Tiger barb, also known as Sumatra barb, is a shoaling fish that usually lives in six groups. These fish tend to be aggressive when you keep them in fewer numbers. It is of the family Cyprinidae.
How to Tell If A Tiger Barb Is Pregnant? The best way to tell if your female tiger barb is full of eggs is its shape and size. It starts getting fatter and bulgier when it is full of eggs. It also becomes lethargic at this period.
Do Tiger Barbs Get Pregnant?
Typically, tiger barbs are egg-laying fish. Like most fish, the tiger barb lays its egg, and then the male fertilizes the egg. The female barb develops quite a few eggs that she will lay when the time comes.
Although tiger barbs do not give birth to their young ones alive, so you can’t tag them to be pregnant, you’d rather say they are full of eggs—the best way to tell if a tiger barb is pregnant by taking a close look at her. When the female tiger barb is ready to lay, it gets bigger, fatter, and bloated.
There are also other means to know if your tiger barb is pregnant. One of the ways is that it starts to swim slowly because of the egg’s weight in it. It also becomes lethargic, but these means are not a hundred percent certified.
A female tiger barb can begin to develop and lay her eggs when it becomes seven weeks old. At seven weeks, it has already become mature. By this time, it will be at its full size.
Since the tiger barb is a freshwater fish, you won’t need to take a lot of precautions when keeping them, especially when they are ready to spawn.
You might need to keep a close eye on your tiger barbs because other barbs might want to attack pregnant females, especially when there are few tiger barbs.
Facts to Know About Tiger Barbs
Tiger barbs naturally reside in Malaysia and Borneo. You can also see them on the island of Sumatra. These fishes live in a tree-lined habitat. They live in rivers with rocks, sand, and vegetation where they can feed on algae, insects, detritus from plants, invertebrates, etc.
Just like every other fish, barbs prefer highly oxygenated clear waters. The tiger barb got its name from its appearance. Just like the tiger, the barb has vertical stripes on an orange-yellow body.
The fish have a red face and red-edged fins. Due to selective breeding, different colors of the fish have been in existence. Some of the available colors include red, black, albino, and green.
At adult size, tiger barbs are free from most predators in the tank. Most fish cannot feed on them because of their size. When deciding a tank mate for your barbs, you should always keep them with fast-moving fishes.
Tiger barbs are only aggressive when there are few of them in a school. They attack other fishes in the tank, especially slow-moving ones. But, when there are about six or more barbs in the tank, the aggression towards other fishes reduces.
Fishes like clown loach, platys, catfish, danios, and other loaches are suitable tank mates. You can also add live plants to the tank. You should not keep fishes like Bettas and angelfish in the same tank with tiger barbs; they are slow-moving fish prone to barb’s aggression.
Tiger barbs are omnivorous; they feed on anything they come across. It would be best to give them a variety of foods to help maintain and improve their immune system. Feed them with flakes, live foods, vegetables, and some invertebrates.
One surprising thing about barbs is that both the male and female feed on the eggs even before they hatch.
Water Requirement for Tiger Barbs
You have to provide your tiger barb with the appropriate water conditions to get the best out of them. Tiger barbs are graceful fishes that you will love to watch as they swim. The only way to keep them lively and active is to provide the right water conditions for them.
- Temperature: Tiger barbs prefer to stay in cold water rather than warm ones. You should regulate the temperature of the water to the temperature suitable for the tiger barbs. The temperature of the water should be about 20 to 26 degrees Celsius.
- pH: The pH shows how acidic or alkaline a substance is. It would be best if you also regulate the pH of the water. Tiger barbs will do well in slightly acidic waters. You should maintain a pH of 6.5 in your water to enable the healthy living of your barb.
- Hardness: You should also take note of the hardness of the water. Extreme hardness can affect the health of the barbs. The water’s hardness should be about 10dGH.
Maintaining the values above should be a priority if you intend to keep your barbs in the tank successfully.
Tank Requirements for Tiger Barbs
Tiger barbs need ample space to enjoy their swimming. They do not thrive well in confined space. It would help if you kept them in a large tank.
The minimum size for your tank should be about 20 gallons with a maximum of about 50 gallons. You can add decorations that liken the tank to their natural habitat. Also, you can make use of live plants in the tank.
You should make use of a sound filtering system that will filter the water correctly. Your tap connection should also be kind enough to satisfy the barbs. The addition of rocks and fine sands to the tank will be a good one for the barbs.
Conclusion
If you have a mixture of female and male barbs in your tanks, you should expect the female to get pregnant with eggs when she becomes matured enough. To felicitate the pregnancy, you should provide the conditions that best suit them.
Harsh water and tank conditions can hinder them from healthy living. It would be best if you were alert after the female lays her egg; both male and female barbs eat their eggs as much as possible. It is so surprising that the mother isn’t an exemption in this regard.
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