Should I buy it?
Tiger Barb
Puntigrus tetrazona
Also known as: sumatra barb, tiger (green / albino types), Sumatra barb, Tiger (green / albino types)
Fishori provides conservative planning guidance, not guarantees.
Based on multiple reputable aquarium care sources with strong agreement. Use the numbers here as planning defaults — your room, water, and routine still shape real-world outcomes.
Notorious fin-nipper, but stable in a group of eight or more. The solo or trio tiger barb is the version that destroys community tanks.
Best for
A 100L+ tank where a school of eight to ten can settle into a stable hierarchy.
Avoid if
You already keep long-finned fish (bettas, angels, gouramis, guppies) or want a calm community tank.
Top things that go wrong
- Fin-nipping risk in typical community layouts. Fin-nipping risk toward long-finned or slow tank mates when the school is understocked, bored, or kept in a tank too short to spread out in.
- Group welfare — not a solo display fish. Plan at least **8** together for normal behaviour; smaller groups often mean stress, colour loss, or nipping depending on species.
- Shrimp & snails. Shrimp: depends on the individual fish. Some leave them alone, others hunt cherry shrimp down within a week of meeting them.
Common mistakeOne or two tiger barbs in a 40L tank. A species that needs a rowdy school turns mean in small groups.
What most shops don't tell you
- 1.Fin nipping shows up when the group is too small, the tank is too short, or the fish are bored. Fix the school size and layout. Water changes alone never fix it.
- 2.Three tiger barbs and one angelfish. The first nipped fin shows up on day three.
- 3.Keeping tiger barbs below 23 °C. They go sluggish, off food, and pick up ich within a week.
- 4.Stock eight or more of one species. Smaller groups redirect their schooling energy outward at other fish, especially anything long-finned or slow. Skip those tank mates entirely.
- 5.Tiger barbs need a sizeable school or they nip long fins.
About this species
Tiger barbs are schooling cyprinids: four black stripes on orange. Below six fish they nip fins on neighbours. Above eight they hassle each other and leave the rest of the tank alone.
- Golden / Beckford's pencilfish80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Pearl Danio80L min · same group, comparable tank size
- Black ruby barb100L min · same group, similar adult size
- Brown / hockey-stick pencilfish100L min · same group, similar adult size
- Cherry Barb60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Dwarf pencilfish60L min · same fish family
- Harlequin Rasbora60L min · same group, similar adult size
- Lambchop / Espei rasbora60L min · same fish family
- Agassiz’s dwarf cichlidalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- American Flagfishalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Borelliialso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Macmasterialso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Apistogramma Trifasciataalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Cockatoo / crested Apistogrammaalso intermediate semi-aggressive, similar tank size
- Clown Loach tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Rosy Barb tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
- Yoyo Loach tank mateslists this fish as a safe and recommended mate
Plan grid
Key limits are shown above; this section adds planning detail: pH band, swim level, bioload and activity, and the radar.
Swim zones
Planning trait chart
Six indices for comparing species on paper before you spend.
- Beginner ease41
- Peacefulness30
- Community fit22
- Small-tank fit100
- Hardiness57
- Energy86
Numbers are deterministic planning indices from Fishori fields — not a scientific score of your individual fish.
Common setup sketches
Conservative patterns from Fishori fields — still run the pair checker for every species you add; sketches are not a stocking guarantee.
Prioritise 8+ of Tiger Barb in 80L+ with filtration sized for messy feeding — add only mates that already pass pair checks with this species.
Tank mate intelligence
Species-only is the safest setup. If mixing, pair with fish that ignore the nipping: clown loaches, plecos, large danios. Skip bettas, angels, gouramis, anything slow.
Pair-level compatibility with this fish as anchor.
Read the blocking rule on each pair page before experimenting.
Do-not-stock combinations on conservative hobby rules.
Compare with
Run a real pair check: Tiger Barb + Cherry Barb
Behaviour, temperament, and what to watch
Prose and lists come from the same record: read temperament first, then glass-level signals so you are not surprised after day three.
Semi-aggressive and constantly nippy. Most of the aggression stays in-school. In groups under six it spills outward to whatever else shares the tank.
Stress / aggression triggers on file
- Small groups or boredom
- Long-finned or slow tank mates
- Bare tanks without structure
Fin nipping: Fin-nipping risk toward long-finned or slow tank mates when the school is understocked, bored, or kept in a tank too short to spread out in.
