Tiger barbs.

Have got 4 platys & 3 tiger barbs in a 45 litre tank. The tiger barbs are v small less than half an inch but after reading online it seems the can reach 2-3 inches in which case I'm completely overstocked. Is this true or are there smaller spp of tiger barbs. Also is a group of 3 ok ? Sick of getting crap advice from lfs.

tiger barbs , fun little fish , but man they can be very agressive .. They will get bigger and do prefare to be in larger groups of their own kind no doubt

Tiger barbs prefer to be in groups of 6+
They grow to around 7 cm in length (however rarely reach maximum size potential in aquariums) and are sexually mature around 2-3cm
They are rather prolific creatures and breed quickly

Thanks for advice. Will see how get on with these ones & maybe get 3 more barbs in few weeks. @ moment tiger barbs ignoring the platys but 1 of them is terrorising the other 2. I guess more fish might sort that out. They are cool little fish, so active.

A Tiger Barb will nip and bully other fish like crazy if not kept in a larger group of its own kind (at least 6 is said to be a minimum but more is better) This rule applies to all schooling fish..(Tetras, Barbs, Rainbows etc etc) The nipping and bullying is usually a result of stress because the fish is uncomfortable (usually because its not surrounded by enough of its own kind)..Schooling fish operate on the principle of safety in numbers..Hence the more the merrier...

Having said that it can also be that the fish are establishing a pecking order amongst their own group..

You said you have one particular Tiger Barb who is terrorrising the other 2..Its more than likely a pecking order thing because the bullying is only being carried out on the other Tiger Barbs..He/She is establishing him/herself as the boss..The problem i see is that because you only have 3 the other 2 are gonna get picked on constantly and will become stressed and probably ill as a result..Its normal for schooling fish to establish pecking orders and this is normally done by a form of picking on each other..The thing that ya have to remember is that in the wild these fish are in schools of hundreds maybe thousands and the aggression is shared out amongst everyone in the group..Hence no one fish is being constantly singelled out..

So If you add more Tiger Barbs it should solve the problem

As regards your tank size,I think you will have to rehome the fish when they start to grow bigger..Otherwise you will stunt their growth which is not good for the fish..Stunting leads to disease and illness in fish and to be honest is downright cruel to the animal..

Another rule to remember when keeping Tiger Barbs is to never keep them with fish that have long flowing fins (Angels, Bettas, Guppies etc etc) The fins of these types of fish will undoubtedly be shredded..Even when kept in larger Groups Tiger barbs find long flowing fins simply irresistable and will shred them in no time...

Having said all this I have to say Tiger barbs are beautiful fish and are peaceful when kept in the right numbers and in the right environment with the right tankmates...I have 12 Tiger barbs (Normal,Platinum Green and Albino mixture) in a 110 litre tank along with a Kribensis and a male Convict and they are model citizens...

They show more beautiful colours too when kept in larger groups...

Thanks for advice. I know it's probably hard to say but how far in the future might I have to rehome them ? The 3 I have seem to be getting on ok. Would I be better keeping just the 3 ( with the 4 platys ) or should I get 3 more to have 6 all the while considering they will probably outgrow my tank. My local fish shop won't take them back in the future. Disease control rules etc.

Definitely get 3 more...It will diffuse the aggression and stress..

It would be a bout a year or so maybe longer (its kinda hard to tell to be honest) before they get too big so you should be good for the time being...

I would keep them and add 3 more...

In the future when they get a little larger maybe consider giving them to someone who is setting up a new tank (a friend maybe)seein so your Fish Shop wont take them back

My advice! Add 3 more Tiger Barbs and enjoy your tank for them next while..You will know yourself when they start to get too big and its time to rehome them...Who knows at that stage you may have developed the fishy addiction and willl be setting up a new bigger tank...Thats usually what happens to us fish geeks LOL