Black patches on Tiger barbs

Hi all,

2 of my Tiger Barbs are developing black patches on their sides. They are not spots, as with Black Spot (comparing to images of black spot I found through Google), but are larger patches (almost like a rash). I have read on other forums that the scales of Tiger Barbs do darken. Does anyone with Tiger Barb experience know if this is normal, or is this a disease?

Tank size: 16L (almost done building my 100L)
12 Fish (4 Tiger Barbs, 3 Red-eyed Tetras, 1 small red-finned shark, 4 Zebra Danios)
Small corner filter
50% Water change every 2 weeks or so
Ozoning of water 1x/2x per week
Small feeds in the morning & evening (food is devoured within 2 minutes)
Water temp 25 deg.
All the fish, including the Barbs with the spots, are active and are not behaving strangely.
No fish added recently.
I have no water testers so I cannot give you that info.

Hope that is enough info?

Thanks!

 

hi, i think that is the natural coloration of the tiger barbs coming out.

16L is rather small for that number of fish, to help them somewhat, i would suggest 2 or more weekly water changes instead of only 50% once every 2 weeks, until you canget them into their nice new home

with a small tank like that water changes wont take you more than a few minutes so it should not be a problem.

happy fish-keeping!

 

Thanks. That's also what I think. They don't appear ill. The 16L is unfortunately a necessary temporary measure since the other tank I had, had a nasty encounter with a fruit bowl, at which point I decided to build the the 100L. Just waiting to finish my background & get my filter, heater, gravel etc for the new tank.

I'll up the water changes too

 

Hi

Watch out for that red tailed shark mine was a bugger - i gave him back to the petshop maybe thats your problem

F

 

Thanks for the warning, though my shark is pretty docile. Just hides out under his big rock all day. Occasionally chases the other fish away if they get too close, breaks up the occasional fight between the barbs. More of a policeman really Soon he'll have a bigger tank to play in though...

 

Tiger in your tank?

Heed most of what is said,as common sense and good advice..:blink1:

BUT
you are OZONING you aquarium !?:amazed:
I prefer to prepare water beforehand, IF O3 is employed.
not with the fish still inside the tank.
Especially if I don't know the age of the tank, and filter.

Ozone is indiscriminate and can harm fish, and adversely affect water quality and chemistry, to say the least...while keeping a nice sparkly looking water clarity...

If there isn't enough organic comppounds (ie wastes) in the water, the NEXT best thing for ozone to do is oxidise,ie Bleach fish skin, eyes,and gills.

Regarding the black marks ..a pic would help here..

Also, I may be overreacting to the ozonisation...Please post a link to your unit, maybe it's a pitiful hobby version and nothing to worry about.

but seriously, with normal maintenance..I dont see the usefulness..

This coming from ME, who has a 3000mg/H Ozoniser , but I use it for specific cases....and advise against uncontrolled, unmeasured use in closed, small systems expecially NEW ones, less than 3-6months old, or under 150-250L

Otherwise, welcome to fishkeeping101 and TASA!

 

This is the one fish:



And this is number 2:



On the subject of ozone:

I have a 200mg/hr machine - yes, pitiful in comparison to your monstrous 3000mg/hr machine.

Ozone breaks down quite rapidly in water, so I have no concern for the fish. I have been using it for over a year now and have not lost an established fish. But I will heed your advice and in future use it only when preparing water.

After looking at the photos closely it does appear to be natural colouration coming through, or am I way off base?

(EDIT: I seem to have named them Tetras in the photos!)

 

Nice fish!
That is an area of slight hyperpigmentation. So you're not off base.

Your fish even though sold as "Tiger Barbs", are produced en masse in the East, and elsewhere...variations, mutations, and even slight defects will show up

That's why there so many variants..

Some overlooked, as in your fish..others undesirable, and possibly even intentional.

For instance incomplete barring, as yours exhibit, and slight dark patches where you DON'T expect it to be.

Fish like this were selected for and produced the MossGreen Tiger Barb. Where patches , larger and larger are selected for as breeders until it coalesces into a large irridescent patch overpowering the bars themselves!

PS The plain ol' Tiger barb is referred to as " Sumatranus Tiger Barb" by the trade, in a few circles....

It not just the Ozone per se, which is harmful, it's the Epoxides formed, and free radicals in the ozonisation process ...it's a set of sucessive biochemical reactions, referred to as a "cascade"

BTW 200mg/hr is suitable for most tanks > 500L

Not a tiny machine , but grossly oversized for you tank.

I should clarify (pun intended):bigsmile:

 

Thanks for the advice. I'll have to pick your brain a bit more regarding the ozone...you seem quite well informed. May save me hours of research on the web

 

actually, @DesertConvert, the combination of fish that you have here actually works, i only think your zebra danio's might suffer, but the tiger barbs and red-eye tetra's are actully known to do well with red-tail and rainbow sharks. i have a similar setup in one of my tanks and you will find that altho the red tail shark chases the tiger barbs away from his territory, the harassment should stop there.. they may play some cat and mouse games but that should be about it.

red-tail sharks do not do well with other shark-like fish, for example bala sharks, rainbow sharks, flying foxes etc. altho, the bala shark is the most docile, it grows huge and is not suitable for your tank size.

if you should ever find your zebra danios belly up, the culprits are more likely the tiger barbs or red-eye tetras.

i really thing the only think you need to focus on is the tank size and of course all that stuff @Altum said about the ozone. (of which i am clueless lol)

 

@mydummyname

I think it's a combo of good advice from the guys at the LFS and blind luck that my tank is peaceful. They advised me that the shark is generally chilled out as long as he doesn't have to defend his territory against another shark - so a lone shark it is (I initially built a complex maze of rock structures for the fish to explore, but the shark took this all to be his territory & the other fish had little space left, so that was removed quickly!). The rest are also chill as long as they are in schools of 5+ - working on this one. So far the Danios have survived quite well, probably because they're so quick - absolutely love them!

 

and once they get into that lovely 100L, you gonna really see the great behavior of these fish..