Tiger Barb

Tiger Barb
"Barbus tetrazona"

These tropical fishes are very lively. They are also very tough and very suitable to anybody who are new to this hobby. There are many variants to this tropical fish species. The other two most famous variants are the albino (white-orange bands) and moss green variants.

Original Habitat:
Indonesia
Sex:
When this tropical fish are sexually mature, the female are slightly larger, plumper and less brightly colour compare to her male counterpart.

The original Tiger Barb (golden yellow with black bands)



Max Length:
6 cm.
Temperature:
23 to 26 degrees Celsius.
Water:
They are not demanding for the water composition. They'll be very happy as long as the water is clean, clear and rich with oxygen.

Moss Green Variant. These two seem to be sparring. A common view when you put them in small number.



Accommodation:
They are very comfortable in any community aquarium. They need an open space for swimming as they are very active swimmer.The existence of current is very appreciated. The colour of substrate have somewhat no effect on their colour even though dark colour substrate seem make the moss green variant more comfortable.
Characteristics:
They are a very active shoaling fish. They will do very well in a school with at least five specimens. When keep in larger number, they'll show appreciation by swimming close to each other with spectacular effect. They are robust though, and have the tendency to bully other smaller or weaker dweller. They are also very famous fin nipper which makes them unsuitable for Betta, Gourami, Angel fish etc which have antennae or long fins. They mainly swim in the middle zone.
Food:
This tropical fish are omnivores and will greedily takes both live and dry food.

The only suitable tropical fish video on the albino variant (orange-white bands). I wouldn't recommend you to keep them in a school less than five members though.



Breeding:
They can be very choosy when it come to mating. They need water at 5 gH, a pH somewhere at 6.0 to 7.0. The temperature is best to set at 28 degrees Celsius. The breeding tank should be placed in a sunny location. They can be very productive once they find your aquarium is an ideal place to breed.
You can see that they form a pair from the shoal. Place the breeding pair in a breeding tank which you have equipped with a grid which are about 2 cm above from the substrate. This will separate the eggs from their gluttonous parent when the eggs fall. They prefer to lay their eggs among feathery leafed vegetation. You must provide them with a cover to keep them in the water during the mating process. Remove the parent and the grid after the spawning. The fry can be raised with fine powdered food.