennansheppard1994]

and everytime i turn off the tank light hes seems fine swimming round normaly but when i turn it back on hes goes vrazy again please help!

[brennansheppard1994]

hey can u help me please ive got one tiger barb in my tank for 3 days now and everytime i turn on the tank light he just goes crazy and hides under the heater or just stays still and starts breathing really quickly can anyone tell me why n how can i stop him doing it reply back please

[creuzerm]

You may have a short in your light hood. If it's a florescent light, they can radiate electric fields that fish don't like.

Try a different light - a desk lamp or something and hold it over and turn it on and off, see if it doesn't like that either.

Also, if the fish is used to it being dark, they get accustomed to it, and don't like the lights.

This tank has 130 watts of lights - VERY bright. The tigers don't much care for it. They don't go crazy, just don't come out in the bright.

[brennansheppard1994]

ok thanks ill see if it works :) and i have 3 corydoras n they seem fine with the light on they dont mind at all n the tank i got the tiger barb from was quite bright as well but ill try the desk lamp thing thanks for the advice much aprreciated :)

[brennansheppard1994]

ok i tried the desk light and it didnt like tht either :( im worried it might die :(

[creuzerm]

I am not sure then. He just may be shy. Is there plants and stuff there for him to hide under?

[brennansheppard1994]

hmm yeah he might be and no not yet im going to get some plants tommorow see if he feels more secure then but for now he just hides behind the heater or in a corner :( but i will see how things go thanks for the help :)

[SleepyWorld]

@brennansheppard1994 The fish are groupfish. I bet you he's scared without any plants and other fish of the same species

[h31jn3n]

@brennansheppard1994 alway's keep a school of min 5 fish

[carramrod423]

@brennansheppard1994 just one by himself? could be having a freakout

[potswyt]

Do Tiger Barbs do okay with plants? Will they destroy plants or breed more often just coz there are more plants?

[creuzerm]

I haven't had any problems with the barbs and my plants. I haven't had any breed either, so I don't really know...

[creuzerm]

I just reach in and pull the leaves that need to go at the base. Sometimes you need to pinch them off with a fingernail, as the stems are very strong.

If you pull off the long ones, the newer, shorter ones look really nice.

[SimpleAz]

How do you trim your sword plants..?

Mine is getting real long O_o

[Tomb611]

Lol that's is a PLANTED tank all right i was thinking of getting tiger barbs would you recommend them?

[creuzerm]

I would. I have heard lots of people say that they are agressive, but I always get mine as small as I can find them, and half a dozen at a time. I haven't had any problems.

[nickzz4]

yes differnt color variants of tiger barbds will usually shoal together with no problems at all

[darphinparis]

nice lush tank, just got 5 tiger barbs and they seem to be schooling with my neo tetras

[oooaznronnieooo]

I have a question I know u should keep minimum of 5 barbs. I have 5 normal tiger barbs right now, but do u think it'd be ok if I only get like 3 green and 3 albino and they will still be accepted in the shoal? Their not gonna be diverse or anything right? like sticking wit their own kind and end up nipping on fins cuz there's only 3 of the green and 3 of the albino? or would they all be 1 single shoal a total of 11 barbs as one?

[creuzerm]

You know, I don't really remember. At one point I had a few albinos with my regular barbs, and if I remember correctly, it got along and was 'included' just fine.

It's been a few years now, so I don't exactly recall anymore.

I wouldn't expect to have any problems.

[12addictedfish]

were are the barbs at only see plants get more fish sirecialy?????

[creuzerm]

The barbs are hanging out in the lower left corner. It's dark there, hard to see them.

[MiniFishKeeper]

Nice barbs and tank but you need a Plecostrumus to eat up that algae on the side of the tank I have a 60 gallon with one 10 inch Pleco and i never have to drain it to clean it out.

[creuzerm]

There is a 9 inch Pleco in there. The light is just so much, and I over-fertilized the tank, so that he can't keep up!

[dvdisconnected]

i noticed a couple of days ago that my tiger barbs strips have a green shine to it, is this anything i should be concerened about?

[creuzerm]

The green shine, is it that the black has faded to green , or that the black has become so black that it has an iridescent green shine to it?

My guess, is that the fish are either getting sick or are getting really healthy.

