Nichole07

I just recently got 5 tiger barbs and set up my tank. I didnt do a lot or research on them. i just kinda picked em out when i go there. I bought them smaller in size but I got one that was only a hair smaller then the others. I put food in the tank for them and went out for the night when i came back I only had 4 in the tank...is that normal?

clinton1621

Welcome to Fishlore! To start off with, you need to read the nitrogen cycle thread, because your tank is not cycled and this will most likely kill your fish.

As far as for the 1 missing fish... it could be hiding... it could have jumped out (make sure you have a cover, glass preferably, and you dont have any open areas at the top of the tank)... it could have been killed by the other barbs and eaten, tiger barbs are very agressive fish, look for parts of a dead fish in the tank... it could have died and decomposed.

Nitrogen cycle link...
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

Barbrella

Tiger barbs grow up to 3" and should be kept in schools of not less than 6 to try and prevent them turning on each other. A 10 gallon tank isn't nearly big enough for them.

Nichole07

Thanks..Ill read it....i have checked in the rocks and in the plants and i do have a lid on the tank so i take it that they ate it....i dont see any dead parts either...what would go good in the tank with them and would it be a good idea to get more of them so they calm down even more? Thanks for the help!

Nichole07

i bought the smallest ones that you can buy so i could start off in a small tank and build up as the fish get bigger

Nichole07

the nitrogen cycle do i still need to do it since i got a tank from a friend that he left a little water and bacteria in it and he had the same fish that he took out?

clinton1621

Unfortunately with Tiger Barbs, there are not a lot of compatible fish... they are just too agressive in my opinion. I also agree with Barbrella, the 10g tank size you have them in will only make them more agressive, because they dont have enough room to get away from each other or to swim around a lot... this will make them stressed and they will fight even more.

Nichole07

the ones that i have in the tank now seem okay with each other....they just swim around....or at least when im here they just swim

clinton1621

They get more agressive as they get fully grown and mature, you probably bought juveniles if they are small... the younger ones are always less aggressive.

Jo3olous

TBs are pretty hardy fish, and if you bought juveniles in your current tank setup then they'll be okay for a little but when they start growing they'll go nuts or die of stress in such a small tank. Just to let you know I made the same error but intentionally cycled my tank with 5 juvenile tiger barbs. None of them lived and here's my conclusions:

Juveniles are weak and easily prone to death by stress, condition changes, uncycled tanks.
Tiger barbs are shoaling fish. Many people say 5-8 is okay, HOWEVER based on what others told me who have kept barbs long term, these guys THRIVE in groups of 12+++ The more the better, and when you get in really high numbers they form their own seperate gangs and get really exciting to watch.
They are mid-dwellers and love to swim around, so leave the front end of your tank open and having a long tank is better than a tall tank. So put all your hiding places/plants in the back, the weaker ones will need places to hide but the open swimming space is very important for their activeness. I recommend AT LEAST a 20 Gallon tank. I have one now and it sucks I'm in need of an upgrade because I'm already at capacity and I can see my group is fun but adding more barbs to their shoal will increase activity/enjoyment.
They are semi-aggressive fish. The more in your shoal the less they bother other species. They go well with sharks (balas, rainbows, redtails) however do not mix redtails and rainbows (research those or I will post later on). You can mix other types of barbs with them (cherrys, tinfoils, etc) Some gouramis will work too. Danios are also fine. Bottom feeders and top-dwellers will work too. Just stay away from fish with very long fins (fancy goldfish, bettas) they will get raped by the barbs.
FEEDING - you can feed them shrimp pellets, flakes, bloodworms. I mix it up between the 3 and when they get bigger ill eventually do vegetation too.

You mentioned planning on upgrading as they grow. IMO it is best to just by a large tank from the start.
1. you waste money on constantly upgrading tank+supplies
2. it's a pain to start up new tanks over and over
3. You will be happy if you get it right the first time.

my 20G was a good start but I soon learned and wish I started with a 40-50G tank for the community I want to build.

Overall, do not be discouraged if your barbs you have now die. I've purchased 11 Tigerbarbs over all and now I have 5 which made it through the cycle and are doing great. Good luck with your new hobby and keep us posted!

