Tiger Barb Aggression?

[Ariaanna]

I'd say the title says about all of it. I'm planning a 50 gallon Asian Setup, and I'd like to base the stock around a school of 9 Tiger barbs. I currently have them in my 55 gallon tank (the 50 gallon will actually provide them with MORE swimming room, as it is significantly deeper and shorter) and my school completely ignores my (2) paradisefish and school of white cloud mountain minnows. They also very happily school with my diamond tetras. I've been told that tiger barbs are mean, aggressive fish and will kill/bully anything with long fins or that is smaller than it, but the male paradisefish has very long fins and I haven't seen any nipping or evidence of nipping in the last 2 months. The white clouds are significantly smaller than the tiger barbs, and I haven't seen any nipping or evidence of nipping either. I have had one white cloud disappear, but I credited that to the presence of my south american bumblebee catfish, who has been known to munch on them every once in awhile when the other fish beat him to his food. The Tigers are only about 2 inches long, so I'm concerned that they will get more aggressive as they age.

So, what I'd like to know. . . . can 9 Tiger Barbs live in a 50 gallon tank without killing/harassing every other fish in there?

Stock idea is :
school of Tiger Barbs
school of Rosy Barbs
3-4 Burmese/Gold Zebra Loaches
1 Moonlight Gourami

I'd really appreciate it if you would explain your response by relating your own personal experience. Saying "no, they can't" really doesn't help me, as you could be basing it off an experience with a dwarf gourami and 2 tiger barbs in a 10 gallon tank, which really just isn't comparable.

Thank you!

[garfieldnfish]

I started out with 7 in a 29 gal. They never bothered the other fish. I had one blue gourami with them and 7 skirt tetras. Then I moved the tigers and the skirts in my 75 gal with bait and tackle shop minnows, 2 giant danios, SAEs, a CAE, and 2 bristlenose plecos and at one time I also had some corys in the tank with them. My tigers have always behaved well. With 9 they will be busy chasing each other and you should be ok.
When you move them to the new tank I would move the tigers last, so the other fish can establish their territories first.

[Ariaanna]

Yeah, that was the plan. I'm building the stand, hood, and filter, so it'll be a few weeks before I even start cycling and planting. Once I finish planting and am certain the cycle is over, I intend to introduce the loaches. About a week after that, I'll introduce the gourami, then the rosies (probably 3 at a time, some at the beginning of the week, and some more a few days later) and then the tigers, 6 and 3.

I also have an extra fish tank already set up and cycled which I will be using as a quarantine tank during this process, and once the tigers are in I'll be monitoring their behaviour carefully. If the gourami seems to be hiding a lot or fin nipped at all, I'll remove it and see if I can trade it in for either cherry barbs or harlequin rasboras (unless anybody has a suggestion of another centerpiece Asian fish that isn't a gourami)

I don't really want a replacement gourami if the moonlight doesn't get along because I am also setting up a biotope centered around paradisefish and after all this is over I plan on making my 20 long a gourami biotope for the smaller more peaceful species- honeys, croaking, sparkling, and maybe chocolate. Don't really like the looks of the three spots, and don't really think the pearl will do any better than the moonlight.

Thank you very much for your input! If anybody else has any questions or additional comments, I'd love to hear them.

[Lexus]

I kept 9 tigers with 3 rosies and a few other barbs and cories. Everyone was fine. I think your setup should be pretty good. If everything is ok now I dont think it should change much. Although I am not familiar with the moonlight gouramis personality, however my paradise's got along as well with the tigers. The blue Gourami I had, did experience a few problems.

[Ariaanna]

What kind of problems? Moonlight gouramis are supposed to be much more shy/passive than blue gouramis, so if your blue got beat up, it's possible the moonlight will too. Many people have said the paradisefish doesn't get beaten on because he is too aggressive and has the barbs cowed. I don't believe this, though, because I've definitely seen the barbs swim right next to the paradisefish at breakfast and try to shoulder him out of the way to get the first bite of food.

[Ariaanna]

Update: I realized that Rosy Barbs are actually recommended for cooler water than the other fish prefer, so I've decided to replace them. Current stock plan:

1 Moonlight Gourami (possibly 7/8 Harlequin Rasboras instead)
9 Tiger Barbs
8 Glass Catfish (Asian Variety)
4 Botia Histrionica

OK, to reorganize my questions in a more coherent manner:
1. Will the moonlight gourami being twice the size of the tiger barbs daunt the barbs?
2. Will the tiger barbs ignore the catfish?
3. What other (ASIAN) centrepiece fish would you recommend instead of the moonlight? Do not say three spot gourami, they're not an option.

When you reply, please keep in mind that I do intend to have this tank fully planted and there will be caves for hiding places, so the gourami will have a place to hide if there is initially too much aggression.

Thank you!

[pkillur]

Originally Posted by Ariaanna

Update: I realized that Rosy Barbs are actually recommended for cooler water than the other fish prefer, so I've decided to replace them. Current stock plan:

1 Moonlight Gourami (possibly 7/8 Harlequin Rasboras instead)
9 Tiger Barbs
8 Glass Catfish (Asian Variety)
4 Botia Histrionica

OK, to reorganize my questions in a more coherent manner:
1. Will the moonlight gourami being twice the size of the tiger barbs daunt the barbs?
2. Will the tiger barbs ignore the catfish?
3. What other (ASIAN) centrepiece fish would you recommend instead of the moonlight? Do not say three spot gourami, they're not an option.

When you reply, please keep in mind that I do intend to have this tank fully planted and there will be caves for hiding places, so the gourami will have a place to hide if there is initially too much aggression.

Thank you!

I have the following stock in a 72 gallon tank with no issues (lest two gouramis that have kicked the bucket, but I suspect crappy stock as almost all of the fish I bought from petco in this batch have had issues).

6 Blue Gourami
4 Pearl Gourami
1 Pink Kissing Gourami
4 Tiger Barbs (small still)
3 Rosy Barbs
3 Sunfire Burst Platies
3 Blue Sunrise Platies
4 Cory Cats
2 Siamese Algae Eaters
2 Farowella Plecostomous
8 Danios (mixed variety)

I have Rosy Barbs with all of these in 80 degrees and they're vital and fun.

[Ariaanna]

Well, I'd still prefer to find a different fish that prefers the same temperature as the rest. Being able to live in something doesn't mean it makes you happy. I'm posting a separate topic concerning the glass catfish alone, though. Thank you for all your input here!