Predation: Not a predator toward similarly-sized community fish. The usual community caveats about mouth size still apply for very small fry or shrimp.
Territory: Not strongly territorial, but still claims a working area in the tank. Give it room to settle without overlapping the next species' patch.
Planted tanks: good — easy plant ideas
In the glass: typical and warning signs
- Busy at feeding time — expects food to hit the water predictably.
- Shoaling/schooling: most colour and confidence show when the group meets **8+**.
- Clamped fins, gasping at the surface, hiding non-stop, or refusing food after the first week.
- Rapid breathing when parameters swing — fix ammonia/nitrite first, then reassess mates.
- Chasing one individual repeatedly, torn fins on tank mates, or food theft every feed.
- Separate or rehome if injuries appear, one fish is pinned, or feeding becomes a daily chase.
- If water is stable but behaviour worsens, reduce stocking or remove the highest-impact species first.
Fish behaviour can vary between individuals and tank setups. Always observe new fish closely after introduction.
Care parameters: water, food, inverts, grouping
Chemistry and group rules sit here so you are not re-reading the same line from tank mate or temperament blocks. Swim level is in the plan grid above.
Hardness
soft
Diet
omnivore
Mixed diet: a quality flake or pellet as the staple, with frozen or live foods two or three times a week.
Shrimp & snails
Shrimp: depends on the individual fish. Some leave them alone, others hunt cherry shrimp down within a week of meeting them.
Eight or more of the same species, bought together on the same day. Adding three more later rarely fixes an under-schooled group.
Egg scatterers and schoolers still spawn in stable tanks. Have a plan for the fry, or accept that the parents and tank mates will eat them in a community setup.
- Hold 22 to 27 °C steadily on a real thermometer, not the dial on the heater.
- Aim for pH 6 to 7.5 and a hardness you can re-test in two weeks. A one-time strip in the shop car park is not a water test.
- Tiger barbs shoal: buy at least eight at once before you spend a single dollar on a centrepiece fish.
- Tank volume meets or exceeds 80L published minimum for adults.
- You can stock at least 8 individuals (group welfare).
- Heater can hold 22–27°C without cooking cooler-water tank mates.
- No known fin-nippers paired with long-finned fish unless you accept documented risk.
Explore and stocking hubs
Same library as the rest of Fishori: tank-mate index for this species, category peers, guides, and litre-based stocking lists where min tank on file is within the hub volume.
Plan with tools
Pair-level rules and multi-fish stocking use the same conservative engine — add this fish in the tank builder only after mates pass pair checks.
Filtration & heating
A 80L minimum tank needs a filter rated for at least 320L/hr turnover and a heater to hold 22–27°C reliably.
Plant suggestions
Tiger Barb does well in planted tanks. Plants compatible with 22–27°C and pH 6–7.5:
Profile status: verified · Evidence tier: high · 3 linked source(s). Fishori does not fabricate citations.
Fishori uses conservative planning rules based on these sources.
Confidence is explained in the summary at the top of this page (same tier as here), not repeated below.
How Fishori evaluates compatibility (same logic as pair and tank tools).
- Seriously Fish. Puntigrus tetrazona
Primary: aquarium size, water chemistry, behaviour, and compatibility (URL verified in upgrade script; recheck if site content changes).
- FishBase. Puntigrus tetrazona
Secondary: taxonomy, distribution, and maximum length in nature; cross-check with aquarium import lines and measured tank parameters.
- Wikipedia. Puntigrus tetrazona
Secondary: general species context; verify all husbandry numbers against a dedicated aquarium care sheet and your test kit, not a single table row.
Evidence notes
- The Seriously Fish profile for the binomial in this record was successfully reached as the primary aquarium reference.
- FishBase contributes natural-range size and habitat context. Translate those numbers through your heater, your water report, and your tank footprint before stocking.
- Wikipedia is only cited if the article URL returned OK. Use it for orientation, not as the only care sheet for an import.
- All compatibility text reflects typical hobby experience and the Fishori model. Individual fish, shop stress, and the order tank mates are added in can still defy a single-paragraph label.
- Fishori profiles work from typical aquarium trade sizes and hobby care norms. Specialist site checks and literature review for this species are not yet recorded here, so the ranges on this page are planning numbers rather than guarantees.