Tiger Barb may be pregnant

Question
I have a 5 gallon and 20 gallon tank. In the 20 gallon, I have 5 clown loaches, 3 goldfish, and 2 neon tetras. In the 5 gallon, I have 2 tiger barbs and a glass fish. All pH, ammonia and nitrite levels are normal, I tested a few weeks ago. I am treating the fish in the 5 gallon for velvet disease and it has been cleared. One of my tiger barbs is fat and has been fat for approximately 2-3 weeks now. Do tiger barbs get pregnant? How long are they pregnant? Do they lay eggs or are they live-bearers? I look forward to hearing from you. Please can you help me? Also how can I tell if I have a female and/or male tiger barbs?    Marsha  

Answer
Hi Marsha;

Tiger Barbs are egglaying fish. Here is info on their breeding habits and sexing them;

http://www.tropicalfishcentre.co.uk/tigerbarbs.htm

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the fish store didn't tell you what all these guys really need for tank size. Tiger Barbs are nippy little devils and need a 20 gallon tank or larger to cruise around in. They should be grouped in 3 or more so they can distribute their aggressiveness amongst a larger school. The clown loaches get to be 10 inches or bigger but grow slowly so they will be okay in a 20 for a few months. Those poor little neons are going to get eaten, probably by the goldfish because they get big faster. Your goldfish will get to be 6 to 8 inches long and will need a 30 gallon tank for the three of them all by themselves. They are pretty messy dudes and need cooler water than the others, which are all tropical.

To keep all these guys happy until you can get them into larger quarters, make a 50% water change every week and try not to overfeed.

I hope everything turns out okay......

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins