Tiger Barbs Fighting

[dbzguy]

ok so here's the deal: I now have 7 Tiger Barbs in a 20gh, 4 regular ones, 1 albino, 1 black , and 1 dark green. The problem is that the 4 regular ones arent getting along with each other, and I mean chasing each other and nipping each others fins. The other three different colored ones are fine with each other and the regular ones. The 4 that are the same color are all the same size and were introduced to the tank at the same time. One of the 4 regular ones in particular is very aggressive towards the other 3 , chasing each one for hours relentlessly, hard core bitting and nipping at the anal and pelvic fins. I can tell this is stressing them out for sure. My question is should I take them back and start with a new batch? I thought Tiger Barbs were more comfortable in a school but in my tank, this isnt the case at all. any suggestions?

thankyou..

 

[SamXXXkiss]

I think that you should bring(put) 3 of the normal coloured ones back to the store. Are the green ones are okay with the other coloured ones???

 

[OrionGirl]

It's not a matter of comfort, it's a matter of spreading out the aggression. Barbs establish a hierarchy, and it's constantly being challenged and enforced--ie, the chasing, biting, etc are signs of dominance. You'll see it in the 'new' fish eventually, as the behavior develops as the fish mature. In a large enough group, no single individual is constantly harrassed, but with smaller groups, there just aren't enough fish to spread the attacks out enough, and a few fish end up taking the brunt of the abuse. In your case, the aggression will be spread out as the juveniles mature and start in the 'game'. Removing the older fish and replacing them will work in the short term, if you can get a group of fish all about the same size.

 

[dbzguy]

I think that you should bring(put) 3 of the green ones back to the store. Are the green ones are okay with the other coloured ones???

Its the 4 regular colored ones that are having problems with each other. The green, albino, and black ones are fine and dont get chased or chase any of the other ones.

 

[dbzguy]

It's not a matter of comfort, it's a matter of spreading out the aggression. Barbs establish a hierarchy, and it's constantly being challenged and enforced--ie, the chasing, biting, etc are signs of dominance. You'll see it in the 'new' fish eventually, as the behavior develops as the fish mature. In a large enough group, no single individual is constantly harrassed, but with smaller groups, there just aren't enough fish to spread the attacks out enough, and a few fish end up taking the brunt of the abuse. In your case, the aggression will be spread out as the juveniles mature and start in the 'game'. Removing the older fish and replacing them will work in the short term, if you can get a group of fish all about the same size.

If thats the case then Im kinda stuck. I mean I'm already pushing the stocking limits of the tank with 7 in a 20gal. right?

 

[Nexus]

Yeah, its unfortunately the way of things. We have had some issues with ours like that occasionally.

we started with 6 tigers and 6 albinos to cycle our tank (75 gal). Being our first tank(ie. mistakes) and there natural behaviors they whittled down to about half that. I got a batch of 6 more black ruby barbs to grow into the school to help distribute the agression.

When ours go nuts it seems to be around mating time, because the males harass each other and smack the females around. This has been how we have lost one most the time. After a day or two a female ends up dead.

They just recently restarted this "dance" over the weekend and the last female albino took most of the punishment and was acting "odd" the past couple days, I hope she makes it through it.

 

[dbzguy]

From what I read I cant remember if the make is slimmer than the female or vice versa. I have seen a few of mine do that dance with thier dorsal fins fully erect.It also seems that this behavior is more prevelant in the regular colored ones( orange/gold with black stripes) than in the hybred color ones.

 

[Nexus]

Big belly=female.

Sure enough, the last female albino tiger barb was belly up today, bummer.

 

[Lucretia]

The problem is that the 4 regular ones arent getting along with each other, and I mean chasing each other and nipping each others fins.

The 4 that are the same color are all the same size and were introduced to the tank at the same time. One of the 4 regular ones in particular is very aggressive towards the other 3

so far as i can tell from what you have typed these barbs are are acting so agressively because they are all roughly the same size and the one that is attacking so much would be the Alpha the others are all still trying to work out there place in the group. can i just ask are the regulars larger or smaller than the others?

 

[dbzguy]

so far as i can tell from what you have typed these barbs are are acting so agressively because they are all roughly the same size and the one that is attacking so much would be the Alpha the others are all still trying to work out there place in the group. can i just ask are the regulars larger or smaller than the others?

The regulars are bigger, about Twice the size.