"muddyfox" wrote...
Hi,

Would a small group of Tiger Barbs (say 6-8) be OK with Leopard Danios.
The reserach I've done suggests that the danios are fast enough to
keep away from the tigers when they need to but I've never kept tigers
before(or any kind of barb for that matter) and I'm not sure how to
deal with their aggresion towards tank mates? Maybe a spp tank would
be best but that would leave the top of the tank free of fish. Ho
hum...

Anyone got any experience of this?

Many thanks,

Muddy

not with danios and barbs mixed to a great degree, i do have experience with
each seperatly- mostly w/ tigers. 6-8 barbs is usually best for keeping the
nipping and pecking within their group, i'd advise keeping all of one type
though without mixing green tigers and regular striped tigers. the danios
are fast enough to keep away however much of the notorious fin nipping by
barbs is done in shuch a way that the group will wear an individual down
till it is exhausted (much in the way hyena's run down larger game) or by
sneak attack. personally, i dont forsee too many complications with mixing
the two so long as there is enough space. barbs will stick to the mid to
lower levels of the tank but frequently will move to upper levels lloking
for food, fight, or fun. danios will keep more to the upper areas,
partially because of the barbs. if you have never kept barbs, be prepared:
they are a social species that loves nothing more than to fight amonst
themselves or anything else that looks like it can be fun. i've used the
description of their behavior before as combination between wolf mentality
(running with a pack) and pirannahs (killing off the weakest among
themselves) and would add to that something along the lines of otters (loves
to play and curious about everything). many people swear they will never
take in tiger barbs simply because of their harrassment behavior towards
other fish. they are fun to watch, always into something, but limit what
else you can ever put in a tank with them. if you get them as juviniles,
they will seem to get along with everyone quite well without a high degree
of harrassment, however after a year or so when they mature, their behavior
will drastically change and they will become more agressive.

personally, i love the tiger barbs and would encourage you to try it. they
were one of the first fish i ever kept and really learned about.
additionally, i'd encourage other posters here to reply wrt some of the cons
of tiger barbs and why they would not keep them just to be sure you get a
full perspective on them.

HTH, BoL! :-)