As we know, the number of fish you can have in a tank depends both on the kind of fish and on the size of the tank.
Some fish prefer to stay alone in a tank and others may even suffer when sharing space, but there are also those who live better in schools or with other kinds of fish as well.
Tiger Barbs are fairly sociable fish. Despite their semi-aggressive nature, these are playful and lively fish which means they can live perfectly with most other kinds.
Read: Tiger barbs’ behaviour during mating season
What Tiger Barbs don’t seem to like is to live on their own. Every Tiger Barb owner has probably realized their fish display more lively and joyful behavior when they are in schools.
So, in case you’re wondering if your Tiger Barbs are as happy as they can be, try setting them up with a few companions of their own kind and see how their mood shifts.
Most experts recommend Tiger Barbs to be in schools of at least six and no more than ten or twelve.
That is because this is the perfect range to make them feel comfortable and reduce their aggressiveness levels.
How Many Tiger Barbs for 20-Gallon Tank?
However, SIX Tiger Barbs should already take the whole 20 gallons of the tank since each individual normally will need three to four gallons to themselves.
If getting a bigger tank is not an option for you, then refrain from getting more Tiger Barbs once you get to six of them.
Read: My Suggested Tank Size for Tiger Barbs
On the other hand, if that is indeed an option, then go ahead and get yourself the other four or six to get to the perfect number of fish in the tank.
It’s not mandatory to have ten or twelve Tiger Barbs in a tank so they can be happy and live a good life.
Please take note if you put too much tiger barbs in one tank as shown in the image below might not be a good idea too!
What changes, however, is their quality of life. Too many Tiger Barbs can lead to harsh competition for food and even space, and that can cause the fish to become stressed out.
Too little fish, on the other hand, should bear the same outcome but due to the lack of confidence the smaller school should have.
So, in a 20-gallon tank, there should be no more than five or six Tiger Barbs or you’ll be risking giving them a poorer quality of life as they may become stressed out.
The big problem behind stressed-out Tiger Barbs is that their aggression levels normally increase and that can lead them to prey on the smaller fish, lose their liveliness, and begin to either eat too little or too much.
Eating too little should cause them to starve and die and eating too much should cause them to become obese and have trouble mating or simply sharing space with other fish.
So, make sure to keep in mind the ideal number of Tiger Barbs you can fit in your tank and prevent them from having to face poor conditions that could even lead to diseases.
