tiger barb not eating

Question
I have a ten gallon tank with 3 grouramis and 3 tiger barbs the gouramis are fine but 2 of the tiger barbs are picking on the the third tiger, he hides under plants and when it comes out to eat he other 2 chase him back .Will that  fish ever eat or will it continue to hide till it dies of hunger, it seems quite shy also.

Answer
Hi Al;

They will eventually just stress it to death. It would be a good idea to move him or the other two out. Tiger barbs are just nasty little guys and need to be in groups of five or more to distribute their aggression so that there isn't one being bullied. A ten gallon tank is just too small for them though. They really need a 20 gallon or larger so they have room to get away from each other and just be hyper when they want to. I hope you can do that and keep them. They really are very active and pretty fish when in bigger groups.

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins