How Do Grey Striped Barb Fish Lay Eggs?

Grey striped barbs, more commonly referred to as tiger barbs, are an active schooling fish that do best in groups of five or more. They are a semi-aggressive fish known to be fin nippers and may pick on fish who are sick or injured. They thrive in a well-planted and heated tank.

  1. Female Tiger Barb

    • Female tiger barbs can reach sexual maturity within 6 to 8 weeks of age. The female will fill with eggs, her belly swelling, and she will look pregnant. When the eggs are released, the tiger barbs will eat them. The best solution is to set up a separate tank as a breeder tank.

    Male Tiger Barb

    • Place the male and female into the well-planted breeder tank, preferably no smaller than a 20 gallon. The pair should almost immediately begin the ̶0;mating dance.̶1; The male will ̶0;stand on his head̶1; and spread out his fins to excite the female.

    Laying Eggs

    • Spawning will generally happen the morning after the ̶0;mating dance.̶1; The male will chase the female through the tank and press her up against the plants. She will release 1 to 3 eggs at a time, and the male will fertilize them. The eggs will fall into the plants, and the process will begin again.

    End of Mating

    • The female tiger barb can lay anywhere from 200 to 700 eggs. The chase and catch will continue until she has released all the eggs. Once the male has fertilized the last set of eggs, the pair will quickly lose interest in each other, which will signal the end of the mating and the pair can be removed from the breeding tank to protect the eggs.

    Remove Unfertilized Eggs

    • Feed the pair white worms or blood worms to keep them from eating the falling eggs. Some eggs will still be eaten, but the majority will fall safely into the plants. Any eggs that turn white should be removed. These are unfertilized and can spread a fungus to the fertilized eggs that could kill them.

    Hatching Eggs

    • Eggs will hatch in about 48 hours, and the small fry will be seen stuck to the plants or the side of the tank. Do not feed them until they are swimming, usually about five days. Until then, they will be feeding off of the remaining egg sac. When they reach 2.5 to 3 centimeters, they can be safely added to the main population tank.