The Life Span of the Orange Barb Fish

Orange barb fish are commonly called tiger barbs or Sumatra barbs; they have the scientific name Barbus tetrazona. Originating from Indonesia and Malaysia in Southeast Asia, the colorful orange barb has four vertical black stripes on its body, similar to the stripes on a tiger. Tiger barbs can have orange and black fins and may have light orange or gold bodies with black stripes.

  1. Life Span

    • Orange barbs or tiger barb fishes that are kept in aquariums by hobbyists typically have an average lifespan of about six years. Tiger barb fry hatch within two days of spawning and will grow to 0.8 inch to 1.2 inches in length in maturity. The fish will be fully grown and sexually mature at seven weeks of age, at which point they can begin reproducing. Tiger barbs in the wild are quite prolific and can double their population within 15 months' time.

    Barb Habitat

    • Tiger barbs are freshwater fish that live in clear or turbid water in the wild. They are benthopelagic fishes that live in the water column above the sea floor and have a neutral buoyancy, which means they can float at that depth without exerting effort. The water column is a term used to define the area of a body of water that exists between the bottom and surface sediment layers. The natural habitats of tiger barbs are shallow, medium-fast streams of warm water in tropical climates and swamplike lakes. Aquariums for tiger barbs should have some bushy aquatic plants, rocks, driftwood and open areas for the fish to swim in.

    Barb Tanks

    • Tiger barbs live in shoals in the wild. Shoals are large groups of fish that live together but swim independently, whereas a school of fish will have fish that all swim in the same direction. Shoaling behavior protects fish from predators, allows high mating success and helps the fish find more food. Because of their natural instinct to shoal, tiger barbs do well in large groups. Tiger barbs that are kept with eight or more other tiger barbs will form a shoal in your tank just as they do in the wild. When they live in smaller groups of less than five tiger barbs, or with other species of fish, the tiger barbs will become aggressive and will bite at the other fishes' fins.

    Breeding

    • Female tiger barbs have lighter orange fins and tails, and larger, rounder bellies; male tiger barbs will have black dorsal fins and tips that are lined with a red stripe and a red nose. Female tiger barbs often have an all-black dorsal fin. Keeping tiger barbs in shoals will allow female and male barbs to pair off and select a mating partner. Once pairs have been established, the male will have an orange-red belly that signifies he is ready to spawn. At this point, hobbyists will place tiger barbs in separate breeding tanks in order to spawn and lay eggs. After spawning, hobbyists will place the adults back in the main tank; otherwise they will consume their own eggs.