Stephenie Neff - 2012-12-10 I have 6 tinfoils in a 75 gallon tank. I'm using them to cycle the tank. I know 6 is too many for a 75, but at the time they were only a dollar each. I don't plan on keeping all of them anyway. They are very active, playing in all of the ornaments. A lot of 'follow the leader' chasing through the logs. I plan on getting cichlids, but am getting used to the tinfoils. At least they don't hide all the time. Very hardy fish, my water is somewhat messed up, but they live in it ok. I will probably end up keeping some of them, even when I get my cichlids.
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.
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.
George - 2012-07-04 Ask petsmart to help you find a home for them and they will. My petsmart always helps me.
mavis wallace - 2012-08-03 Hi Carolyn , my name is Mavis Wallace we have a fish tank 120 gallons or so. Maybe u can get a bigger tank or I can keep them for u. I have two in my tank Bill and Willie and they are both tin foil barbs. u can e- mail me Mavis hope to hear from u !!!!!!!
George - 2012-07-04 I have 6 Tinfoil Barbs in a 55 gallon Tank that I purchased from wal-mart. They are orange with orange eyes, how big will they really get?
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Charlie Roche - 2012-07-05 It is recommended that you have them in 100 galon tank and you have 6 of them. They would normally grow to about 8 inches but when a tank is too small or there are too many fish in the tank, you run the risk of stunting. I'd look at the above article in Animal World - 6 seems like quite a few for a 55 gallon.
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)....
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.
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 Barb makes an excellent addition to a good-sized tank with other large, semi-peaceful inhabitants!
I have 6 tinfoils in a 75 gallon tank. I'm using them to cycle the tank. I know 6 is too many for a 75, but at the time they were only a dollar each. I don't plan on keeping all of them anyway. They are very active, playing in all of the ornaments. A lot of 'follow the leader' chasing through the logs. I plan on getting cichlids, but am getting used to the tinfoils. At least they don't hide all the time. Very hardy fish, my water is somewhat messed up, but they live in it ok. I will probably end up keeping some of them, even when I get my cichlids.
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.
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.
Ask petsmart to help you find a home for them and they will. My petsmart always helps me.
Hi Carolyn , my name is Mavis Wallace we have a fish tank 120 gallons or so. Maybe u can get a bigger tank or I can keep them for u. I have two in my tank Bill and Willie and they are both tin foil barbs. u can e- mail me Mavis hope to hear from u !!!!!!!
I have 6 Tinfoil Barbs in a 55 gallon Tank that I purchased from wal-mart. They are orange with orange eyes, how big will they really get?
It is recommended that you have them in 100 galon tank and you have 6 of them. They would normally grow to about 8 inches but when a tank is too small or there are too many fish in the tank, you run the risk of stunting. I'd look at the above article in Animal World - 6 seems like quite a few for a 55 gallon.
These fish are definitely NOT solitary. They are shoaling fish and need to be kept in a group.
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 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 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