The fish getting pale, loosing the richness of color would be a bad thing.

The fish's colors intensifying would be a good thing. The fish are getting really healthy.

There are 'green' tiger barbs, so there might be some of that in the genes of your barbs too.

Anybody know?

[dvdisconnected]

well, they seem to be very colorful so, i'm guessing that they are healthy and thank you. I wanted to make sure that there wasn't anything wrong with them.

[creuzerm]

Now that you bring it up, I am remembering back to when the barbs where really wound up.

2-3 of them would go nose-to-nose and round and round they would go. It reminded me of deer or bighorn sheep in rut. I am guessing it's the same thing only the fishy version?

The fish that did the 'fighting' where always very vivid in color, and their black stripes would get green.

Anybody know if this is indeed breeding type behavior?

[matickidd]

When they are fighting nose to nose it is males establishing a hierarchy if you know what i mean, fighting to be more dominant. it is sort of breeding behaviour though as it shows they are getting more mature and after showing signs like this they will start chasing females around the tank. if you see that happening it shouldnt be long before they start spawning!

[catfish4281]

On of my tiger barbs was very pale/dull in coloration because it had an wound, after puring some medicine, the wound healed and it constantly fights for dominance with a larger barb, its black stripes are now bolder with a greenish sheen

[leedshero]

are barbs a form of piranha, they certanly looka nd act the same way

[sharkscott2]

piranha are Characins, barbs are Cyprind. Barbs really don't even have teeth.

[winzfeld]

as said by sharkscott, barbs are part of the cyprind family and piranha the characin. Completely different species. A neon tetra is closer related to a piranha than a barb.

[ollieflp]

Will grass spread in sand or small gravel?

[creuzerm]

The microsword should. You would probably want to look it up though. I have 2 sizes of rock, larger for looks, and smaller for the roots. I also have laterite in this tank as well as a lot of mulm (decayed fish poo, plant material, and fish food - makes great 'soil').

The microsword grows on a runner under the gravel.

[pianofreak711]

thats a really nice tank!! where did you find all those plants!!

i have tiger barbs myself

[creuzerm]

I got the plants a some local fish stores. The Amazon sword plants I have had for 4-5 years now. It doesn't look near that good at the store. A lot of light & iron fertilizer tabs and patience will get it looking that good. The glossostigma is hard to find in a pet store, not many carry it as it requires much more light then most stores are willing to put into a tank. I have seen the microsword a fair amount - usually not looking very good either.

Most fish stores aren't plant stores.

[catfish4281]

sweet plants and good arrangement

i have tank with river pebbles 1/3 and 1/2"

would adding sand or smaller stones to fill up the crevices be a good idea

will it be be better for plants and when filtering/cleaning the tank?

[sirhc491]

cool tank

got 3 tiger barbs that arent that aggressive but they tend to bite each other every now and then

how fast do those plants grow?

[eastoff2]

tiger barbs get very very agressive in schools

i have a 105 gallon tank and i thought it would be cool to put a school of ten 2 1/2" barbs with my oscars and the little brats killed and ate my 4" plecotamus then the oscars ate them all 3 months after that

you should be fine as long as your barbs are the smaller ones and you dont have any other fish in the tank that cant defend themselves

[fishlover1996]

yeah the barbs can get agressive and people say when you have the barbs in a school it makes them less agressive, that's not the case for me, i have a 2" barb that nips at the fins of one of my fish but it was because i fed it only flakes so i moved to brine shrimp i guess it jsut wanted meat. and a pleco is really tough they can stand anything, but i guess if it was only 4" it could die. i have almost a 7 in,2 year old pleco and a newer pleco.

[SPACEDMADNESS42]

nice plants

[iversunfan]

SOMEONE PLEASE REPLY!!!! HI I AM PLANNING ON GETTING 5 OR MAYBE SIX TIGER bArbs FOR MY TEN GALLON> WILL THEY BE FINE IN A TEN GALLON FOR THEY're LIFETIME AND WILL THEY BE hAPPY??? BY THE WAY I AM NOT PLAnnING ON PUTTING ANY OTHER FISH IN THE TANK JUST THE BARBS.

[johnjohnb1]

You need 20 gallons for at least a school of 6 tiger barbs. You might get away with 4 barbs in a 15 gallon tank. They normally grow up to be 3 inches if well cared for, and you should feed them twice a day which means they can pollute the water easily...

