Tiger Barb

Also known as: Sumatran Barb

Distribution:  Sumatra, Borneo

Length:  up to 2.4″ (6cm)

Water Temperature: 68-77F (20-25C)

Diet: Worms, small crustaceans, plant matter, dried food

Water: preferably soft water, but can live in medium-hard water

Lives: In the middle of the aquarium

Breeding: Egg Layers

Community Tank (would not recommend keeping with Angelfish or Guppies )

The Tiger Barb is a very good-looking, colourful fish which has an orange base colour, and 4 black stripes running vertically down its body. 

Tiger Barbs are good for beginners, but make sure you have a large aquarium, and that you have at least 5 Tiger Barbs at any one time, as they do like to shoal together.  If you don’t have enough, they have a bad habit of being aggressive towards other fish in your aquarium, and nibbling the fins of other fish, especially if the other fish are slow and have long, trailing fins

If you are planning on keeping Angelfish or Guppies, it is not advisable to have Tiger Barbs in the same aquarium.  Think of Tiger Barbs as ‘naughty boys’ and you won’t go far wrong!

It is possible to breed Tiger Barbs, but it is best to allow them to pair off on their own from within the shoal, and move them to a separate tank where they can scatter their eggs.  After they have laid their eggs, remove the adult Tiger Barbs from the spawning tank and put back them back in your community aquarium.  They will eat their own eggs given half a chance!

Tiger Barbs will happily shoal with their close cousins, Green Barbs and Golden Barbs, so it is possible to get a lot of variety in your aquarium.  However, they do like to be active, so make sure as well as vegetation around the edge of the aquarium, there is plenty of room for the Tiger Barbs to move.  Your aquarium really should be at least 24″ (60cm) in length.