Can Green Tiger Barb live with Pinto Shrimp?
Caution — with care
Why
- Green Tiger Barb is not on the verified shrimp-safe list, so we will not recommend it over a breeding Pinto Shrimp colony. It may well be fine — it simply has not been confirmed by a source, and an unverified guess is not worth the colony.
- Green Tiger Barb is recorded as taking adult shrimp and is 2.8× the length of Pinto Shrimp. Dense cover helps and some individuals ignore them, but expect losses.
- Almost no shared temperature: Green Tiger Barb wants 74–82°F and Pinto Shrimp wants 68–74°F, so only 74°F suits both — too fine a margin to actually hold.
- Green Tiger Barb will eat Pinto Shrimp shrimplets. The colony still grows if there is moss or another dense hiding place for the babies.
- Only a narrow water hardness overlap — keep both around 4–6 dGH.
Sweet spot: both do well at 74–74°F and pH 6–6.8 — aim there.
Side-by-side
| Green Tiger Barb | Pinto Shrimp | |
|---|---|---|
| Temperature | 74–82°F | 68–74°F |
| pH | 6–8 | 5.8–6.8 |
| Hardness (GH) | 4–15 dGH | 3–6 dGH |
| Adult size | 2.75" | 1" |
| Temperament | Semi-aggressive | Peaceful |
| Min tank | 20 gal | 5 gal |
Together, plan on at least 20 gallons.
How to make it work
- Keep a large, established shrimp colony in a heavily planted tank with moss and cover so enough survive to breed.
- Target the overlapping water-parameter range and acclimate slowly.
Sort it with: An adjustable heater · GH remineraliser
Design the whole tank, not just the stocking
Skapelab plans a complete, buildable planted aquarium around your fish — a hand-illustrated layout, the exact plants and hardscape, a placement map, and a full equipment and shopping list. Free.
Design a tank with Green Tiger Barb, Pinto Shrimp →Everything compatible with Green Tiger Barb · …with Pinto Shrimp