General Questions...

[MOOSK13]

Let me start off with saying that I am not the most knowledgeable about fish names, so please bear with me. At the moment I have a 5 gal. tank w/ 2 zebras (the small ones), a blue gourami, red gourami, 2 tiger barbs and a red bellied newt. I purchased a 50 gal. tank and will be moving them to that once I finish the cycle and the tank is ready. My question is, I am wanting to get a couple angels and a beta, but I have heard that the tiger barbs will chew up there fins. Will this be a problem in a tank of this size? Overall I want this to be somewhat of a community tank. Some neons possibly, maybe a few guppies. Should I keep the barbs in the 5 gal. by themselves? Also I have a millenium 2000 wet/dry filter. Is this sufficient for this tank?
Thanks,
Manny

[robertmarda]

I believe I can help you with the question about mixing tiger barbs and a beta in a 50 gallon tank. I have a 55 gallon tank. In this tank I had 20 some odd small (1 inch or so) fish. Included in this mix was one betta, two tiger barbs, and one albino tiger barb. Now, I can't say I saw what happened but the betta only lasted a few days or so before I found it dead and it looked like its long flowing fins had been nibbled. So I concluded that some of the other fish nibbled on the betta. I wouldn't recommend having tiger barbs and a betta in the same tank.

[MOOSK13]

Thanks. I think I am going to get a couple more barbs and keep them in the 5 gal. Best to leave the 50 a more peaceful environment I think. Don't want my fish being chewed on.

Manny

[loganj]

I would not recommend putting either the betta or the angels in with tiger barbs. Although there is always an exception, tiger barbs are fin nippers. They will most likely go after the betta and the angels. I think I'd keep the barbs to themselves. Having said that, MOST of the time, if you have a school of at least 6-8 tigers, they will occupy themselves harassing each other...but not always. You mentioned neons? Angelfish, despite their outwardly calm demeanor, are cichlids. Little angels would be fine with the neons. They will, if given conditions to their liking, grow into fairly large fish. At this point, the neons will most likely start to disappear. The large angels will find them irresistable snacks.
As to the filter, the 2000 IMO, is a little small for a 50 gal. If you like the Millenium filters, I'd look into a 3000. I like the Emperor 400 for a hang on back filter for a tank this size. Or you could look into a canister...they do a really good job also and can be, except for the hoses, hidden in the stand. Eheim makes a top quality filter although they are pricey. Fluval and the Rena Filstars are cheaper and will still do a good job.
Logan J

[MOOSK13]

Thanks again. Cannot tell you how happy I am that I found this site. Just thought of another question. So far what I've read on the web, tiger barbs seem to be the most aggresive of all barbs. How do other barbs do in a tank w/ them? I was thinking of getting a couple green barbs in the small tank.

Manny

[loganj]

I have kept greens and tigers together with no problem. As always, there is no guarantee. One of our other members puts it well in his signature: "There are no rules in aquariums...only guidelines". I think that's how it's worded. I don't think you'll have a problem mixing them though.
Logan J

[robertmarda]

At one time I had 2 tiger barbs, 2 cherry barbs, 1 arulius barb, and 1 rosy barb all in my 55 gallon tank. They were in there with various tetra, 1 zebra danio, 1 leopard danio, 1 blue powder dwarf gourami, 1 sunset gourami, platies, mollies, and swordtails. The 2 tiger barbs kept each other busy and didn't bother the other fish.