Prabha - 2012-01-22 Don believe all the others say.....its not a peaceful fish...its very aggressive..:)i have 2 7inch tinfoil barbs and they just killed my 5 inch oscar and 2 6inch gold fishes by plucking out their eyes...remember guys these fish first attack the eyes make them blind and then start attacking all over their body...dono wat to do with them...my tank seems a bit of lonely with them two
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Clarice Brough - 2012-01-22 Here's a couple thoughts on why your fish are so aggressive. Rather than your fish being the Red-tail Tinfoil Barb, Barbonymus altus, you may have the Tinfoil, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii. Tinfoil Barbs are the most commonly found in the pet trade, they are often confused with and sold as the Red-tail Tinfoil, and they are known to be more agressive. Also, both of these fish get quite large, 10'+ for the Red-tail, and 14'+ for the Tinfoil. In smaller tanks fish can become aggressive, feeling crowded and in competition for food and habitat. To help prevent aggression, these fish should be kept in at least 100 gallon aquarium.
s k chaudhari - 2010-05-09 I bought tinfoilbarb when it was quite small but in 6 months it has grown almost 4 inches long it was kept along with other fishes like goldfish, silver shark, catfish etc. suddenly it started tearing the eyes of other fishes like lionhead fish, shubunkin, veiltail etc. Why this aggressive behavior suddenly?
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samiran roy,india - 2011-11-07 Mine did the same. I have a normal tinfoil barb and the other one is the leuscitic version of it with black eyes and lesser scales. When they became around 7 inches and 1 and a half years old, they killed my juvenile oscar, a big shubunkin goldfish,and angelfishes. You should buy a new tank or sell it. It is most likely a male I guess.
Ann smart - 2011-04-01 My tinfoil barbs bobby, cobby, jobby (I like ryhmings) all have a deep personality like the main character tophero, from Tophero son of smilodon (Top Hero)....
Alan - 2011-01-02 I have two red tail tin foil barbs (8in), I just got back from vacation and both sides of both fish are bleeding, it looks like the have been scraping themselves or fighting. Any suggestions on how to heal them?
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Steve - 2011-03-12 Hello Alan, I was searching postings for this exact reason. I just noticed today that one of mine seems to be bleeding too. I have a couple of large rocks in my tank that may have been the culprit. They do love to chase each other and swim around very quickly. They often can be heard bumping into the glass. I suppose all you can do now is observe to make sure he heals okay. I'll probably remove the rocks and just put a few more plants in at the next cleaning. I hope he'll be okay. Good luck to yours too.
Allison - 2008-01-22 I recently acquired (rescued) two 6-inch Red Tailed Tinfoils from a local pet store. I have them in a 75-gallon tank with 4 5-6 inch golfish of various colors, and they love each other! They all swim in formation at the front of the tank, and aren't skittish at all! I am militant about water changes, and the temp is at 73-74, so everyone is in an appropriate range. Eventually I will be getting a larger (100+) tank, so they all have room to grow. The Tinfoils seem extremely hardy, since when I brought them home they had already been at the store for maybe 4-5 hours, and the only means of transportation was in a pot used at my house exclusively for fish purposes (not cooking!=). Anyway, I floated it in my tank and one jumped clear out onto the carpet! I dunked my hands in water, grabbed him, and put him in the tank, and he acted as though he'd lived there his whole life! No harm no foul. Overall, a fantastic fish. If you have the room, get some.
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kram - 2011-02-28 Better make your aquarium 100 gallons cuz your fish will grow bigger xD.
carolyn - 2010-10-07 We have two red tail tinfoil barbs and they are 10 + inches in a 12 gallon tank, I don't know what to do with them will they live in a pond? Petsmart won't take them back and I've tried to give them away.
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Alan - 2011-01-02 Carolyn, Please put them up as free on Craig's List or FreeCycle. Somebody will claim them, but you cannot continue to keep them in a very small tank. As a temporary holding tank, you could purchase a large plastic clear tub for very little cost but you will have to do a lot of water changes since you do not have the filter, and hopefully your house is kept at a constant temperature.
Jay - 2010-03-05 We have 2 red-tail tinfoil barbs in our 75 gallon tank, along with several other species that all get along great. One of the barbs seems to swim back and forth incessantly, which tends to drive some of the others crazy...is this a normal behavior? Thanks so much!
Miquel - 2009-03-07 I have two red-tail tinfoil barbs (9") in a 55-gallon community tank with one large oscar (12"), one clown loach (6.5") and two striped raphael catfish (6"). Because of the occasional racing they do in the middle of the night I placed my aquarium far, far away from the bedroom, all the way in the dining room.
Jennifer - 2009-03-02 I keep 2 red-tailed tinfoils in a community tank of only 58 gallons. yes, only 58. and they're doing great. They have very good coloring and seem content to poke at their coral all day. The two we have are inseparable chums and swim side by side at all times. One is 13 years old, the other is about 7. They are extremely gentle with the other fish. I bought an Albino corydoras a few weeks ago, and I swear, I was so scared they were going to eat him at meal times. The cory looked much bigger at the store, and when we took him home we realized he was smaller than their mouths and looked like fishy flake food. not good, right? I was watching them at feeding time, and like usual, the little Albino clown was swimming around like he was taking a Sunday drive. The biggest of my tinfoils swooped (quite literally) in to snatch him up, stopped with his nose practically touching him, did a double take, then turned and swam away. The cory just kept swimming like nothing happened. He could have been a tasty meal for my tinfoil, yeah? I'm certainly impressed by how large and gentle these guys are!! If you have space, unlike me, you should seriously consider getting a pair! 8) a very good fish indeed
The Red-tail Tinfoil Barbs makes an excellent addition to a large aquarium, especially when you need large but relatively peaceful inhabitants!
These fish are definitely NOT solitary. They are shoaling fish and need to be kept in a group.
Don believe all the others say.....its not a peaceful fish...its very aggressive..:)i have 2 7inch tinfoil barbs and they just killed my 5 inch oscar and 2 6inch gold fishes by plucking out their eyes...remember guys these fish first attack the eyes make them blind and then start attacking all over their body...dono wat to do with them...my tank seems a bit of lonely with them two
Here's a couple thoughts on why your fish are so aggressive. Rather than your fish being the Red-tail Tinfoil Barb, Barbonymus altus, you may have the Tinfoil, Barbonymus schwanenfeldii. Tinfoil Barbs are the most commonly found in the pet trade, they are often confused with and sold as the Red-tail Tinfoil, and they are known to be more agressive. Also, both of these fish get quite large, 10'+ for the Red-tail, and 14'+ for the Tinfoil. In smaller tanks fish can become aggressive, feeling crowded and in competition for food and habitat. To help prevent aggression, these fish should be kept in at least 100 gallon aquarium.
I bought tinfoilbarb when it was quite small but in 6 months it has grown almost 4 inches long it was kept along with other fishes like goldfish, silver shark, catfish etc. suddenly it started tearing the eyes of other fishes like lionhead fish, shubunkin, veiltail etc. Why this aggressive behavior suddenly?
Mine did the same. I have a normal tinfoil barb and the other one is the leuscitic version of it with black eyes and lesser scales. When they became around 7 inches and 1 and a half years old, they killed my juvenile oscar, a big shubunkin goldfish,and angelfishes. You should buy a new tank or sell it. It is most likely a male I guess.
My tinfoil barbs bobby, cobby, jobby (I like ryhmings) all have a deep personality like the main character tophero, from Tophero son of smilodon (Top Hero)....
I have two red tail tin foil barbs (8in), I just got back from vacation and both sides of both fish are bleeding, it looks like the have been scraping themselves or fighting. Any suggestions on how to heal them?
Hello Alan, I was searching postings for this exact reason. I just noticed today that one of mine seems to be bleeding too. I have a couple of large rocks in my tank that may have been the culprit. They do love to chase each other and swim around very quickly. They often can be heard bumping into the glass. I suppose all you can do now is observe to make sure he heals okay. I'll probably remove the rocks and just put a few more plants in at the next cleaning. I hope he'll be okay. Good luck to yours too.
I recently acquired (rescued) two 6-inch Red Tailed Tinfoils from a local pet store. I have them in a 75-gallon tank with 4 5-6 inch golfish of various colors, and they love each other! They all swim in formation at the front of the tank, and aren't skittish at all! I am militant about water changes, and the temp is at 73-74, so everyone is in an appropriate range. Eventually I will be getting a larger (100+) tank, so they all have room to grow. The Tinfoils seem extremely hardy, since when I brought them home they had already been at the store for maybe 4-5 hours, and the only means of transportation was in a pot used at my house exclusively for fish purposes (not cooking!=). Anyway, I floated it in my tank and one jumped clear out onto the carpet! I dunked my hands in water, grabbed him, and put him in the tank, and he acted as though he'd lived there his whole life! No harm no foul. Overall, a fantastic fish. If you have the room, get some.
Better make your aquarium 100 gallons cuz your fish will grow bigger xD.
We have two red tail tinfoil barbs and they are 10 + inches in a 12 gallon tank, I don't know what to do with them will they live in a pond? Petsmart won't take them back and I've tried to give them away.
Carolyn,
Please put them up as free on Craig's List or FreeCycle. Somebody will claim them, but you cannot continue to keep them in a very small tank. As a temporary holding tank, you could purchase a large plastic clear tub for very little cost but you will have to do a lot of water changes since you do not have the filter, and hopefully your house is kept at a constant temperature.
We have 2 red-tail tinfoil barbs in our 75 gallon tank, along with several other species that all get along great. One of the barbs seems to swim back and forth incessantly, which tends to drive some of the others crazy...is this a normal behavior? Thanks so much!
I have two red-tail tinfoil barbs (9") in a 55-gallon community tank with one large oscar (12"), one clown loach (6.5") and two striped raphael catfish (6"). Because of the occasional racing they do in the middle of the night I placed my aquarium far, far away from the bedroom, all the way in the dining room.
I keep 2 red-tailed tinfoils in a community tank of only 58 gallons. yes, only 58. and they're doing great. They have very good coloring and seem content to poke at their coral all day. The two we have are inseparable chums and swim side by side at all times. One is 13 years old, the other is about 7. They are extremely gentle with the other fish. I bought an Albino corydoras a few weeks ago, and I swear, I was so scared they were going to eat him at meal times. The cory looked much bigger at the store, and when we took him home we realized he was smaller than their mouths and looked like fishy flake food. not good, right? I was watching them at feeding time, and like usual, the little Albino clown was swimming around like he was taking a Sunday drive. The biggest of my tinfoils swooped (quite literally) in to snatch him up, stopped with his nose practically touching him, did a double take, then turned and swam away. The cory just kept swimming like nothing happened. He could have been a tasty meal for my tinfoil, yeah? I'm certainly impressed by how large and gentle these guys are!! If you have space, unlike me, you should seriously consider getting a pair! 8) a very good fish indeed