# Tiger Barb Questions



## anhtu402 (Jan 11, 2009)

Hi everyone...

I just bought 15 tiger barbs in my 30 gallon, two of which are fully mature barbs (size large). I specifically chose them to be male and female so that I will 'practice breeding' and hopefully breed a new batch of tiger barbs in my other tank. However, when I brought them home the female was perfectly fine for a day or two. Then came yesterday, when she started to float and had trouble swimming about. Her belly grew really big and seemed like it was going to burst. I thought she was filled with a lot of eggs. Her black stripes, as well as the male's stripes turned dark green and flashy (it was very pretty). However, she was still struggling the whole night trying to swim. The male was also protecting her by chasing other barbs away. 

The climax was when the female barb, as she was struggling to stay straight, vomited all over. Yes, I did say, vomited all over. So I was for sure that I will fine her laying in the bottom of my tank later on tonight when I come home. To my surprise, she's extremely healthy right now and swimming about with everyone. So does anyone know what just happened? Any experiences with these?


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

Her internal organs are infect.. It's called bloat or dropsy.
The only thing you can do is quarantine her and treat with antibiotics. Fish don't usually make it from this.


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## Anafranil (Mar 15, 2005)

some people ask me what to do with fish with dropsy and I usually tell them to waste them so they don't suffer,do they actually respond to treatment?what happened to the barb?


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

I don't think fish can *****. They can push food they took into their mouth back out, but that is not the same as vomiting. So I dunno what to say about that.

As for aggression, you've got tiger barbs- they not only look like tigers they act like them. They are group spawners so the male was likely keeping other males away from his turf, including the females in it. They are not monogomous as you seemed to describe. 

As for the sickly fish, if she isnt sick anymore I wouldn't worry about it. I doubt it was eggs as those would not make her buoyant. It may have been a lot of things. She may have been run around by an overzealous male... 

HTHs
GL! 

Also, are you familiar with spawning barbs? You will need to pull the eggs out of the tank to hatch them. I can tell you more if you need more info.


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## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

How do you know if the female has eggs vs dropsy?

I have 7 tiger barbs in my tank with temp at 82 degrees F. One of my barbs has a bloated belly but eats very well. I thought eggs upuntil reading this post. Should I that fish out and quaranting it?

Matt


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## anhtu402 (Jan 11, 2009)

That female Barb is up and well again. It mysterious belly is back to its normal size, she's swimming normally and fast like heck again whenever there's food around. All barbs are great and none seems like they are sick. Thanks for the replies everyone, I learn a lot more than before this thread. 

I will try and breed them probably in a week or two when I set up a breeding tank. One for quarantine the female, one for the male, then join them together after that. Will use java moss (a screen of them) as the medium to hide the eggs, what do you guys think? Thanks!


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

I think one female to one male is going to cause her a lot of stress. I just bred some large threadfin barbs and the male chased one particular female until she was on the verge of sickness. I QT her to get her back up to health. More ladies may stimulate the male as well. I do not think you need to use 3 tanks for this- The main tank the male can stay, the females in the breeding tank for a week to condition. Then add the male.


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## JanS (Apr 14, 2004)

xtremefour said:


> How do you know if the female has eggs vs dropsy?
> 
> I have 7 tiger barbs in my tank with temp at 82 degrees F. One of my barbs has a bloated belly but eats very well. I thought eggs upuntil reading this post. Should I that fish out and quaranting it?
> 
> Matt


With dropsy the scales are going to be standing out and have sort of a pine cone shape. The fish will also usually have an overall bloated appearance, opposed to just a more fat belly area with a fish that is eggy.


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## Six (May 29, 2006)

Dropsy:















note: scales protruding/ pinecone look

Gravid fish:









Most gravid females just look obese. This WCMM may be....
note smooth scales, just fat.


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## anhtu402 (Jan 11, 2009)

Yeah, my female is all well for the time being now. Her scales did not protrude or pine up like that. So I am guessing it was not Dropsy- Thank goodness!


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