I have a new 20 gallon tank, 2 weeks old, with good tested water so far. I have 5 neon tetras and 2 male gourami. I recently purchased 2 tiger barbs unknowingly that they need at least 5 or 6 to be together. One of them is attacking the other quite a bit and recently started attacking the gourami. They get along great with the tetras. I took the 2 barbs out of the tank. I want to be able to get more fish later on, do you think I should get 3 or 4 more barbs or go ahead and take them back and get a different species?
New Tank/Fish Question
- Thread starter sbland26
- Start date
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tiger terror
Aquarium Advice Addict
I'd be careful with adding anymore fish right away as your in a fish-in cycle...what are you using to test your parameters&were you able to get a hold of any seeded media to help the cycle along...
vance1013
Aquarium Advice Addict
Hello seeded media is media that has bb already built up on it bb is beneficial bacteria which help breaks down ammonia into less harmful toxins called nitrates if you dont have a test kit het the api freshwater master test alot of us use and trust it on hear give this a read http://www.aquariumadvice.com/i-just-learned-about-cycling-but-i-already-have-fish-what-now/
vance1013
Aquarium Advice Addict
The bacteria supplement is hit and miss but cycling a tank is always going to happen with or without fish most lfs wont tell you especially the chain stores except for a rare also what size of tank do you have and i wouldn't add anymore fish till your cycle is complete
I have a 20 gallon. And after 2.5 weeks all the levels of everything are still great. Fish doing good and don't seem stressed so far. I didn't want to add anymore fish until it was done cycling which is why I was wondering if I should hold off on getting the tiger barbs the rest of their school.
vance1013
Aquarium Advice Addict
When you say the levels are great what are the parameters ammonia nitrite and nitrate and ph
Nitrate and nitrite are at 0. Ph was rising to about 8 but went back down to like 7.2 or around that. My lot doesn't test for ammonia but I took a sample to the pet store a couple time and they said it was perfect. I kinda have to believe them lol
vance1013
Aquarium Advice Addict
Your nitrate shouldnt zero and tge lfs will tell you its perfect to get you to buy fish your going to have to do multiple water changes to keep ammonia down i would suggest to get a good liquid test kit like i mentioned if you cant get one ask the lfs for exact numbers so you know what they are i can tell you that your ammonia is starting climb how much water do you change each time
vance1013
Aquarium Advice Addict
Good to hear your changing water if you go on ebay or amazon the api master test kit has good prices for them i highly recommend ditching the strips and getting the liquid test kit and dont take to much advice from your lfs a little research goes a long way like compatibility between species sizes and also keep tank size in mind with the fish you want and as always ask the wonderful people here for help too
That's exactly why I came to this site. I think I will get that liquid test kit. The store told me 2 tiger fish would go fine then come to find out they are a bit aggressive and nippy besides the fact they need at least 5 or 6 minimum together. Do you think I should just leave the 2 in there or get 3 or 4 more. Or is it to early for that many fish?
vance1013
Aquarium Advice Addict
I would wait to add more fish until your cycle is complete and if your looking for a peaceful community tank i would give the barbs back and research what fish would work along with what you want then double check here before purchase thats what i do i research then check here to confirm in anything i research
vance1013
Aquarium Advice Addict
That is true but they are aggressive there is other cool fish out there
librarygirl
Look It Up
In my opinion I'd take back the barbs. You really need a large shoal of them to mitigate aggression and a 20 gal is a bit tight for that particularly with other fish.
MagicAfra
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
It's probably good that you're taking them back. I think guaramis generally like less hectic tankmates and are slow moving so the pecking of the barbs would likely hurt them. I don't know how much aggression of tiger barbs can be mitigated within a twenty gallon. Neons are also fragile, especially as the barbs get bigger.
Sorry don't mean to beat a dead horse...
Sorry don't mean to beat a dead horse...
I like the danios and guppies (along with the gourami) in my community tank. Note that male guppies can also be aggressive and female guppies are almost always sure to be pregnant(they store sperm for long periods of time and use it to repopulate when there are no males present.) Corycats would probably be a good fit, too. They're really fun little guys and a pretty good cleaning crew. All of the fish I listed are also schooling fish and do best in a group of 4+. Increased numbers will also decrease the aggression in the male guppies.
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