Tiger Barb
Puntigrus tetrazona
Min Tank Size
80L
Adult Size
7.5 cm
Lifespan
6 years
School Size
8+
About
Native to the island of Sumatra in Indonesia, tiger barbs are one of the most recognizable fish in the hobby. Four bold black vertical stripes cross their deep, laterally compressed orange-gold bodies, and the fins carry red-orange accents that intensify with age and good diet. Several common variants exist, including the green tiger barb, which has an iridescent dark body, and the albino tiger barb with pale pink-orange coloration. All share the same personality.
They're genuinely easy fish to keep as long as you respect two non-negotiable requirements: a large enough group and compatible tankmates. Water parameters are forgiving. They do best in soft to moderately hard water between 6.0 and 7.5 pH, temperatures from 20 to 26 degrees Celsius, and they tolerate a wide range of hardness values. A good quality flake or pellet as a base diet works fine, with regular supplementation from frozen or live foods like bloodworms, daphnia, or brine shrimp to keep their colors sharp and behavior lively.
These fish are relentlessly active. They zip around the mid-water column in loose formations, constantly jostling and chasing each other in mock sparring matches. That internal social dynamic is actually what makes them manageable. When the group is large enough, that energy gets redirected inward and the fin nipping toward tankmates drops dramatically.
A group of six might demolish the fins of every fish in the tank. A group of ten or twelve usually stays pretty well-behaved within a species-appropriate setup. For anyone setting up their first barb community tank, tiger barbs are a fantastic centerpiece species. Browse real builds featuring them to see how other hobbyists have set up their communities successfully.
Water Parameters
Temperature
°CpH
GH
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dKHSwimming Level
Flow Preference
Keeping multiple Tiger Barb together
Tiger Barb are shoaling fish and need company of their own kind. Keep a group of at least 8. Smaller groups leave them stressed, washed-out in color, and prone to hiding.
Compatibility
Tiger barbs do best with fast-moving, short-finned species that can hold their own or simply outmaneuver them. Good choices include larger danios, most rasboras, cherry barbs, odessa barbs, and robust corydoras as bottom feeders. Clown loaches are a classic and famously successful pairing. Avoid anything with long fins, slow swimmers like discus or bettas, or peaceful slow species that won't move out of the way in time. Tank size matters for compatibility too. In an 80-liter tank a large school of tiger barbs will dominate the space, so moving up to 120 liters or more opens up meaningful room for community fish.
Commonly kept with
Species this one is most often paired withCommonly tried but avoid
Often paired, but shouldn't beCare Notes
The most common mistake is keeping too few. Six fish from a pet store looks like a lot in a bag but that group will cause chaos. Start with eight as a hard minimum, ten is better. Second mistake is pairing them with long-finned fish and hoping for the best. It won't work. Diet-wise they're unfussy, but skipping protein variety leads to dull coloration over time. Water quality is genuinely forgiving but they appreciate moderate flow and oxygenation, reflecting their river origins. A tight-fitting lid is worth having since spooked fish will jump.
Behavior & Aggression
Tiger barbs are habitual fin nippers and there's no getting around that. The primary trigger is long, flowing fins on slow-moving fish. Bettas, angelfish, gouramis, and fancy guppies make terrible tankmates for this reason. Group size is the single biggest variable. In groups below six or seven, the fish establish a rigid internal hierarchy and take out frustrations on anything else in the tank. At eight or more, the social structure distributes that energy more broadly and nipping toward other species drops significantly. Adding more tiger barbs to a problem tank often solves the issue faster than removing fish.
Things to Know
- Keep in groups of 8+ or fin nipping becomes a serious problem
- Never house with bettas, angelfish, or long-finned slow fish
- Small shrimp will be eaten or harassed
- Notorious fin nippers; avoid long-finned tankmates.
- Must be kept in groups of 6+, larger is better to curb aggression.
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