What is a Balanced Aquarium?

Originally the concept of a balanced aquarium was that the standing aquarium is a self-contained microcosm - a little world. The theory ran that as the plants manufactured food through the process of photosynthesis; they utilized carbon dioxide and gave off oxygen. Fishes, on the other hand, gave off carbon dioxide and utilized oxygen. Fishes’ waste, according to the theory, fertilized the plants, while excess plant growth provided food for the fishes. One thing thus balanced another, and no outside care was required.

Unfortunately this theory simply does not hold up in practice. While plants do give off oxygen in excess of what they use for respiration, they do so only in the presence of bright light. When the aquarium is dark, they use up oxygen just as do the fishes. Water cannot store more oxygen than the amount required to keep it in equilibrium with the air above it. Excess oxygen passes off readily. The same does not hold true of carbon dioxide. It tends to stratify, forming layers along the bottom. (Circulation prevents this stratification.) Having a maximum air surface in proportion to the depth thus goes a long way toward keeping the aquarium properly “balanced.”

The waste matter produced by the fish is far in excess of the amount required by the plants. Moreover, most of our aquarium fishes are carnivorous, eating animal, not vegetable, matter. Even the more herbivorous species require some animal food.

So the idea of a “balanced aquarium” is a fallacy in its original concept. An “aquarium in balance” is, however, what can be achieved.

The factors that modify an aquarium more or less balance each other includes the proper amount of light (too much over stimulates algae, too little does not permit plant growth); the proper amount of food (too little stunts the fishes, too much pollutes the aquarium); the proper number of fishes; the correct size of aquarium, and the proper temperature, etc. All of these things must be in proper “balance” with respect to themselves and the others if the aquarium is to flourish.

Tiger Barb (Barbus Tetrazona)

The Tiger Barb fish is native to Sumatra and Borneo and it’s also known as the Sumatran Barb. This fresh water fishes original habitat would have been a tropical area where the water temperature was fairly high, and they would be located in fairly shallow water of either medium to fast moving streams, or swampy lakes.

Puntius tetrazona is the scientific name of this fish and it can reach a length of 6cm (2.4 inches). It belongs to the Cyprinidae (minnow) family.

This is a very widely kept fresh water fish species and rates at about the 10th most popular ornamental fish species.

The water temperature in the aquarium should vary between 20 and 25C (68 to 77F). The water should be either medium-hard or soft. They can be fed plant matter, crustaceans, worms and dried food. They need a good balance of meat and vegetable matter. A quality flake food is a good start but this should be supplemented with foods such as bloodworms and zucchini.

A fish that is colorful and quite good looking, the Tiger Barb’s base color is orange. There are four stripes, colored black, vertical on his body.

This fish is great for a beginner, as long as your aquarium is big enough. You should keep a minimum of 5 fish of the same type in the tank, because they enjoy shoaling. If there aren’t enough of them, they might become aggressive with other species you might keep in the tank. In such cases, they will nibble on the fins of those fish, especially when they have fins that are long and trailing.

You shouldn’t keep Guppies or Angelfish in the same aquarium with Tiger Barbs. You can think of these fish as the bad boys of the aquarium as they do tend to be fin nippers and are often aggressive towards more timid fish. Ideally you should keep no less than 5 fish from the barb species, because smaller shoals will be more likely to show this territorial behavior and attack their neighbors. In fact the larger the group the better, as this will encourage them to leave the gentler fish alone.

Tiger barbs should ideally be kept in a tank with a pH between 6 and 8, and a dH of 5-19.

Breeding the Tiger Barbs is possible. They reach sexual maturity when they are around 2 to 3 centimeters at the young age of about 8 weeks. The female is larger than the male and has a plumper belly, she also has a black dorsal fin. You should let them choose their pair on their own, and once they do that, move the fish to another aquarium, where they can leave the eggs. Once the eggs are laid, take the adults out of the tank and get them back inside the community aquarium. If they are left with the eggs, they will eat them.

This species will also enjoy shoaling with Golden and Green Barbs, so you can create aquariums with plenty of variety in them. You should place enough vegetation on the aquarium edges while leaving enough room for them to swim. Pieces of wood, rocks, and plenty of plants will be appreciated. The length of the aquarium should be at least 60cm (24 inches).