FightingFalcon
Aquarium Advice Newbie
I have 4 Green Tiger Barbs, two that I purchased on 12/12 and two that I purchased on 12/14. Each fish is about 1/2 an inch long.
Originally I kept two in one 1.5 gallon tank (no filter or anything extra) and the other two in the other 1.5 gallon tank (similar setup). The pairs of fish seemed quite content, following each other around placidly. Yesterday in the first pair (12/12) I noticed them chasing each other and nipping at each others' fins. I contemplated getting a third fish to break things up a bit, and in the hopes that it would give all of them a "break" so it wasn't just one fish getting picked on, but haven't gotten any more yet.
Today I separated the first pair, because I noticed that the one that was being bullied was at the top of the tank in the corner, on his side, and when he swims, he does so with a jerky motion unlike any of the others who seem to glide along. He seemed close to death. I read on one site that he could be overly stressed. Watching him swim now, he swims with the same jerky motion but with his nose pointed slightly downward. The two now that are still together are starting to chase each other and pick on each other like the originals.
The water parameters are fine, everything within normal (both tanks had fresh clean new water replacing the old before I put them in).
I'm planning on putting them all together in a 5 gallon tank (with no other fish) in a couple weeks. Is this a bad idea?
Would any of you recommend getting a third fish and putting three in a tank? Is there anything that I should be doing?
Originally I kept two in one 1.5 gallon tank (no filter or anything extra) and the other two in the other 1.5 gallon tank (similar setup). The pairs of fish seemed quite content, following each other around placidly. Yesterday in the first pair (12/12) I noticed them chasing each other and nipping at each others' fins. I contemplated getting a third fish to break things up a bit, and in the hopes that it would give all of them a "break" so it wasn't just one fish getting picked on, but haven't gotten any more yet.
Today I separated the first pair, because I noticed that the one that was being bullied was at the top of the tank in the corner, on his side, and when he swims, he does so with a jerky motion unlike any of the others who seem to glide along. He seemed close to death. I read on one site that he could be overly stressed. Watching him swim now, he swims with the same jerky motion but with his nose pointed slightly downward. The two now that are still together are starting to chase each other and pick on each other like the originals.
The water parameters are fine, everything within normal (both tanks had fresh clean new water replacing the old before I put them in).
I'm planning on putting them all together in a 5 gallon tank (with no other fish) in a couple weeks. Is this a bad idea?
Would any of you recommend getting a third fish and putting three in a tank? Is there anything that I should be doing?
