Can tiger barbs be tamed?

[Mrs.K]

Ok so I have these two little mean tiger barbs in my 55 gal... I see they are always chasing my little platty, I was wondering if there's such thing as taming them... they constantly chase him around and I'm afraid they may hurt it... any advice?...

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Simple answer, NO......

When you get tiger barbs, you need to get 8 or more. The more you have, the less they pick on other fish. I have 39 in my 55G, and they don't bother any of the other fish.

 

[dbleoh7]

yeah just call up caesar milan's brother felipe; the fish whisperer

 

[Mermaid20]

Flush Them!!!!!!!!

 

[JWright]

We'll go on the theory that "flush them" was a joke...

To answer the OP:

2 Tiger Barbs will be a terror in any tank. They will feel like their school isn't big enough, and will try to "recruit" other fish. If you want them to chill out and play amongst themselves, they need to be in a group od at least 8-10.

~JW

 

[seastaar88]

another person from CT! whereabouts?!?

yeah tiger barbs are mean buggers. like the others said, they really need to be in groups. may want to see if you can trade them in at the LFS.

 

[Mrs.K]

...thanks for all the help... now, once I'm done cycling and my tank is ready for more fish, will the barbs that are already there become territorial and pick on the new barbs??

 

[JWright]

The time difference in adding them won't matter. They'll establish the same pecking order they would have if they had been added at the same time.

If you really want to make sure there's no "home court advantage" then move the decorations in the tank around when you add the new fish (you can move them back after a week or so), but I wouldn't worry about it.

~JW

 

[Mrs.K]

I see... I'm learning... good advice!!...thank you.