Common Name: Tiger Barb, Damsel Barb, Sumatra Barb
Scientific Name: Barbus tetrazona (BLEEKER, 1855)
Pronounced: Bar’bus tet’ra-zoe’na
Meaning of Name: Barbus, from the barbels present in some, but not all species; tetrazona, four-banded
Category: Cyprinidae
Origins: Malay, Borneo, Sumatra, Thailand, Indonesia.

 

Description: There are four bluish/black broad stripes across its body, including the eye stripe. The dorsal and anal fins are a bright red, with the dorsal fin having a black base. The remaining fins are a paler red in color. The tall, deep body is an overall brassy yellow. The barbels are absent in this species. This notorious fin nipper grows to a length of 2 3/4 in. (7 cm). The two sexes can be distinguished because the female has a fuller outline, and her ventral fins are a lesser red.
 It is an aggressive shoaling fish that tends to fight amongst themselves. Keep in a shoal of eight or more with both male and females, to allow a pecking order to be established. This will be helpful if kept in a community tank as they then will more or less stick to they’re own. Otherwise keep in a species tank.
Diet: Omnivorous. Flake, frozen, vegetable and live.
Environment: The tank should be at least 10-15 gallons, with a water temperature between 68-79F. a pH of 6.5-7.5 and a hardness of 12dH. They require a high oxygen level and do not tolerate overcrowding very well. Good filteration is a requirement.
Tank Mates: Will nip the fins of slower fish such as the Betta and Angelfish. Best kept in a species tank.
Breeding: The feeding of midge larvae will promote spawning. Place a pair, the female a few hours prior to the male, into the breeding tank in the evening for them to spawn the following morning. The water temperature of 75-78.8F. with a neutral pH is desirable. The tank should have a capacity of at least 6 gallons with the bottom being covered in marbles or with a spawning grate. Tiger Barbs are egg eaters. A few plants will be helpful also, giving them something to swim through while spawning. They will swim closely together and deposit the eggs and sperm freely. The eggs are deposited among the plants and sink to the bottom of the tank. After spawning is completed, remove the parent fish.
 The young will begin to emerge from the spawn of about 500, in 24 to 45 hours. They will free swim 3 to 4 days after that. They will eat very fine flake food and Artemia larvae at first and four to seven days later can be fed plant flake.