Tiger barbs are little aquarium fishes. They are found in some parts of south east Asia. They have black color strip on their body like tiger. That's the reason they got the name "Tiger Barb". Their lifespan is of about 5-6 yrs if care is taken properly. Their maximum size is of about of 3 inches when kept in big place. They are omnivorous in nature and eat almost any thing which fits in their mouth. They are active swimmers and utilises aquarium space very well. Tiger barbs adds lot of activity and liveliness to your fish tank. They are aggressive in nature and they can eat fins of slow moving tank. Those fishes who have large fins like angels and tetras can become their target. Tiger barbs can be kept in temperature ranging from 23 - 26° C (74-79° F).
tiger barb care
Temperature : 23 C to 28 C
Tank size : 10 gallon
Lifespan : 5 yrs
Care : Easy
Size : 3 inches
Nature : Semi - aggressive
Breeding : Moderate
Difference between male and female tiger barb
It is quite easy to distinguish between male and female tiger barbs. The females are generally bigger in size then males and have rounder belly. Males have distinctively red noses and above black part of their dorsal fin you can find characteristic red line. While dorsal fin of female tiger barb is mainly black. The male tiger barbs are also have darker body as compared to females.
You can easily get idea by looking at the above images. The top one is female while the bottom one is male with darker body and red nose.
Tiger barb breeding
Tiger barb fishes are easy to breed. They are egg layers and give hundreds of eggs at once. To carry out breeding you will need 5-6 fishes in a aquarium. Let them pair up themselves to form good pair. Put some plants so that they can lay eggs on their leafs. They release about 300 eggs at once. Tiger barbs achieve sexual maturity at the age of 7 weeks. After spawning they eat their eggs so you need a proper measure to protect eggs from their parents. You can try layer of common glass marble on bottom of tank to protect eggs. Use large water tank of about 20 gallons capacity to breed. When female will become fat it means she is carrying eggs. Soon the male will fertilise them after their release.
tiger barb breeding
In few day extremely small fry will come out from eggs. The fries becomes free swimmers in about 5 days and you can feed them newly hacthed brine shrimps. Fry are extremely sensitive to poor water conditions. So keep water quality at its peak. Also protect fries from getting sucked up by aquarium pump. Breeding tiger barb is easy if proper measures are taken.