Tiger Barb

Tiger Barb

Puntigrus Tetrazona

The Tiger Barb is one of the most commercially available species of barb, having a boisterous and active personality, whilst attaining a good yet manageable size and having an attractive appearance.

Locale: Thought to naturally occur in Sumatra and Borneo - thought to occur most often in well vegetated streams shaded by marginal vegetation and forestry, with fine gravel substrates and clear flowing waters.

Fun fact: It is not entirely understood where Tiger Barbs originate from as due to a lack of original documentation and releasing collected and even bred specimens back into the wild, they have become spread to new areas throughout Asia, due to this the original habitat and place origin of the Tiger Barb has become effectively lost knowledge. 

Care:

Care difficulty - Beginner, hardy schooling fish.

Temperament - Semi-aggressive, schools peacefully when kept in large group sizes (e.g. 15+), however 6+ is recommended as minimum school size though Congo Tetras can sometimes display fin-nipping behaviour in these group sizes.

Adult size - 6-7cms (Many have been recorded larger than this however)

Diet - Omnivorous; will eat both ends of the spectrum, from filament algae to small invertebrates and microcrustaceans, so in the Aquaria it is best to feed a staple diet of smaller pellets or flakes, and can have frozen or even live food dietary supplements, such as live or frozen brine shrimp, live black worms, frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis with spirulina, these should only be fed once or twice per fortnight.

Habitat - In the aquaria Barbs are very unfussy fish when it comes to environment, however recreating the natural environment of any fish is always beneficial, such an environment for the Tiger Barb would include a light soft sandy substrate, dark branchy driftwood, and vegetation throughout the tank to create more shading and places of refuge for the Barbs, especially within the middle strata of the water column where the Barbs often congregate.

Optimal Water Parameters:

Temperature: 24-30°c

pH: 5.8-7.0

GH: 3-10

KH: 1-3

Fish size, sex, exact colour and patterning may vary from photo.