Species only Barbs...Bottom feeders?

Drekkyk

Drekkyk

AC Members
Feb 3, 2006
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Westland, MI
Well, It looks like I will be going all barbs. Its very difficult to find another suitable species to add. Is a clean up crew needed? I would love to add a pleco or some corys but fear for them. (You'd think I still had my Black Pirahna in the tank) Also, how many Barbs do you think I could stock in a 110G? 40?


Also, I have the tank at 79F, but I have read that barbsw dont even need heat. Any suggestions on this matter? I could probably at least lower the temp to 72 or so and save on heating bills. I just like having a warm tank for some reason. (Maybe its easier to reach in the warm water)
 
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Ohhh.... You stole my idea I was going to do that eventually. Tiger barbs are sweet Wouldn't it be cool to feed them live fish they would be like pirahnas in the movies
 
A clean up crew isn't needed, but you could probably get some fish if you wanted. My rainbow shark is quite the scavenger, and they can be pretty tough, I think it would be able to hold its own, especially if you took time to find a larger one, and gave it some good hiding spots. As for the number of barbs, I would add 5 or so at a time and judge from their behavior as to how many to add ultimately. See if they seem to have enough room, how aggressive they are, etc.
 
You would probably be okay with a group of corydoras, or if you want to stick with the Asian theme, then a shoal of some type of loach would work well.

I've had success keeping tiger barbs with cories and paradise fish in the past. The barbs never seemed to notice the catfish, and the paradise fish were able to fend for themselves.
 
Wow you could probably have 30+ tiger or other small barbs in a 110g I would get a pleco and mabey a school of upside down cats
 
In 110g tank, if you are only doing barbs, you could very well put around 40 in there with little to no problems. Just ensure that you only get one species of barb. If you are wanting difference species, i would mix them up and add them 6-10 at a time, rearranging the tank decor just prior to adding the new fish. Also, be sure that you check the species out and ensure they will all be about the same size as adults. Fish are kinda like people, and the semi-agressive sort tend to become aggressive when given the opportunity to be, aka putting a school of 1 inch fish in with 2 1/2 inch fish.

My procedure for adding new fish to an established aquarium is:

1. Float bag for 30 minutes with the tank/room lights off.
2. Open the bag, add a cup of tank water, wait 5 minutes.
3. Remove a cup of water from the bag, add 2 cups of tank water, wait 5 min.
4. Remove 3 cups of bagwater, add 3 cups of tankwater. Wait 5 min.
5. Rearrange tank decor with aquagloves. Turn on 1 side of the lights.
6. Pour fishbag into my transfer net over a bucket to net the fish, then release the fish.
7. Feed the fish a snack/treat.

There are many different ways of doing that, but I figured I'd go ahead and post mine. Some people think its not necessary to do it that way, but it just makes sense to me. Glad to hear about your new tank, and look forward to seeing some pics! Take care.
 
Go for corys, not plecos. Allthough I love my pleco (all 16+inches of him), he is a big lazy poop machine. Really, you cannot imagine how dirty they are. And they don't "clean", they pick a spot for their own and suck on the glass in one spot all day long!
 
Thanks for the suggestions. My barbs currently spend quite a bit of time at the bottom. They scavange for any food that may have made its way past them. The top of my tank is lackin in plants because I couldn't find any 30 inchers, so I bet they are more comfortable down there. Don't get me wrong, they do spend about 4 hours a day being in every spot in the tank.

I might just go with 15 - 20 tigers, and 15-20 green barbs. Then I will try a few cories, or a rainbow shark.

Re-arranging the tanks is to try an simulate a new enviroment for all fish? Sounds logical to me.

I think I will start moving all decor by 1 inch in the same direction daily, so the fish think they are drifting downstream. The direction I move the decor will likely affect the way the shoal faces. Selective Shoal positioning by means of Enviroment manipulation!
 
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