Barbs... Tiger, sys., ID....    12/10/08
Hello,
<Hi,>
I have read many articles on your pages but am still a bit confused as to how to proceed with my son's tank. We have been inundated with "advice" from "professionals" at several different locations on what to do and what not to do etc. in caring for our Barbs. My son is 8 and has recently purchased a 5 gallon tank which he has slowly stocked with one Tiger Barb, one Green Tiger, and one Albino Tiger.
<Okay, several things here. Firstly, 5 gallons is of no use whatsoever for keeping these fish. You need a tank at least 4 times this size, i.e., 20 gallons or more. These fish will not be happy or healthy in this small aquarium, and keeping them in there isn't just cruel, but foolish, because they're eventually going to get sick. Apart from a single Betta, there are no commonly traded fish, none, in the hobby that do well in 5 gallons.
Unfortunately these tanks are widely sold to inexperienced aquarists. They are a con, short and sweet, and you were conned. Money down the drain.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/ca/volume_5/volume_5_3/stocking.htm
Next up, these "three" barbs are, I'm assuming, all the same species, i.e., the standard Puntius tetrazona, the green "moss barb" variety, and an albino Puntius tetrazona. While it's good they're all the same species, you still don't have a school, and they will very likely become aggressive as they mature.>
We do 30% water changes every 5 days or so and treat the new water with "start right" according to the directions. The fish seem to be relatively healthy as we have had no real problems. We have been told to add aquarium salt, snails, algae eaters, and an assortment of decorations to keep the fish healthy.....is this really all necessary?
<None of it is even sensible in a tank this size. Even your barbs don't belong there. The essential things to any tank are heating, filtration, a substrate for blocking reflections from the bottom pane of glass, and a lid to stop fish jumping out. Everything else is optional.>
One article I read said that 3 fish was almost too much for such a small tank so wouldn't adding these other things make for overcrowding? My son only feeds these fish once a day and also a very small amount due to all the research we have read about overfeeding leading to ammonia issues.
However everyone keeps telling us we should be feeding them at least 2x a day since they eat everything within a matter of minutes.
<The tank is too small, and any feeding is likely overfeeding. These fish have no place is this ridiculously small aquarium. It's like keeping an elephant in a rabbit hutch.>
Lastly we have noticed a difference since we have added the green tiger (greenie) in the appearance of the water surface. It looks like air bubbles are now covering almost 1/2 of the surface. My neighbor thought they may have been eggs but I really don't think so as they seem to "pop" if any of the fish touch them.
<Not eggs; just bubbles. Use the ammonia or nitrite test kit you sensibly purchased along with the fish tank to actually check water quality. The "look" of the water doesn't really mean much. What? You don't have any test kits? Well, add a nitrite test kit and a pH test kit to your shopping list, along with a 20 gallon tank.>
We are VERY inexperienced with all of this but want to make sure we aren't causing any harm to the fish.
<You *are* harming these fish by keeping them in a crazy-small tank. Please do buy or borrow an aquarium book. In the meantime, have a read of that article linked before and this one as well:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/fwlivestk.htm
Stocking small tanks is an art, and for beginners, a 20 gallon tank is the MINIMUM at which the hobby will be easy and pleasurable. Trust me on this;
I do this for a living and am not trying to sell you anything!>
My son wanted to do this on his own and really does seem to take pretty good care of things. Obviously I do the water changes and chemical treatments but do you have any advice as to how we are doing and if we doing anything wrong? Thank you in advance for your time! ~The Bombard Family~
<Much reading required, but at least your Christmas shopping list has been simplified. Keep the 5 gallon tank for some colourful shrimps or a Betta or something. Cheers, Neale.>