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Tiger BarbSumatra barb ~ Partbelt barb ~ Tirger Family: Cyprinidae
The flashy colorful Tiger Barb is not only hardy and easy to keep but is a real lively, fun to watch fish!Once called the "Sumatranus" because it came from Sumatra, the Tiger Barb has been a popular fish for a long time. It is a standard favorite in the aquarium world. It will eat all all kinds of foods and is fairly easy to breed. A great fish for the beginner and advanced aquarist alike, though they can be nippy with their tank mates. The Tiger Barb is the largest of the 'banded barbs' and has a gaily colored yellow to red body with four very distinctive black stripes. There are several varieties and 'color morphs' of this barb, some of which are also now very popular. These include the Albino Tiger Barb, the Longfin Tiger Barb, and the Green ('moss') Tiger Barb.
These active fast swimming fish need company. The Tiger Barb does 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 tankmates. For more Information on keeping freshwater fish see:
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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!
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| Geographic Distribution Puntius tetrazona |
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| Point data provided by FishBase.org |
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.
Status:
These fish are not endangered.
Description:
The body of the 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 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 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 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.
Breeding/Reproduction:
The Tiger Barbs are egg layers. See the description of breeding
techniques in Breeding
Freshwater Fish.
Availability:
The immensely popular Tiger Barb is available basically anywhere, both in stores and online. Prices range about $2.00 - $7.00 USD per individual, depending on size. The Longfin Tiger Barb variety is a bit more rare.
Comments from people who have kept this fish:
These fish can somtimes be harder to take care of than they look. Once I had around 5 goldfish in my tank and 2 tiger barbs. I had to feed the tiger barbs tropical fish food and my gold fish gold fish food. It took me about an hour every day and by the time the tiger barbs died I only had one goldfish left.
I have a 55 gal tank. It is quite the relaxing thing to watch. I have 9 tiger barbs, 4 green 3 albino, and 2 tigers... also I have 2 ocsars, 8 guppies, 2 plecos, 1 algee eater, and one blue dragon. It is my own tropical ocean in my living room. All the fish get along and seem to do just fine with each other. Hope the rest of you enjoy them as much as I do.
Today I just bought 3 tiger barbs. I hope that I will enjoy them! They are so cute and thanks to this website, I know the difference between males and females. :) :) :)
I'm a starter aquarist. I'm only 12. I have three tiger barbs and they are so happy. I take very good care of them and their tank. For their roommates I also have three sail fin mollies and an algea eater. They are very friendly but you want to keep them in groups or they are quiet and scared {they hide alot}. But when they are with buddies they are a load of fun to watch. They are fast and exciting fish. I have a 10 gallon tank in my room. I put all of them in and they love company. Ifeed them breakfast, lunch, and dinner and they are very happy and comfortable. Their names are dash, stripe and quickster and they are a wonderful starting fish. They are very hardy and they really make a hobby grow, so the tiger barb is recommended =]
Tiger Barbs are my most favorite fish. Their stripes are really cool. I love to watch them swim in my tank. I feed them tropical flakes and keep the tank clean. They get along with my other two Highfin Tetras good. They are also like vacuum cleaners. I love Tiger Barbs! I hope to find out what other people like about them.
I have just bought 6 tiger barbs today and they are doing great. I was going to put more fish with my barbs but I dont know which kind. I hope my fish are gonna be ok in my 10 gallon tank.
Some of the coolest comments:
I have found much to my amusement that barbs 'bow' to the most dominant. The smaller barbs will tip slightly to their side whenever the top fish swims past them. This is probably because by tipping they are protecting their fins from being nipped by the agressive one, but it still looks funny.
Wow, tigerbarbs are cute n lively.. They move around the fish tank happily.. I have 11 of them.. I feed them with fish flakes n they love it I suppose. Ha Ha.. Happy watching them n feeding them..
Author: David Brough. CFS.
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