What with tiger barbs in a 10g???

hcgirl80

hcgirl80

i is a gud righter lyke leela.
Jun 3, 2004
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So I have made a decision. I am going to give up the neons, oto's and betta and just have tiger barbs in my 10g. How many Tiger barbs could I have? I was hoping I could have a few dwarf cories or ottos and maybe something else in there with them.
I already have 1 tiger barb in there but he has been by himself for a while so I thought I would add one tiger barb at a time(also because I don't want too big of an ammonia spike).

Thanks alot!
;)
~hc
 
a 10 gallon really won't hold more than about 5 tiger barbs--size and aggression being the limiting factors. Adding a single tiger barb at a time is risky--the new fish will be chased and attacked by the resident constantly. I'd add at least 3 to spread out the aggression somewhat.

I'm not sure how cories would do--barbs can be nasty. I'd go with something that will hide more of the time, like kuhli loaches. If it's not a planted tank, I would avoid otos.
 
I don't think tiger barbs are a good choice in a 10g. I've seen several adults in the stores that were easily pushing a full 3 inches. As orion said, too, with a smaller school, there'll be more aggression on each other with one dominant one likely to harrass the rest...or worse.

I wouldn't put cories in with them at any rate.
 
Okay--so how big do kuhlii loaches get?
BTW--It is a planted tank, lightly planted, though. It has 1 java fern, and 3 moneyworts. I am hoping to add another java fern and a bunch more moneyworts. Maybe some potted plants too, but I'll make sure they fit my light & water conditions before I buy them.
 
Kuhli loaches get 2-3 inches in length, about the same diameter as a pencil for the striped variety, a bit smaller than that for the blacks. They are social, but a trio should be fine. They are good at cleaning up the substrate, tend to hide during the day. I see my blacks much more often than the striped ones, but that could be because the black ones breed uncontrollably in my tank and there are more of them than I want. Apparently this is not the norm, so you likely don't have to worry about them overpopulating.
 
3 kuhli loaches...5 TIger barbs...Right?
Well I AM glad they wont be breeding...that is good.
 
Yep. That's the most I would go, and you'll still have to watch the barbs. Kuhli's are good at avoiding attention, IME--mine are in with puffers and a rather disagreeable shark, and are left alone.
 
hcgirl80 said:
3 kuhli loaches...5 TIger barbs...Right?
Well I AM glad they wont be breeding...that is good.
Click to expand...

To me that seems like too many fish for a 10g. I would also agree with what was stated before about the Tiger Barbs. Adding one fish at a time would be asking for trouble if there is already an established tiger in the mix. What I would do is baggie the existing barb when I brought the new one(s) home, rearrange all of the decorations, move the plants, if it were easy enough, and then drop them all into the "new" tank at the same time. This way they are out of their element and are less likely fight over established territory, as there is none.
 
thanks all. So I baggie the already-in-there Tiger Barb, re-arrange the deco and plants, then add all the Tiger Barbs at once. After the mini-cycle of the new additions, I add the kuhli loaches?
 
I agree, it's pushing the limit for the tank. But, fewer barbs and the agression isn't diffused enough, resulting in the existing barb killing the smaller ones immediately. I'm not sure that removing the existing barb and re-arranging the tank will work--barbs fight for heirarchy within the group, not for territory.
 
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