{"id":1607,"date":"2020-03-13T20:16:21","date_gmt":"2020-03-13T20:16:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aquarium-fish-plants.com\/?p=1607"},"modified":"2020-03-16T11:58:02","modified_gmt":"2020-03-16T11:58:02","slug":"keeping-tiger-barbs-in-the-aquarium-heres-how-it-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aquarium-fish-plants.com\/keeping-tiger-barbs-in-the-aquarium-heres-how-it-works","title":{"rendered":"Keeping Tiger Barbs in the Aquarium – here’s how it works"},"content":{"rendered":"
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The tiger barb is one of the most popular freshwater fish among aquarists worldwide and should not be confused with moss barbs. <\/u><\/a>Thanks to the attractive colouring and the particularly lively species, this ornamental fish is an interesting eye-catcher in any aquarium. The Tiger barb\u00a0belongs to the family of carp fishes and attracts attention with its distinct play instinct. The active aquarium inhabitant does not only look pretty, he is also easy to keep and breed, if some conditions are created.<\/p>\n How you can keep the up to six to seven centimetre large animals in your aquarium, which water characteristics Sumatran barbels prefer and with which species they can be socialized, we show you in the following <\/u>Aquarium Guide<\/a><\/u>\u00a0article.<\/p>\n Although the name suggests that Sumatran barbels are native to the Indonesian island of Sumatra, tiger barb\u00a0occurs in the wild in Indonesia on Kalimantan and Borneo. The natural habitat are the rather cool and easy flowing rivers Bulungan, Kapuas and Mahakam in the west of Borneo – but also in Malaysia and Singapore tiger barbs are quite common.<\/p>\n The tiger barb\u00a0shows a pronounced play instinct. In order for the active freshwater fish to live it out, you should keep it exclusively in a group. In order for the animals to fully live out their distinctive social behaviour, at least eight other conspecifics are recommended.<\/p>\n For the Sumatran barb, small fights are part of the typical behavioral repertoire, which are best fought out with conspecifics. Other fish would perceive the pronounced play instinct as aggressive and stressful, which is why it is essential to have enough conspecifics in the aquarium.<\/p>\n The gender distribution in the group plays a subordinate role in tiger barbels and only needs to be considered when breeding is planned. If breeding is planned, the group of tiger barb\u00a0should include several females at the same time.<\/p>\n The tank in which the swimming Sumatran barbels are to be kept should have a capacity of at least 180 litres and an edge length of 100 cm – in this way the animals have sufficient swimming space.<\/p>\n If the barbs pluck the fins of other aquarium inhabitants and show a high degree of aggressiveness, this is a signal that the habitat is not large enough. Either the tank is too small, too badly structured or the stocking is too large. To avoid the fill error, we recommend our guidebook article “180-240 liter aquarium fill examples”.<\/p>\n The optimal tank for tiger barbels must necessarily contain some roots and stones, which serve as visual protection and as a territorial boundary. Furthermore, the tank must have dense edge planting and some retreat possibilities.<\/p>\n The balancing act between hiding places, dense border planting and sufficient free swimming space must be mastered. The reason for this is that the Hong Kong Barb is usually found in the middle layer of water, where it hunts and plays. They therefore need sufficient free space, especially in this region of the pool.<\/p>\n As Puntigrus terazona are known to burrow in the ground to look for food, the ground should not have sharp edges. Accordingly, no coarse gravel should be used in the aquarium, but fine sand – quartz sand from the hardware store is very suitable for this purpose.<\/p>\n In their natural habitat, tiger barbs find hiding places in the queasy subsoil of densely planted riparian zones. The aquarium should be designed in accordance with the natural habitat so that the animals feel comfortable in the tank.<\/p>\n An external or internal filter should always be used in the aquarium. Hong Kong barbels live in slow-flowing waters in the wild, so the aquarium should also have a light current. A strong external filter also contributes to the cleanliness of the tank.<\/p>\n If tiger barb is upside down, this is a typical behaviour, which is no cause for concern as long as the fish does not move away from the shoal. If the animals move away from the group, this may indicate a possible disease or a defective lateral line organ. In this case the condition of the animals should be observed further – if the group becomes too small due to the death of a barbel, the group size must be increased again.<\/p>\n Sumatran barbs are not only very suitable for beginners in terms of their behaviour, but also the preferred water characteristics of the animals can usually be easily achieved with typical German tap water – without the need for an osmosis plant or other technology. If the following water values are given in the aquarium, tiger barb\u00a0feel particularly well:<\/p>\n For your tiger barbs to feel completely comfortable, the temperature should be between 22 and 26 degrees Celsius. Make sure that the pH value does not fall below 6.0 and is not above 8.0. As far as total hardness is concerned, you should aim for a value between 5 and 19\u00b0 dGH.<\/p>\n These water values make friends with many South American and Southeast Asian species, which is why the animals can be socialized with countless animals – but more about this in the next section.<\/p>\n The tiger barb\u00a0is an extremely active fish, which forms territories in the group and knows how to defend itself from other inhabitants. The animals should therefore not be associated with species that are too calm, such as red neon<\/a><\/u> or the Ember tetra<\/a>.<\/a><\/u><\/p>\n Sumatran barbs tend to nibble long fins. They should therefore never be socialized with long finned species: so angelfish, fighting fish or gourami should be avoided altogether.<\/p>\n Sumatran red mullets should be socialized with larger and more robust species that can defend themselves against the dominant behaviour of the animals. In addition, the preferred water values of tiger barb\u00a0should be considered.<\/p>\n Ideal for socialization are catfish species such as the L333<\/u><\/a>, the whiptail catfish<\/u><\/a>\u00a0or the feather beard catfish<\/u><\/a>. But also small loach species, such as the ember terta and other barb species, such as the <\/u>wedge-tailed bearblings<\/a> are<\/u>\u00a0very well suited for socializing with tiger barbs.<\/p>\n The freshwater fish from the southeast of Asia are grateful omnivores. Sumatran barbs can be fed with any food, but a varied diet is advisable – by the way, you will find an overview of the different types of aquarium fish food<\/u><\/a> in our guide article.<\/p>\nEverything important about tiger barbs in brief<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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Where are tiger barbs found?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
How many tiger barbs are kept in the aquarium?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
How do you keep tiger barbs in an aquarium?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
Which water values does a <\/b><\/strong>tiger barb<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0prefer?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
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association of tiger barbs<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n
What does a <\/b><\/strong>tiger barb<\/b><\/strong>\u00a0eat?<\/b><\/strong><\/h2>\n