Tiger Barb

Native

This fish comes from Indonesia, from the island of Sumatra, and is also called Sumatra Barb. Tiger barbs are also found in many other parts of Asia.

Description

The tiger barb (Puntius tetrazona) or sumatra barb, is a species of tropical freshwater fish. The Tiger Barb is yellow, with black stripes across its body. This coloring helps it to hide away from its enemies. It goes down to the sand at the bottom and takes up a position among the stems of the weeds there, and you can’t make it out at all. The dark stem against the yellow sand look just like the stripes on the Tiger Barb’s body. The tiger barb is an active schooling fish that is usually kept in groups of five or more. They are often aggressive in numbers less than 5 and are known fin nippers. If you only keep two in a tank, one will eventually chase the other. They are not recommended for tanks with slower, more peaceful fishes such as gouramis, angelfish and others with long flowing fins. One of the best tankmates for the tiger barb is a clown loach, which will school with the tiger barbs and act as they do, and the tigers act as the loaches do. These barbs are omnivorous and will consume processed foods such as flakes and crisps as well as live foods.