# Barb Help



## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

I've got a couple of barbs (tiger barbs, I think)

and i was wondering if I should add some more becasue I've heard they do better in large groups.

If I should add more whats the best way to go about adding new fish?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

drummerkid1993 said:


> I've got a couple of barbs (tiger barbs, I think)
> 
> and i was wondering if I should add some more becasue I've heard they do better in large groups.
> 
> If I should add more whats the best way to go about adding new fish?


 Rearrange decor is probably the best way. Yes tiger barbs do best in groups of 6 or more, as there is a definite nipping order within the shoal, and if they havent got other tiger barbs to nip or anooy, they will turn on the other fish and stress them out.


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

tiger barbs are evil when in bigger shoals and will take on any other fish in your tank leading to death


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

mickie_quinn89 said:


> tiger barbs are evil when in bigger shoals and will take on any other fish in your tank leading to death


Untrue.


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

lol i know but i have super tiger barbs which think there red bellies haha


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

so how many should I keep?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

How big is the tank?

How often do you perform water changes and what percentage of water do you change?

Is the tank currently lightly stocked?

What type of filtration do you have? External? internal? Undergravel?


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

i ment i had tiger barbs i dont have them any more what you going on about love haha you went sick on me then do you think you know a lot about fish?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

mickie_quinn89 said:


> i ment i had tiger barbs i dont have them any more what you going on about love haha you went sick on me then do you think you know a lot about fish?


Me? Well i have kept and sucsessfully bred a number of species including discus for about 10 years, so i know a few facts

Heres my tank..


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

lovely tank :lol2: looks well kept i would never be alble to save that many plants lol my cats eat them they have a taste for other expensive fish lol and plants


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

what fish do you have in there i can see a discus and are they neons and more?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

mickie_quinn89 said:


> lovely tank :lol2: looks well kept i would never be alble to save that many plants lol my cats eat them they have a taste for other expensive fish lol and plants


Cheers, lol. Its not cheap keeping and maintaining all these plants, expensive nutrients / minerals etc aswell as CO2.


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

what fish have you kept or are them fish the ones you started with?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

mickie_quinn89 said:


> what fish do you have in there i can see a discus and are they neons and more?


- Discus 
- Cardinal tetras (not neons, lol)
- Apistogramma Cacatuoides (cockatoo dwarf cichlid)
- Ram cichlids
- Golden Nugget plecs
- L46 Zebra plecs

and a few random corys too


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

mickie_quinn89 said:


> what fish have you kept or are them fish the ones you started with?


Started a good few years back with a tropiquarium 68 and my first ever fish was a siamese fighter, lol. Also kept a few guppies. platys, siamese algea eater etc, just easy to keep beginner fish


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

o kk lol im not good on my little fish more of a plec/cat fish person lol. but love discus especially the ones which have the really nice marble effect on them do they have a name ? how much where your discus


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

Anywhere from £65 each up to £500 a pair

You mean like these;

http://fins.actwin.com/fresh-pics/pigeonblood-discus2.jpg

They are a strain called pigeon blood.


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

yeah they are the ones beautiful i have never bucked up the courage to buy a pair as i am to scred of them diesong as they are to dear lol i like the more harder fish but they are usually ugly arent they haha


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

mickie_quinn89 said:


> yeah they are the ones beautiful i have never bucked up the courage to buy a pair as i am to scred of them diesong as they are to dear lol i like the more harder fish but they are usually ugly arent they haha


lol, maybe try some easy to keep cichlids such as these..

Kribensis

http://animal-world.com/encyclo/fresh/cichlid/images/kribensis1_s.jpg

Easy to keep, can tolerate soft to medium hard water and ph from as low as 5.8 up to around 7.5, also will tolerate medium nitrate / nitrite levels (although ammonia wont be tolerated).

Keep them in pairs, usually take a territory of around 24" total, based around a cave (an overturned flowerpot is ideal), pretty fish, easy to sex and easy to breed

Discus are not that hard to keep (and even breed) provided a large tank is used, plenty of filtration (not strong current though so external filters are best or trickle filters if you can afford it). End of the day you keep the water healthy, the fish will be happy.


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## mickie_quinn89 (Nov 1, 2007)

do them Kribensis have another name im shore i have had them in a diffrent name lol im trying to thrink of the name can you think of it?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

Scientific name - pelvicachromis pulcher

Common names - krib cichlid, kribensis or rainbow cichlid.

