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

Albino Tiger Barb

Family: Cyprinidae

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Puntius tetrazona Photo © Animal-World: Courtesy David Brough

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

   The Albino Tiger Barb is one of the color morphs or varieties of the regular Tiger Barb. The biggest difference from that of their parentage is that the Albino Tiger Barb does not always have gill covers. 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..

   These fish were received with mixed reactions when first introduced in the aquarium hobby, which largely seemed to relate to a matter of taste. Some folks fell in love with these little pretties, while others were indifferent. Consequently, they are less poplar than the regular Tiger Barb, but are still readily available.

   For a very attractive effect in your aquarium try adding some pretty Albino 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 Longfin 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 albino variety is a captive bred color morph.

Status:
   There are no wild populations of this color morph.

Description:
   The body of the Albino Tiger Barb has a creamy or yellow background. The four very distinctive black stripes in the parent Tiger Barbs, though still present are reduced to whitish 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 Albino 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 Albino 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 Albino 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.

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 Albino Tiger Barbs From LiveAquaria.com

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

Availability:
   The Albino Tiger Barb is readily available both in stores and online. Prices range about $2.00 - $7.00 USD per individual, depending on size.

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Latest Comments
I have a albino barb and a tiger barb in my tank, and up until recently, I had a red tailed shark, which I have had to remove because of constant nipping and chasing. My albino barb has been the only one that has been nipped, and as a result, has lost his lower finn and his lower tail. Does anyone know, or have advice about what we can do to help him recover back to normality, so to speak, as he is struggling to swim. Many Thanks. karen nott 2009-04-14
If you are looking into getting an albino tiger, get one! I think they are very different grom normal tigers because they are not as mean and nasty to other tank mates. I have two with two red fined sharks, platy, guppies, mollies, and heaps of loaches and catfish. So get some! i get all my fish from pets on tingal, they are great and cheap! bye jenni jenni 2007-10-16
I have 20 albino tiger barbs with 4 albino corys, 2 albino channel catfish, and 1 albino rainbow shark. Well, even in this large number, they will still nip fins. I added 2 chinese hi-fin sharks, and they were pestered and nipped at by all of the tigers until i moved them to another tank. They are very enjoyable fish to keep, and a joy to watch at feeding time. I don't recommend them as a community fish as they will always nip the fins of other fish, but keeping them in a species tank is good. Tyler 2007-01-05
I have recently brought three green and an albino tiger barb and put them in a tank with our two regular tigers. They have shoaled together really well and our regular tigers are now fighting less. I also have a red-tail black shark and eight live-bearers, none of which have received any grief from the barbs, but our two angel fish did. Don't mix barbs with fish with long fins such as the siamese fighting fish. Ideally barbs should be the last additions to a community tank. All barbs make beautiful and fastinating additions to any tank. SuperLimpet23 2006-06-06
My first tropical fish. they are pretty easy to keep with other fish but they nip on fins and that sucks. they killed my mollies, pleco, and sharks. Pretty good eaters and fast swimmers avoiding predators, but they will become the predator. -[?]- 2005-07-26

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Author: David Brough. CFS.