TB's are commonly mis-kept and hence misunderstood.reziztor said:The Tiger Barbs, Gourami, Leporinus and Knife are all known killers.
When kept singly or in a too small a school they are true terrors.
When kept properly, that is when kept in a school of atleast 5-6 fish, ***preferably more***, they establish a pecking order amongst themselves and spend all their time maintaining it. They get sooooo involved in their own affairs that they rarely have time to nip the ocassional fin.
Mis-kept = Badboys Well-kept = Community fish.
Gouramies tend to do better as solitary males or M/F pairs.
They can be extremely territorial and uncompromising with their own kind and perceived intruders during breeding.
They can be moderately territorial with other fish particularly in a crowded tank, they need tall rocks/driftwood and plants to hide in.
To call them killers is outrageous, they do very well in a properly stocked community tank.
Knives, are predators, they will eat any small-medium sized fish they can fit in their mouth. If you keep'em with tankmates they perceive as prey thats your fault, loss and ignorance. Kept with compatible tankmates in suffciently sized habitat they are great.
They are killers/predators.
Leporinus... Killers?... Get real!
http://badmanstropicalfish.com/profiles/profile1.html
Maintenance
A somewhat peaceful species that benefits from a large aquaria.
Its tank-mates should be of the same size and temperament, no long finned slower moving fish such as Angels as they are notoriously sneaky about fin-nipping. The tank bottom should be gravel covered with plants and decorations. Feeding is not a problem as they take prepared staple food along with supplements of live and frozen food.
Their pH should be neutral [7.0], GH of around 10, temperature range of mid seventies to low eighties. They dwell in the middle areas of the tank. They are egg layers and to my knowledge have not been bred in captivity. Keep the tank well covered as they are great jumpers and can travel many feet. The Leporinus is a fine addition to any tank and badman recommends them to anyone willing to meet their requirements.
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