Very easy to breed and gorgeous colours.


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

I've just been watching them and one keeps on harassing the other one and trying to bite fins. I think I'm gonna buy 4 more ASAP.

how should I introduce new fish to the tank?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

Swap decor placement round and also feed the fish as your introducing the new ones.

I also turn the lights off as a) it reduces the stress on the new additions and b) it means the current residents wont take as much notice of the new fish.


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

gex23 said:


> Swap decor placement round and also feed the fish as your introducing the new ones.
> 
> I also turn the lights off as a) it reduces the stress on the new additions and b) it means the current residents wont take as much notice of the new fish.


Thanks


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

do tiger barbs need heating in the tank?

I was told by the pet shop, they do well at room temperture so theres no need for one.


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

drummerkid1993 said:


> do tiger barbs need heating in the tank?
> 
> I was told by the pet shop, they do well at room temperture so theres no need for one.


You are joking....right?

Yes they do require heating, they come from the asian tropics (the sumatra region IIRC), so will do well at standard communty tank temperatures (74 - 78 C).


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

gex23 said:


> You are joking....right?
> 
> Yes they do require heating, they come from the asian tropics (the sumatra region IIRC), so will do well at standard communty tank temperatures (74 - 78 C).


tropical fish centre.co.uk says...



> *Temperature:* Anything between 24 – 28 degrees Celsius. 27-28 for breeding.


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

drummerkid1993 said:


> tropical fish centre.co.uk says...
> 
> [/size][/font]


And whats your room temperature? I always reccomend a heater to prevent fluctuations in water temp, as the shock is stressful for the fish.


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

gex23 said:


> And whats your room temperature? I always reccomend a heater to prevent fluctuations in water temp, as the shock is stressful for the fish.


ok, ill pick up a heater.

I'm guessing I should use one that has a thermomstat to keep temps stable?

can you reccommend any for a tank of 50 litres?


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

drummerkid1993 said:


> ok, ill pick up a heater.
> 
> I'm guessing I should use one that has a thermomstat to keep temps stable?
> 
> can you reccommend any for a tank of 50 litres?


 
99.9% of all modern heaters have a heater / thermostat combined.

Anything from 50 - 100 w should be fine, i'd reccomend a 100w, quicker to get water up to the correct temp and keeps it amore stable temp.


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

gex23 said:


> 99.9% of all modern heaters have a heater / thermostat combined.
> 
> Anything from 50 - 100 w should be fine, i'd reccomend a 100w, quicker to get water up to the correct temp and keeps it amore stable temp.


cheers for the help, my pet shop is obvisously clueless.

but in saying that, maybe I should have done more research first.


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

drummerkid1993 said:


> cheers for the help, my pet shop is obvisously clueless.
> 
> but in saying that, maybe I should have done more research first.


No problem.

At least you know better now: victory:


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

does this look ok?

FISH TANK HEATERS -TRIXIE AQUA PRO TROPICAL HEATER 100W on eBay, also Filtration Heating, Fish, Pet Supplies, Home Garden (end time 26-Nov-07 16:41:54 GMT)


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## gex23 (Aug 14, 2007)

Perfect:no1:


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

gex23 said:


> Perfect:no1:


great, Ill nag the Dad :lol2:


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

Oh and another thing.

I need to get a new airstone becasue the one I got before was pathetic.

Can you please tell a good one to get?


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

tiger barbs are great fish and can be kept with about anything. i have several in my big community tank....never a problem..and they are hardy, long lived fish that add some spark to most any community tank. :no1:


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

heaters....5 watts per gallon until you get to bigger tanks like 55 gal. and above then 3 watts per gallon is fine.


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

HABU said:


> tiger barbs are great fish and can be kept with about anything. i have several in my big community tank....never a problem..and they are hardy, long lived fish that add some spark to most any community tank. :no1:


My tiger just did a sh*t in anothers face 

It was hilarious


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

fish have no dignity:whistling2:


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

can anyone give me any advice on an airstone?


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

what do you want to know?


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## Drummerkid (Sep 24, 2007)

HABU said:


> what do you want to know?


anygood sites that give ya everything you'll need


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## HABU (Mar 21, 2007)

no. no freebee's


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