Tiger barbs and angels?! Help me please!

[Abbeylovesfishies]

Hey everyone
I have a 29 gallon with 4 tiger bars (1albino) a red tailed shark and 3 danios (zebra) I just introduced two small angel fish to the tank and made the mistake of not re arranging the plants and decorations. The tiger barbs kept nipping the tails and even damaged one of angel fishes fins. Since then I removed the tiger barbs and put them in a breeding tank temporarily and moved the plants around
Have not let the barbs back in yet

What should I do?!
Thanks

 

[jcolon]

to AA!

Unfortunately, the TB's are not your only worry. TB's are notorious fin-nippers and fish with large flowing fins ... like Angels... represent an irresistible target. You can try adding a few more TB's so you have 7 so they spread their aggression among each other ... but no guarantees. I'd say you'll have to either rehome the TB's or the Angels.

A 29 gal will end up being too small for your shark. Is it a Red-tailed (RTS) or a Rainbow (RBS) shark? Either one will become territorially aggressive as they mature with a Redtail being a bit more aggressive. An RTS needs at least a 75gal IMO and can get up to 6 inches. RBS at least a 55gal and can get up to 4.5 inches. Either one you'll need to set up territories with caves, rocks, DW and plants, for it to establish.

 

[Abbeylovesfishies]

RBS is what I have and no worries on that I am getting a 70 gal for my bday in a month or so.
Ahh this is frustrating! I Hope this works or I might have to use my tax refund early

 

[siva]

Welcome to AA!

Tiger barbs are schoolers, notoriously nippy ones, so it's crucial to get the school size up. The fewer you keep, the more likely they will cause issues. 8-10 is often recommended.

 

[phoenixkiller]

Get. Rid. Of. Your. TBs. Now.
Phoenixkiller

 

[Abbeylovesfishies]

update

i took my barbs and put them in a breeding tank and let the new angels get adjusted they are male and female and were in the tank for about 2 hours.
i one by one in increments of about 15 min put a barb in the tank. for the past couple of hours since i did this they have be ignoring each other! i probably will have to get a couple more barbs... i thought four was enough but 2 or 4 more would be a good idea.

i will keep everyone updated, thanks for all the good help!

 

[Abbeylovesfishies]

alright jcolon you were definitely right. took my tiger barbs out and all is well.
they are not the friendliest!

 

[Joe5688]

That's weird. I have 5 platinum tiger barbs and 3 angels and they get along great. they school with my ba, tetras too

 

[Abbeylovesfishies]

The 16 hours I had the 2 Angela in the tiger barbs had nipping frenzy with my angels. I thought they would be a bit more aggressive but I suppose not

 

[jcolon]

alright jcolon you were definitely right. took my tiger barbs out and all is well.
they are not the friendliest!

Yep... TB's and Angels don't normally mix, but there are members that have had success, usually by keeping the TB's in a 7+ school. Personally, I love TB's, they have a lot of energy, color and character. It's fun watching the males duke it out for top barb of the shoal.

Just keep an eye out ... Often the smallest TB is usually low man on the totem pole and gets bullied. That's what happened to my smallest, a male Albino who I've had to rehome to my son's 10gal. He's the only Barb in that tank but he's not complaining.