Tiger Barb Stripe Coloration

[taylorodw]

Been a lot of threads about these lil guys lately...

One of my 5 Tiger Barbs, which was originally the lightest-colored and pointiest of the group (which made me think it was the only female), now has stripes which are an iridescent green. It was definitely not always this way, or at least not this obvious.

After further observing my tank it appears that all of them have at least some sort of green in their stripes. Is this normal? I'm afraid they could have a disease.

This has not affected the Pristella Tetras that reside in the tank with them.

 

[newfound77951]

It is normal, particularly as the fish get older and acclimated to your tank. Keep an eye on them if you do only have one female as she will get harassed by the males. Females generally don't have the bright red nose and the red stripe on their dorsal fin is not as solid as the males.

 

[taylorodw]

Okay, that is good to hear.

I am under the impression that females have a less rounded body shape, and this is the only one like that. However I have observed their pack dynamics pretty thoroughly and no one fish is picked on more than others, as far as I can tell.