Pregnant Tiger Barb

Sykesy

Small Fish
Jul 30, 2010
19
0
0
#1
Hi Guys just need some info as this is the first time we have had a pregnancy in our tank. it is a 70 litre tank currently stocked with 6 Assorted tiger barbs (mossy albino and standard) 3 Siamese barbs. the question is should we try and isolate the female?

reasons the male is constantly "protecting her" won't leave her alone
as these are quite active i do not think the fry will survive more than a hour

thanks
 

skjl47

Large Fish
Nov 13, 2010
712
0
0
Northeastern Tennessee.
#3
Hello; Mature female tiger barbs will shed eggs from time to time even in a community tank. The male and female will do the mating "dance" and there is a good chance the eggs will be fertile. The eggs will be eaten in the community tank by pretty much all the fish including the barbs. It is likely that the barbs in your tank mate fairly often.
I have collected eggs from a community tank sort of by accident. I had at one time a spare tank on the lower level of a stand and would siphon water from the community tank above into it. On a few occasions fry would show up in the bottom tank that I managed to raise to maturity. The fry in my case were the egg scattering zebra dainos. From memory, I seem to recall that it may be that the tigers are the egglayer type that deposit sticky eggs in clumps of plants. This memory needs to be checked and confirmed. If correct you could remove a clump of floating plants into a bare tank from time to time and perhaps have a chance to get lucky. It also seems that at some point I read about folks using an artifical material, perhaps boiled wool yarn, in place of live plants. This may have been suspended in the tank to give the fish a place to lay the eggs. All this conjecture should be verified.
 

Sykesy

Small Fish
Jul 30, 2010
19
0
0
#4
thanks skjl47 looking into ways of harvesting the eggs just been to lfs got some advice there....orange thanks for nothing. no advice there..and technically if she is full of eggs she is pregnant. next time if you can't be mature please pass by ...I am here cos i need advice not to be insulted by pratt
 

SonofaGun

Small Fish
Jan 1, 2010
36
0
0
#5
OrangeCones may have been abrupt in his/her answer, however they're correct. You asked if you should isolate the barb, if you did so she may lay the eggs but there would be no male there to fertilize them so you wouldn't get any fry anyway. Being full of eggs most definitely does not mean she's pregnant. She can't reproduce on her own, the eggs need to be fertilized. It would be like saying that any breeding age female mammal is "technically" pregnant because they're full of eggs. If a male hasn't fertilized them, then they're not pregnant, period. Eggs or no eggs.
 

Kiara1125

Superstar Fish
Jan 12, 2011
1,142
0
0
Florida
#6
Pregnant means to have the eggs internally inseminated and to have the babies developing inside if you; not being laid, fertilizing externally, and hatching independently. OC has a lot of experience and is only trying to correct you, so don't be a little brat with this "thanks for nothing" crap. He's only saying the facts so if you think that your tiger barb is "pregnant" then you need to learn more about the types of fish you are going to get BEFORE you buy them. Skjl has all the facts (not sure about the laying of the eggs though), but I can't stand your ignorance towards OC. LIVEBEARERS are the ONLY fish that get pregnant, and if you think otherwise then you have another thing coming.