Tiger Barb
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| Tiger Barb Conservation status: Secure | ||||||||||||||
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| Missing image Tiger_Barb_700.jpg | ||||||||||||||
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| Barbus tetrazona (Bleeker, 1855) |
The Tiger Barb or Sumatra Barb (Barbus tetrazona) is a tropical freshwater fish belonging to the barb group of the minnow family. Originating from the Malay peninsula, Sumatra and Borneo, this fish is very common in the fish keeping hobby. There are a few varieties of tiger barbs. The main variety is silver to brownish yellow with four vertical black stripes and orange fins and snout. Also common in the fish hobby are highly melanistic Green Tiger Barbs that reflect green over their black because of the Tindall effect and Albino Tiger Barbs. The Tiger Barb will grow to a maximum length of 3 inches (7 centimeters).
The Tiger Barb is an active schooling fish that is usually kept in groups of five or more, but they do fine in pairs. Semi-aggressive fish, they form a pecking order in the pack which they may extend to other fish, giving them a reputation for nipping at the fins of other fish, especially if they are wounded or injured. When in large enough groups, however, they tend to spend most of their time chasing each other and leave other species of fish alone. They dwell primarily at the water's mid-level. They have a lifespan of 6 years. Tiger Barbs natively live in a tropical climate and prefer water with a 6.0–8.0 pH, a water hardness of 5–19 dGH, and a temperature range of 68–79 °F (20–26 °C).
The females are larger and have a rounder belly. The egg-layers tend to spawn around 200 eggs in the early morning in clumps of plants. Once spawning is finished, they will usually eat any of the eggs that they find. It is usually necessary to separate the fish from the eggs after spawning in order to prevent the eggs from being eaten.