Barbus tetrazona The Tiger Barb, once called the "Sumatranus" because it came from Sumatra, has been a popular fish for a long time and is a standard favorite in the aquarium world. This is a real lively, fun to watch fish!
A flashy colorful fish that is hardy and easy to keep, the Tiger Barb eats all kinds of foods and is fairly easy to breed. This is the largest of the "banded barbs", and has a gaily colored yellow to red body with four very distinctive black stripes. There is red on the outside of the dorsal fins, on the tail and ventral fins, and a bright red snout during spawning times.
Some varieties or "color morphs" of the Tiger Barb are the Albino Tiger Barb and the Green ("moss") Tiger Barb.
Though when mature, their colors do tend to fade a bit, a school of these playful and attractive fish in a nice sized aquarium makes an awesome display!
These active fast swimming fish need company. The Tiger Barb does best in a school of at least six or seven fishes where they establish a "pecking order". They have been known to nip the fins of slower moving and long-finned fish such as gouramis and angelfi ...