Description

Green Tiger Barb

The Green Tiger Barb is a striking selectively bred colour form of the Tiger Barb, with much of the familiar striped pattern replaced by a deep metallic green to blue-green sheen. Despite its different appearance, its care and behaviour are the same as other Tiger Barb varieties, and the different colour forms can happily shoal together.

Green Tiger Barb Care

Green Tiger Barbs are hardy, active fish that thrive in a spacious aquarium with plenty of open swimming room. Robust plants such as Java Fern, Anubias and Cryptocoryne can be used around the edges, with wood and rocks providing additional cover and helping to break up lines of sight.

An aquarium with a footprint of at least 80 × 30cm should be considered the minimum, with larger aquariums preferable for bigger shoals or mixed communities.

Behaviour

Tiger Barbs have a reputation for being aggressive, but their behaviour is more accurately described as boisterous and highly social. Chasing, displaying and squabbling between members of the shoal are normal parts of their social behaviour.

They should be kept in a group of at least 8, with larger groups even better where space allows. Keeping too few can increase fin-nipping and cause their attention to be directed towards other aquarium inhabitants.

Tank Mates

Good companions include other Tiger Barb varieties, similarly active barbs, larger robust tetras, rainbowfish and other short-finned fish capable of coping with their energetic behaviour.

Avoid slow-moving or long-finned species such as Angelfish, Bettas and fancy Guppies, as flowing fins can prove irresistible to a Tiger Barb.

Green, standard, albino and other Tiger Barb colour forms can be mixed together as part of the same shoal.

Feeding

Green Tiger Barbs are omnivorous and straightforward to feed. Offer a good-quality flake, granule or small pellet as the staple diet, preferably including some vegetable content.

Regular frozen foods such as brineshrimp, bloodworm, daphnia and mysis provide useful variety and encourage natural feeding behaviour.

Water Parameters

Temperature: 20–26°C
pH: 5.0–8.0
Hardness: 1–20 dGH

Commercially bred Tiger Barbs are adaptable to a broad range of water conditions, although stability and good water quality remain important.

If you have any questions about this fish and whether it’s suitable for your aquarium, please contact us and a member of our friendly tropical team will be more than happy to answer all of your questions.

Why not check out our other photos of some of the best livestock to have graced our tanks!