Scientific Name: Puntius tetrazona
Common Name: Tiger barb, Green tiger barb, albino tiger barb, Sumatra barb
Synonyms: Barbus tetrazona, Caepota tetrazona
Genus:
Order:
Class:
Family: Cyprinidae
Subfamily: Cyprinids
Etymology:
Origin: Sumatra, Borneo
Distribution: Asia, Indonesia
Size: 7 to 8cm/ 3in
Diet: Omnivore, vegetable flake food, along with fresh veggies and dried bloodworms
Sexual dimorphism: Males are more brightly colored
Color and markings: Silver, Black and Orange, with vertical stripes with a forked tail
Breeding: A spawning tank for Tiger Barbs is easy to set up: 10 gallons or even less, water that has stood for 48 hours, a temp. of 27c, a place in a window where early sun will hit the tank, spawning plants like lots of Java Moss, or a "spawning mop", maybe some floating plants for security, and the big marbles lining the bottom so they can't eat the eggs (or plastic screening). She goes in first, to get comfortable a couple of days. Brine Shrimp put her in the mood. Then in the evening, your Alpha Male, the most colorful troublemaker, goes in with her. They should spawn in the early morning sunlight.
Tank requirements:
Minimum Tank Size: 80L
Tank setup: This species comes mainly from rivers so a current is favorable, lots of plants and floating plants.
Minimum number in tank: 5 or more are recommended, due to the fin nipping, if kept in groups of 5 or more they tend to pick and play with each other.
Compatibility: These are high energy, fun fish. If you do not keep a minimum of 5 of these fish they tend to become bored or lonely and will pick on any other fish in the tank. I made the mistake of only having 3 in with my Green spotted puffer and it was attacked and picked to death. I not recommend putting any fish that has long flowing tails with this species, such as angels, personally I wouldn’t risk it.
Water parameters
Water type:
Temp: 20c-27c
Hardness:
PH: 6.4 is optimal but mine fair well in 7.0