painted fish in 10 gal

I bought a green tiger barb for my 10 gal the other day. I had no idea what they did to the poor little guys.

I didn't know that he was a painted fish.

I looked into them on the internet and I was horrified at what they did to them.

I was wondering if anyone knows how to promote a long, happy life for them? Considering the fact that they don't live very long because of what is done to them. They are said to only live for a couple months.

 

Your fish may not be painted. There is a natural color morph green tiger barb, and I've seen plenty of them available for sale at various fish stores. Actually, I don't think I've ever seen the painted ones, just the natural green tiger barb.

Either way they do best in groups of at least 6, and you really need a 20 gallon tank. As a single fish in a 10 gallon tank, he's likely to nip fins of other fish, is you have them, and won't be very happy.

Tiger barbs like plenty of open water to swim, too. Plant the back of your tank well, and leave lots of open space. They're fast swimmers and need room to move.

 

I agree with Shineillusion, I don't think your GTB is dyed. I do appreciate your concern for dyed fish as it is a horrible practice.

Here's a picture of some dyed fish:
http://www.fishtanksandponds.info/image ... CF1150.jpg

As for your little guy, he is definitely a schooling fish and would appreciate some friends. You don't need to upgrade to a 20g if you're willing to get a total of 3 or 4 tiger barbs -- either the regular, green, or albino... doesn't matter as long as there's a group -- and have them be the only fish in the tank. Add anything else and the tigers will probably end up killing them.

Unfortunately, you should have been told all this when you bought your fish, so you might want to see if there's another fish shop near you that you can go to where they'll tell you what you need to know. If you have to go to the same store, try to find someone besides who helped you this time.

 

Thnx guys. I have a twenty gallon set up right now at the moment. I'll move him in there and get him a couple buddies to. thnx for the help.

 

also my tiger barb keeps sitting right by the heater. I turned the heater up so it was warm but he still hangs out right by it.

If i turn it up over 82 degrees F he might die. What should i do? Is he ok? :|

 

No, your green tiger isn't dyed. Its a pretty naturally green color. They do, however, need some buddies and a nice big place to swim around in. Alot of sites I looked at say about 20-30 gallons with some rocks and driftwood and 3+ fishie friends. They also like 80ish degree water.
Otherwise, it sounds like you fish is healthy. Is there anything really bothering you that you fish is doing?

 

My tiger barb is acting sort of weird.

Sometimes he'll swim on his side just not not very often.

Even with the water at 82 degrees he still likes to hang out by it. He probally just feels cozy around it.

 

Cool. I just went out and got my fish two buddies! hope it works for them!

 

what type of fish did you get ?

 

Hope everything works out!

 

I got him two other barbs like him.and i just got two other reg barbs for him too. they all school around a lot and seem very happy together with that tank all to themselves.

 

very cool if you can post some pics