GloFish Tiger Barb Care Guide
The GloFish Tiger Barb is a fluorescent selectively engineered form of Puntigrus tetrazona. Husbandry and behaviour match the wild tiger barb.
Overview
The GloFish Tiger Barb is a fluorescent ornamental form of the tiger barb, Puntigrus tetrazona, carrying a fluorescent protein gene. Its care requirements and behaviour are identical to those of the wild-type fish. The tiger barb is a cyprinid native to central and southern Sumatra and Borneo in Indonesia, where it lives in clear forest streams with sandy and rocky bottoms.
Taxonomy
- Family: Cyprinidae
- Genus: Puntigrus
- Scientific name: Puntigrus tetrazona var. GloFish
- Note: a fluorescent selectively engineered form of the tiger barb
Habitat
Wild tiger barbs occur in clear-water forest streams of Sumatra and Borneo, over sandy and rocky substrates. Wild stock favours acidic to neutral water, though the species tolerates a wide range in captivity.
Tank requirements
- Minimum tank volume: 100 L (about 26 gal)
- Temperature: 22-28 °C (72-82 °F)
- pH: 6.0-7.5
- GH: 5-18 °dGH
- School size: at least 6, ideally 8-10 individuals
- Lifespan: 5-7 years
Diet
The tiger barb is an omnivore that feeds on aquatic invertebrates in nature. In the aquarium it takes quality dried flakes and granules with some plant content, supplemented with small live or frozen foods such as bloodworm, Daphnia and Artemia.
Compatibility
Tiger barbs are semi-aggressive and have a reputation for nipping fins, a tendency that decreases when they are kept in adequate numbers and with enough space. They should be housed in a sizeable group and not combined with slow-moving or long-finned fishes; robust cyprinids, loaches and similarly active species make better companions.
Breeding
Tiger barbs are egg-scattering free spawners that provide no parental care; eggs hatch within one to two days. The fluorescent trait is heritable, but propagation and sale of GloFish lines are restricted by their patent holders in many regions.