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I have three tinfoil barbs that are complete piggies and are eating every one of my plants. They ate all of my Java Moss and now have chewed up my anubias and my amazon swords. The plants are growing new leaves, but the fish eat all the new growth down to nothing. I'm afraid that eventually I will end up with no plants. I bought a veggie clip and put some romaine in there. They like it, but I was wondering if there were other types of lettuce and/or veggies that I can give them to try and keep them away from my plants. After all, variety is the spice of life. Thanks!

- Meow -

sunspotkat,

I am no expert on Tinfoil Barbs, and you could try to go with Anubias, they may last.

On the other hand, what do you expect from a fish with an adult size of way over 10"

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

Unless they're in a large enough tank with a ton of plants - think natural habitat - they're going to munch on anything you put in there. Most veggies are fine - broccoli and cucumber come to mind - but the question is quantity. I would switch to plastic plants - they won't be eaten and you can continue to feed veggies for their plant matter... along with a high quality flake or pellet food, of course

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Back in the saddle!

Tinfoil barbs and plants don't go together. They'll just keep munching them. As L_F said they will get a very big size and will get more destructive.

It will have to be a choice - the plants or the fish ?

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Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

That's what I was afraid of. I knew that they would get big, but I didn't know that they would eat anything and everything under the sun. These things are eating machines. Maybe I will try to set up another tank for them to live in until I get the big tank next year.

Now here is another question. If the tank was moderate to heavily planted and very large, would the damage be spread out enough for the plants to recover? I have been saving up for a 210 gallon. I can't realistically go any bigger than that. I had been planning on planting it. However, its main inhabitants would be the tinfiol barbs, bala shark and pictus cat. Would that be big enough of a habitat or should I give up and do plastic? I really don't like plastic plants.

- Meow -

sunspotkat,

There is an aticle in the September 2006 issue f Aquarium Fish Magazine that talks about tankbusters, among them are your tinfoil barbs. The article mentions that your fish would be good in a tank around 200G, so that should be fine. Nevertheless, I think what bensaf said is right:

Tinfoil Barbs + Plants =

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

I'll check that article out. Sounds interesting, but I really like the tinfoil barbs in spite of their destructiveness. They are very active and fun to watch. I have noticed lately that there are a few plants in my tank that they are not gobbling up. They ate all the java moss and are eating the amazon swords like crazy. They are not eating the java ferns or this other plant I put in called Lutea very much. Maybe I'll experiment a little bit with different plants. I could also maybe have kind of a plant "farm" tank and just keep replacing them. I also have a bountiful supply of anacharis from my mother-in-law's pond. It's free and neverending so they can eat all of that they want.

We shall see what happens... (are there any decent looking fake plants? )

Thanks for all the replies.

- Meow -

Just an update...

I have been puting romaine leaves in my tank everyday about 2X per day since I last posted. It hasn't completely stopped the tinfoil barbs from eating the plants but it has slowed them down considerably. They seem to prefer the lettuce and there is only a few small bite marks out of the plants . I am seeing lots of new growth.

On a slightly different note, I have noticed that they prefer certain plants to others. They love to eat the amazon swords , java moss and anacharis. They won't touch any of the crypts, java ferns or anubias.

I just wanted to mention these things in case someone else might find my experience useful.



- Meow -