Xref: utzoo alt.aquaria:244 rec.pets:2278
Path: utzoo!hoptoad!ptsfa!ames!hao!husc6!yale!Ram-Ashwin
From: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram)
Newsgroups: alt.aquaria,rec.pets
Subject: Tiger barbs
Summary: To barb or not to barb?
Keywords: fresh water tropical fish aquarium
Message-ID: <23908@yale-celray.yale.UUCP>
Date: 25 Feb 88 21:53:20 GMT
Sender: root@yale.UUCP
Reply-To: Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu (Ashwin Ram)
Followup-To: alt.aquaria
Organization: Computer Science, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-2158
Lines: 20


I like tiger barbs a lot, but I've heard contradictory stories about them.  Some
say that they are very aggressive, that a small school will harrass other fish
in an aquarium and even kill them.  Others say that their reputation as
fin-nippers is undeserved, that they make perfectly good community fish.  Yet
others say that they are aggressive out of sheer boredom if they don't have
plenty of company, but they are fine if you keep them in a large enough school.

I couldn't get a definite answer for this; I tried several books and aquarium
store owners, but they each had a different story which never seemed to agree
with anyone else.  Does anyone have first hand experience with these fish?  Do
you foresee any problems keeping, say, 5 tiger barbs in a 10-gallon tank with
angelfish or other usual community fish?  Do they need a larger tank?  Should I
keep more barbs, or less barbs?  Or should I give up the idea altogether?

-- Ashwin.

ARPA:    Ram-Ashwin@cs.yale.edu
UUCP:    {decvax,ucbvax,harvard,cmcl2,...}!yale!Ram-Ashwin
BITNET:  Ram@yalecs