More fish deaths ?

[raeexxraee]

I woke up this morning to find yet another guppie sideways dead in the water. This time it was missing half of its Caudal fin , immediately i suspected the tiger barb because I have seen him attack before , and I am nursing a red minor back to heath in QT because of it. I have heard that if you buy 6 or more, they are much less agressive.. is this true?

Also,
For a 25 gallon tank how much salt and baking soda would i add to stablize the water levels and how often, I am just doing this until i get paid on the 22 and can buy a pH testing kit.

Thanks

 

[BigJim]

Tiger barbs do get along better in schools. The nipping is usually confined to the school.

Where did you hear to use salt and baking soda to stabilize the water? Unless you're using distilled water, it's almost certain that you have buffers in your water already. Besides, pH is the least important of the four major water parameters unless you're trying to breed difficult fish. Don't mess with the pH. Your fish will adapt.

 

[raeexxraee]

I was at a pet store in East Vancouver the other day and they told me to put baking soda in my water because the area where I live has different water... but they never told me how much.
I am waiting until I get my cheque on the 22nd so that I can buy a water testing kit, and mabey a few more tiger barbs. for now I have put the one tiger barb that keeps attacking into QT

 

[spoonman]

If you put one gang member in a room is he less dangerous than 10 gang members in a room? Really though, in my experience with tiger barbs, they are just gangsters. I have had them harass fish to death several times. Even larger fish.

 

[taylorodw]

They aren't "gangsters". I liken them more to bullies.

If you have worked with kids (or spent a lot of time around large groups of them - I worked with elementary schoolers for 4 years) you'll find that this is a very apt comparison.

Bullies
- Have fun at the expense of others
- Don't see their actions as hurtful (with rare exceptions)
- Get along great, without hurt feelings, with other bullies - the bullying is "fun"
- Will pester and cause trouble among non-bullies

Tiger Barbs, if in a large enough group (usually 6 or 7 will do) will have way too much fun amongst themselves to cause trouble with other fish.

However, I would add that Tiger Barbs should NOT comprise much more than half of the stock. Like spoonman said, they can harass and kill even large cichlids if they decide to go on a group rampage. This is why I recommend that people keep TBs in groups of 7+, AND have them outnumbered. This way, although they act like a bunch of tough guys/gals, they know they are not the sole dominant force in the tank.

IMO a 30gal (3 foot long) tank is really minimum to properly stock Tiger Barbs.

If you do not like them, I would re-home them because they need a large group, and they really limit stocking selections if you don't want to plan around them.

Just my 2 cents. If you do like them, get a little bigger tank, add more TBs, and enjoy your active, colorful, spunky little fish They are great schoolers as well.

 

[HN1]

I agree with the others for the most part, but I'm concerned that you may be getting very bad advice from the LFS. Did they have you cycle your tank? How?

It's entirely possible that the fish dropped before the barb got to it.

1. Stop adding anything other than a good dechlor to your water. Fish need stability more than they do a specific value of pH. You'll need to be able to test it.

2. Check out the articles and stickies. I suspect you may see some info here that may contradict what you were told in the store.

3. Welcome to AA!