PLEASE HELP! Barb

fishindistress

Hey,
I have a Barb fish who wont stop staring at the same corner tail up, he is in the corner with the heater, dont know if he is there for any reason but that is the corner he choice.
I noticed when i turn the light off he will come out and i can feed him then, but with the light on he wont eat or even move. So i dimmed the light by putting an obstruction in front of it, its half as bright as it was before, and hes still just chillin in the corner all depressed looking!!!

Other fish in tank, 2 sm africans(lil tiny fish), he is a GHOST tiger barb, 1 cenyi ciclid, and an algae eater, o also to red somethings, but non them seem too threatening to him, he is the biggest fish in there.

Highland lake13

Welcome!,
Well I think i know what is wrong. If your barb is like most he needs a school of the same fish to thrive. How big is your tank, because getting more fsih is your best option. He is most likely scared of the rest of the tank. If you have a school of even 3 or 4 i think he will move around with them.

fishindistress

hey thanks for the reply!

umm i believe it is a 5gallon tank, i just measured it.
it is 40cm long x 20 cm thick x 25cm tall

Highland lake13

Well your getting pretty close to your tank limit. But i think you could maybe get two small tiger barbs to match him and that would be fine. Another choice is to just get a new tank which is always a good option!
Good Luck and keep posting

~Cam

Highland lake13

Correction!!!

In my last post i said u could add more fish. NO NO NO i don't know what i was thinking, you can't add any more. Tiger barbs are a very active and should be kept in at least a 10g. If i were you i would try and get a new tank and then cycle it with 4 or 5 tiger barbs then add more fish from there. Good Luck!

~Cam

willow

hello
sorry to say the tank is over stocked,and not the right combination
of fish,sorry.
the barb should be in the largest group possible,within a heavily
planted tank with free swimming space in the front for the fast swimmers that they are.i urge you to take him back.
i am unable to comment on the others as i don't know about them.
i hope others can advise you.
sorry to bring sad news to your tank.

iamntbatman

I'm not sure of the other two Africans, but the Kenyi cichlid cannot be housed in a 5g tank. Unless they're one of the tinier shelldwellers, the same goes for the other two. They will outgrow your tank in no time and are likely very aggressive fish (the kenyi is for sure, anyway). The barb is likely terrified. The African cichlids and barbs are really not so great of a mix as they have different requirements for water conditions. The barbs need a school of at least six or so and a tank of at least 20 or so gallons so that they have room to swim. The African cichlids will need to be in a separate tank, preferably of at least 55 gallons.

aquadude

Dude 5 gals is like way to small.he is probably scared of the ciclids even if they are really small