[irondude71]

Actually, if you have 6 tiger barbs, and nothing else they'll be fine. Tiger Barbs don't get very big, especially if they're put in a 10gallon tank before they're over an inch long.

[Penguwhisperer]

@johnjohnb1 funny i have 7 barbs in a ten gallon they are extremely hyper, eat well and play chase all the time. dont intend to be a dick but u all LOTS of other people over estimate the size for tanks

[coolmanish1]

where is fish?

[creuzerm]

Lower left hand corner. You can see them swimming amongst the Amazon Sword Plants.

[catclaw777]

u hav 2 use ur imagination lol

[iversunfan]

SOMEONE PLEASE REPLY!!!! HI I AM PLANNING ON GETTING 5 OR MAYBE SIX TIGER bArbs FOR MY TEN GALLON> WILL THEY BE FINE IN A TEN GALLON FOR THEY're LIFETIME AND WILL THEY BE hAPPY??? BY THE WAY I AM NOT PLAnnING ON PUTTING ANY OTHER FISH IN THE TANK JUST THE BARBS.

[creuzerm]

5-6 Tiger barbs in a 10 gallon tank should be ok. I would probably add a Cory Cat too, just to clean up after them.

The tank in the video is a 29 gallon tank.

I wouldn't add any more than the 5-6 tigers to the ten gallon tank as the 'experts' say 1 inch of fish to 1 gallon of water, and the tiger barbs will grow out to be about an inch and a half long.

[Thrasher776]

5-6 in a 10 gallong i think is to much they become fairly big. I would get 4 to be safe with live plants

[batasushi]

TIGER BARBS ARE STUPID!

[blackrowstones]

acyualt there samatra barbs.tiger barbs have more strips.samatra you can tell by the first line starting at there eye.they get mixed up all the time but there maj diffrent.tiger are actualy longer and uglyer.but they consider samatra barbs tigers but i think samatraa are more beutiful with there red tiped fins.but there playing actualy.barbs don't eat alge.

[insekured]

no those are tiger barbs.. and tiger barbs get red tips which is a sign they are ready to mate

[gardenwife]

Some of my tiger barbs are brilliantly red-tipped and appear to be interested in each other. I'm hopeful. See my video response.

[HildeIII]

They look like they are busy eating algae, not hiding.

[creuzerm]

I don't know that they are eating the algea. Maybe I wasn't paying enough attention to them chasing each other around.

[lanasaintjohn]

Is that amazon sword on the left growing tall and green?

[creuzerm]

Actually it is 3 of them. They are kept pretty small. I had bought 1 a few years ago, and let it grow very large - filling the 29 gallon tank. when I moved the tank, I divided it into 7! I have given most of them away, but still have these 3.

I am going to let them grow out, as I will be moving 2 of them to my 110 gallon tank when it's done being set up.

[creuzerm]

When the PH is high or low, they seem to get all 'shy and precious' as you put it as they seem to dislike the very bright light.

I do DIY CO2 Injection but I am really bad about being consistent about maintaining it all. I do run 2 yeast bottles that I switch out every other week that helps a lot to keep the ph steady. I am thinking the PH is probably pretty low there, maybe mid to low 6s.

[Malexus]

Nice planted tank you have there. Your barbs are being all precious and shy.

How are they doing now, have they perked up and come out of hiding by now? My tiger barbs always hide when transferred to a new home, but then after a couple of hours they are back to normal.

What pH level do you use for your tigers?

[creuzerm]

The grass looking stuff is called Microsword. The green in the front right is called Glossostigma. The Glosso requires VERY high light to grow well. This 29 gallon tank as 130 watts of florescent lighting.

[Rocky06fx4]

What a AWESOME tank! I love how planted it is.. What is that type of plant that looks like grass all along the bottom?

[Dayne1988uk]

tiger barbs like open spaces,nice plants though,mine are a joke.

[hamza8810]

Wow great tank with a collection of healthy plants, its really gr8 seeing them producing a lot of oxygen.

[pure0scared]

u spent some time and money thr nice tank

[mattyouk]

What a boring video

[spiderweb20]

I love how green your tank is. Nice setup.