tiger barb behavior

Are the 2 o.k fish physically bigger than your sick pair? In my first batch, i bought 5 tiger barbs and the 4 largest bullied the smaller barb, he was left with no food, no shelter and they eventually killed him in much the same manner as you've described (swimming near the surface, hanging round the filter, etc.), i've now got 9 and they are very happy chappies! Its hard because you want to follow the advice of books and forums and only introduce a small number of fish at first, but tiger barbs maybe the one exception. Just make sure the tank is well and truely cycled before hand and a larger number could be introduced to start off (7-8 possibly). I wish i'd followed this route to start with.
 
yeah actually, the 2 out in the open are a litttle bit bigger. and the one that was behind the plant kicked the bucket... bout to scoop him out now =/
 
I have 5 Tiger Barbs and sometimes they just hang out diagonally and somtimes they will chase each other around the tank. When the lights go out and its time for "bed" they all gather in the middle of the tank and "hang" there. Its pretty cool. They are my first Tiger Barbs so I was a bit put off at first with the almost upside down behavior but it seems to just be a trait.
 
Being a keeper of an all barb community tank with various types of Tiger Barbs, I can almost immediately figure out the problem here. You simply have too little Tiger Barbs to make the fish feel safe. I bet if you added 3 more, they will suddenly become the most active and fearless fish you own. When there are too few Tiger Barbs in a tank, they tend to hang out in a top corner. Headstanding is normal after feeding for about an hour. Mine headstand at night when they sleep also. Hope this helps.
 
well there was a casualty yesterday

and now theres one that has wedged himself behind the plant and into the gravel, like hes way down there. he's been down there since yesterday and hes still alive. i'm assuming if he got himself down there he can get himeself out. i've gone about "rescuing" stuck fish in the past only to find them put themselves right back there. i'm thinking he's on his way out too? which leaves me with 2 barbs and 2 cory cats.
 
i had tiger barbs a while back... it may be that they're just trying to sleep.
 
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