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Ok everybody from other forums say that it is ok to keep less than 6 in a tank.
Someone said they have 2 tiger barbs with MALE guppies and other fish!, he said that the tigers distract eachother not the other fish and that they dont nip the male's fins...would i be able to keep 3 with no problems?

thanks everyone, i want EVERYONE's opinions AND experience please!

~plaitiesarecool~

That would probably depend on the size of your tank, and how many/what kind of fish you have.
...All fish have their different personalities, some tiger barbs may be less nippy than others. It's just the luck of the draw, though tigers are pretty nippy as a rule.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

IMO...tiger barbs should be kept in a school of 6-8 in a longish tank as they like to nip and dart around. They WILL pick on other smaller fish such as tetras...I've learned from experience. Keep in mind...they come tiny a lot of times, but can grow to a decent size. If you can't accomodate that, then I wouldn't suggest them, but there are other types of barbs you can get. Gold barbs are hardy, gorgeous, and can stay in smaller groups. I *think* cherry barbs can be kept in pairs/trios? but I'm not positive on that. Good Luck!

Last edited by FerretFanatic at 09-Oct-2004 10:03

-Formerly known as the Ferretfish

Yeah, cherry barbs can easily be kept in pairs, as they are shy to their own kind. Personally, I'd keep tiger barbs in groups of six or more, as they are schooling fish. It's not healthy to keep a schooling fish in low numbers, the fish will get stressed-out much more easily.

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And when he gets to Heaven, to Saint Peter he will tell: "One more Marine reporting, Sir! I've served my time in Hell."

definetely keep them in schools. but even then, watch out. i had a school of 11, now down to 6 - pretty much because the most dominant one of the group singled out the smallest one and harassed it to death... unfortunetely it took me a while to watch on to this anyway, he's by himself now, and they seem to be doing ok... but just watch out. personally, i like tigers because they're active and can have beautiful coloration, but if i had to do it over again, i think i would go for a more mild mannered barb

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Back in the saddle!

I've never kept tiger barbs because of their reputation for nippiness. I just don't have a tank that would accommodate that right now even though I think they're very attractive fish.

Cherries are nice, somewhat shy and can be kept in pairs. I also have a school of [link=belted barbs]http://www.fishprofiles.com/profiles/fw/profile.asp?id=Puntius++pentazona" style="COLOR: #FFFFC0[/link], which have the stripes like tigers, are more red in color, are not nippy at all, and are good schoolers.

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There is water at the bottom of the ocean

I wouldn't keep less than 8 tiger barbs, because of their reputation for harrassing everything otherwise. They are nippy already, so why put yourself at an even greater disadvantage by keeping them in a tiny group? I wouldn't put any schooling fish in a group smaller than 6, and tiger barbs are no exception.

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They shade the glow of it with their mossy-misty costumes,
They wear masks of silk, porcelain, brass, and silver,
So as not to mislead with their own, ordinary faces.

i had a school of 12 tiger barbs in a tank with a betta. unfortunately, the school slowly shrunk from 12 to 10 to 6 etc down to 2 and held there for a while due to my pictus cat having barbs for lunch. my point is that i was able to keep tiger barbs in a variety of school sizes with no fin damage to my betta, or any of my other fish.

I keep a school of 8 and they ignore everyone else (except when my Krib makes the odd run at them and then the school just "bombshells" in all different directions).

From what I can see they are too busy with each other in a school of this size to notice the other fish. I've never tried smaller schools, but just about everything I've read seems to point to this as well: in decent sized schools (6+) any aggression they have is spent on each other before it spills over onto other species. I've even read somewhere that the nipping is more mischievous than anything else, that when the school isn't large enough to "entertain" them all, they look for amusement with other fish.

Dex

Sure you can do this. If you only want the fish around for a few weeks or months. I have 10 in a 29 gallon and they do great. For myself, I wouldn't keep less or put them in a smaller tank. If you have lots of room, and start your fish small or near the same size, you can mix Tigers with fish that don't mind busy bodies. That stresses lots of fish out and they get sick and then the Tigers will get rid of them.

Most of the tiger barbs i have bought die too fast but large groups are good. Also consider what other types of fish you have with them. Also have found that they all have different personalities.