tinfoil barbs in a pond???

[yukalaeli87]

Ok, so some of you might have read my other post "seems overcrowded" and I have some updates, along with a new question (a quite bizarre one)...

She has admitted that her tank does seem overcrowded, and does want to down size in regards to the number of fish in her 55gal...

Her biggest problem is her two tinfoil barbs. What happened was that she saw them in the same tank as tiger barbs (both the regular, pink albino, green albino, and emerald green) and she told the guy at the petstore that she wanted some of the barbs in the tank in a variety of colors, completely ignorant of the fact that the tinfoils grow to be 13"...

So, ofcourse the other 7 tiger barbs that she has have reached their max size of a few inches, while the tinfoils are now about 5/6"...

Now, she feels bad returning them to the petstore b/c none of their tanks are any bigger than hers... And she feels that if they are returned, no one will want to buy such large fish, and that they will be at the store for virtually forever... She hasn't been able to find a pet store near her than can accomodate their size, and this was her new "great idea."

When she went to a LFS, she saw that they had a red-tailed catfish (about a foot long) in their pond with larger goldfish and koi, along with a smaller turtle... Now, seeing that the tropical catfish was mixed with cold watered koi/goldfish and was living actively and happily, she was wondering if she could move her tinfoil barbs out into her pond (750 gallons).

To me, this doesn't seem like such a great idea... She's in the north east, and summer temperatures are still considerably mild, so I'm thinking she would definitely at least have to have a heater for it... But would they be compatible with her koi? And will the warmer temperature necessary for the barbs harm the koi? Also, how likely would it be for the barbs to jump out of the pond?

Any other suggestions as to where she could take these fish would also be greatly appreciated... thanks!

[ron v]

Get another aquarium.. Yeah.\, there is always room for one more.

[Fishfirst]

I wouldn't mix the two... their diets are not similar and the water parameters needed are quite different.

[Lexus]

Large fish seem to sell really well at petstores. I always see huge trade in fish in my LFS and they get good money for them and sell pretty quickly. Even if their tanks are not larger they should be able to keep them healthy and happy long enough to sell them

[sambi7878]

I agree with everyone. If she really doesnt want to sell or give off the fish, she should buy a new tank. Barbs have different water requirements and food with the koi. And your right! they will surely jump!