Animal-World > Freshwater Fish > Cyprinids > Longfin Tiger Barb

Longfin Tiger Barb

Family: Cyprinidae

• Puzzles
• Postcards

Puntius tetrazona Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy Ken Childs

   Being the same as the Tiger Barb in most ways, the Longfin Tiger Barb is also very lively and playful!

   The Longfin Tiger Barb is one of the varieties of the regular Tiger Barb. The biggest difference from that of their parentage is that the Longfin Tiger Barb has just that, fins that are a bit longer. Their aquarium requirements, behaviors, care and feeding are the same as their parentage. Like all of their cousins they do best kept in a group of 6 or more, and they are lively and active so need plenty of room to swim. They are hardy and a great fish for beginners, though they can be nippy with their tank mates.

   For a very attractive effect in your aquarium try adding some Longfin Tiger Barbs to a school of regular Tiger Barbs. They provide a nice contrast of swift moving, darting color! Mixing even more varieties works equally well and creates a really exciting effect. Some of these include the Albino Tiger Barb, and the Green ('moss') Tiger Barb.

   Though when mature, their colors do tend to fade a bit, a school of these playful and attractive fish in a nice sized aquarium makes an awesome display!

   These active fast swimming fish need company. These barbs do best in a school of at least six or seven fishes where they establish a "pecking order". They have been known to nip the fins of slower moving and long-finned fish such as gouramis and angelfish, but this problem seems to be demonstrated when they are being kept individually or in a smaller group. Presumably in a larger school they are too busy chasing each other to bother with their other tank mates.

For more Information on keeping freshwater fish see:
Guide to a Happy, Healthy Freshwater Aquarium

Distribution:
   The Tiger Barb was described by Bleeker in 1855. They are found in Indonesia, Sumatra, Borneo, and possibly Thailand. Many are captive bred for the aquarium industry and the longfin is a captive bred variety.

Status:
   There are no wild populations of this variety.

Description:
   The body of the Longfin Tiger Barb is a gaily colored yellow to red background with four very distinctive black stripes. There is red on the outside of the dorsal fins as well as on the tail and ventral fins. When in spawning mode they have a bright red snout.

Size - Weight:
   These fish get up to 3 inches (7 cm).

Care and feeding:
   Since they are omnivorous the Longfin Tiger Barb will generally eat all kinds of live, fresh, and flake foods. To keep a good balance give them a high quality flake food everyday. Feed brine shrimp (either live or frozen) or blood worms as a treat.
  An aquarium best suited to the Longfin Tiger Barb should have a fine gravel bottom with plants around the inside perimeter along the sides and back, leaving lots of open swimming space. They are susceptible to ich.

Water Region: Top, Middle, Bottom:
   These fish will swim in all areas of the aquarium, but prefer the middle of the aquarium.

Acceptable Water Conditions:
   Hardness: 2 - 30° dGH (not demanding)
   pH: 6.5 to 7.5 prefers slightly acid (to 6.5) for breeding
   Temp: 68 - 79° F (20 - 26°) C

Social Behaviors:
   The lively Longfin Tiger Barb makes a good community fish, especially with other fast moving fish. They have been known to get a bit nippy, especially when kept singly or in very small groups so it is a good idea to get at least six or seven. Then they bother each other instead of the other tank inhabitants.
   Some sources do not recommend them as a community fish because of this tendency to nip the fins of slow moving and long-finned fishes, such as gouramis and angelfish. Their may be some damage to their own long fins, due to the nipping tendency of their kind.

Sexual Differences:
   The female is heavier especially during the spawning season. The males are more brightly colored and smaller. During spawning they will develop a very red nose.

Buy Tiger Barbs From LiveAquaria.com

Breeding/Reproduction:
   The Longfin Tiger Barbs are egg layers. See the description of breeding techniques in Breeding Freshwater Fish.

Availability:
   The Longfin Tiger Barb is occasionally available, though not as readily as the regular Tiger Barb or the other color morphs.

Add your comment here!
Latest Comments
We have a 20 gallon tank with 7 longfin tiger barbs, 3 dwarf gouramis, 1 angel fish and 1 pleco. The tiger barbs swim actively in the tank and are not making any harm to our angel and gouramis. During feeding our tiger barbs are very smart at snatching food so that before the other fishes start their meal there will be nothing left. These are the fastest eaters I have seen. Jane 2008-04-16

Back to Cyprinids

Author: Clarice Brough, CFS