Nichole07

Thanks for all the info. The only reason that I started out with a 10 gallon was because I was given the tank, heater, light, filtration system and rocks and he left a little water in it so i had the bacteria already....and I really had no idea what i was going to put in it...but once I go to the pet store I saw the tiger barbs and I thought they were gorgeous so I bought the smallest ones that they had because I knew my tank wasnt big enough for the bigger ones and I thought that they could grow and I would get a bigger tank after that...I only have the four now and they seem to be doin okay but I know i need more...but thanks again for the information everyone was a big help....(i think i did make a mistake buy gettin this little tank)

Jo3olous

Well you can diminish the error by using the tank for breeding in the future! Or using it to house maybe a Beta fish, or some tetras.

Nichole07

Can you not have more then one beta in a tank at a time? I may be mistaken but for some reason I was thinking that you could have either females together or a few males....I may be completely wrong or misguided.

Jo3olous

males together = bad
females together = 3 or more (they will form heirarchy), if only 2 they will fight

do not put bettas with barbs, barbs will own them. (never mix barbs with anything that has long fancy tails)

clinton1621

Male bettas cannot be kept together... and most females even in groups of 3 or more will end up fighting and getting sick from being stressed. Bettas plain and simple should not be kept with other bettas, or you are asking for trouble. You can however keep a single betta with cory cats, or a pleco and maybe some snails =)

Jo3olous

Or that will happen too. There are usually multiple case scenarios where fish that should be alone // grouped work out/don't. I would say you could try the latter if you have seperators/another tank ready if it gets nasty

Nichole07

oh see I havent had fish since I was a little girl and it def. shows lol I have another question...I have I think a million snails in the tank that I cant seem to get rid of....for the past 3 nights I think I have taken probably 10 at least out and when I wake up the next morning there are 20 more....what do I do?

clinton1621

Lol, welcome to the wonderful world of snails. Unless you have live plants that they seem to be eating, then I would just keep them in there... they are great for cleaning up algae growth =)

You may want to keep removing them occasionally though as you have been, because they reproduce like crazy. Its almost impossible to completely eradicate them without using chemicals or copper... which are both bad for your tank.

Nichole07

They seem to be taking over....I think my tank looks horrible with all the snails in it....and they dont seem to be cleaning it either...other then the HUGE one that I have....

clinton1621

Trust me lol, they wouldnt be in there if they werent eating the algae or some leftover fish food... massive quantities of snails are a sure indicator that you have excessive waste, uneaten fish food, and or a lot of algae in your tank. Otherwise the snails would not be reproducing at such a high rate.

Nichole07

I did get the tank from a friend who left some water and didnt clean the rocks....should i keep some of the water and tank everything out of the tank and clean it?

clinton1621

You would essentially destroy the good bacteria that are present in the tank if you do that, and it most likely wont get rid of the snails....

Jo3olous

No, but if the tank does look excessively dirty, you should get a water test kit (API Master), not the test strips <-- too inaccurate. It's pretty cheap around 20.00 can get it at a Walmart.

If you want to clean your tank, I would do 30-40% water changes once a week. It can be easily done with a siphon (gravel vacuum) which is only about 10-20.00 depending on the size (I think you can use the small one for your tank).

That should keep your water clean, my question is for others about your situation. If Nichole's new tank has all the subtrates and stuff from the previous owner, would it already contain bacteria that makes the tank cycled? Or is she starting over? And maybe all the excess wastes from the prior owner that the snails are thriving on is what stressed her new tiger barbs into death? just wondering...

Nichole07

I just did a water change and it looks a whole lot better but the gravels are pretty dirty...i even took all of the gravels out and i still cant get them very clean

Jo3olous

You won't be able to get out ALL of the dirt, but that's not your goal. You just want to keep the dirt/wastes to a minimum. Stirring up the gravel will make your water cloudy, but after a few weeks of changing water, when the dirt goes back down to the gravel, your water will be clear

Nichole07

I took the fish out and took most all of the water and put it in a different container then i took my gravel and cleaned them very well. I put the gravels back and then 75% of the older tank water and 25% new I put in my aqua safe stuff...tested it....let it filter a little and and let the water get back up to normal temperature and then put my fish back in.....everything seems great!

Jo3olous

nice gj

fishlova #23

you could also get a clown or yoyo loach they will eat all ur snails

Lucy

Hi fishlova #23 Welcome to Fish Lore

It's a good idea to check the dates on threads before replying?
This thread is almost 4 months old. I'm sure the issue has been resolved by now.

Thanks