Hi,

I have a 5 gallon tank with 1 tigerbarb in it, he killed all his tankmates so now he's in a 5 gallon by himself. I dont think he's mean anymore, because I had put him in with other fish awhile ago when his filter broke, and he behaved very well. He seems so lonely, the other fish dont like him though. I was thinking of some pygmy cories, would that work? If not, what other fish would u recommend to put in a 5 gallon with a lonely tigerbarb, and how many?

thanks

No. Tiger barbs and corries both occupy the bottom third of the tank, and the tiger will fight over territory.

5 gallons isn't really ideal for a tiger barb. They should have a little more room to swim.

Tiger barbs are schooling fish, and should not be kept by themselves. That is why your one was so aggressive. Ideally they should be kept in groups of 6. Keeping them by themselves is stressful. Keeping them in a school will offset the aggression to other fish.

If you do try and put a school of tiger barbs in to a larger aquarium with some other fish, pick quick swiming fish that occupy the top third of the aquarium, like any of the livebearers (mollys, plattys, guppys, etc. though guppys may get their fins nipped).

What is your other tank setup like?

My other barb tank is a 10 gallon with 3 rubybarbs and 1 golden barb, I could try to put him in there again, maybe i'll move some stuff around so that they dont fight so much over territory again. I also have another 5 gallon with 3 small male platies, I dont wanna put another fish in there, then there's the 46 gallon goldie tank, which would not work too great, so should I try to put him in with the other barbs again? The only reason he's alone is because he was such a meanie fish, the others werent like that, there used to be 5 in the 10 gallon, I did research, and it said that they would be happy in a group of 5.

I just want to add that when I kept a large school of Tiger Barbs,I originally started them in a tank with Peppered Cories,and these guys reach a nice size.Well,in my experiences,the Cories lasted all of two days as these Barbs were constantly nipping at my loved cories I had to remove them from the tank before they had major health problems from the Barbs.Those guys are funny,you hear of some people keeping them in a community tank,and they do fine, with no problems.And then there's people like me,who had
Pirana BArbs and had to be kept in a single species tank.

Hmm, tough decision. Yes, a group of five would be fine, much better than just the one. However, a ten gallon would be on the small side for a school that size, which may cause them to become agressive.

Some fish just don't get along well with others. He might just have to stay alone in the 5. Or, while I don't advocate returning pets, it might be something to consider.

I guess if it were me, I'd get another tiger barb or two and add them all to your ten gallon at the same time (re-arrange the decor first) and watch CLOSELY to see how they all get along. A little pecking is to be expected while they work out the heirarchy, they aren't peaceful fish and will continue to chase each other, but if its vicious and relentless take him back out and put him back in the 5.

Good luck! Let us know what ya decide.

my mom made me keep him in the 5 gallon. I had a nice long chat with the guy at the petstore about what would be best (a really good petstore, they know ALOT about the animals they sell there). He said I could keep up to 5 tigerbarbs in the 5 gallon with frequent waterchanges, he said that the one inch of fish per gallon isnt nearly as important as the amount of waterchanges. he said no more than 3 or 4 would be way better though. So, I came home with one albino and one green tigerbarb. They are half the size of him. He was so happy, he isnt nipping at their fins at all, I hope it stays this way.

Sounds good. Really glad to hear he's getting along. Is there a reason that you don't put them all in the ten gallon though?

yeah, i've tried it before and the other barbs tried to kill HIM, and my mom wouldnt let me for some reason

Yea, in general they aren't an overly peaceful species, are they? If that's working out then I guess go with it, just keep a careful eye on your water params, 5 gallons will change a lot quicker than 10. Also, the close quarters would make anyone a little testy, so watch for really bad aggression. Again, a little chasing is just to be expected as they work out who's in charge that day.

they're not chasing each other at all. Today the stupid lightbulb fell in the tabk and broke in half. Im afraid the fishies did get a little electricity in the water. They're all fine now, I was probably more scared than the fish. I quickly unplugged it. The lightbulb was completely burned from the inside, this was kinda weird but at least the fish are ok.