Considering a shoal of peaceful tetras

Olympia

Awwww was going to suggest those Red Phantom Tetra, pretty sure that's the peaceful version (they look the same as serpae to me at least). But cherry barbs are cute. Hopefully your cories can spawn in peace now. Hopefully the little Cory will recover wonderfully.

Must say, those were some beautiful Serpae Tetra!
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Byron

I feel like I caused your headache with the Serpae, since I suggested them in this case. Most sources will say that in groups of 8 or more, the nipping is usually confined to within the group. But your experience shows this is not always so.

I don't know in how many threads I have advised members not to include this species in community tanks, and so often someone will tell me I do not know what i am talking about, they have them and they are fine, blah, blah. Well, this thread shows different. We cannot change the nature of fish by putting them in a closed system and expecting different behaviours. Evolution has made all of us the way we are inherently.

Sidluckman is correct on the numbers aspect of shoaling fish like the characins and cyprinids. Six is usually the minimum suggested for most species, but as I usually suggest, more is always safer and better. And the other aspect is space, and tankmates. The more space, the less trouble. And not including fish that will serve as a red flag to a bull. The Bleeding Hearts in with Angelfish is an example; this can work, perhaps in larger tanks, but it can also backfire. We had another member a while back who was setting up an angelfish display and included Bleeding Hearts that had to be removed within the week because they were tearing the angels to shreds.

Byron.

sidluckman

I don't think we can ever know absolutely. The conditions are just too artificial even in the most ideal home aquariums. I never would have expected rasboras to rip into a Guppy, but I saw the pictures. I tried to combine Odessa barbs with Rainbows in a 125 gallon tank years ago, and the rainbows were always running for their lives. Finally enough was enough and I yanked the Odessas out and peace returned to the valley. You would have thought 125 gallons would be enough space for the 18 Odessas to do their thing and live and let live. Not so much.

eug

@ Byron,

You meant totally well with your suggestion and we can only make educated guesses since every tank is different, every fish is different, and so on... I've just learned a lesson and apart from having to run around a bit and losing a few bucks, the education value plus discovering a more trustworthy/customer-friendly LFS was more than worth it I think.

sidluckman

God, Eug. You sure are a "glass is half full" kinda guy.

If it was me, I would have made Byron log off, fly to Chicago, and take me fish-shopping. But that's me. I hold grudges.

Olympia

We're all happy optimists on here!
I believe that this combination probably is possible, somehow, you can't predict fish for sure though. I guess serpaes get to keep their bad reputation for now. Such a shame because yours were gorgeous.
I take it Byron will never recommend this fish again, right? Would make an interesting species-only fish.
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sidluckman

I agree. I don't think pessimists fare very well as fish keepers. One case of Ich and they start collecting stamps or something!


I see a tetra, I think: this is a little piranha-cousin that has only to realize it before it becomes a big problem.

Honestly: I love tetras. Just think this ended up being the wrong fit for the serpaes. Who knows, if this had all been in a 55 gallon, we may all have been talking about how great serpaes are. You never know. There are so many I have heard horror stories about.

My former landlord ran a fish store and said about silver tip tetras that he'd never seen such a pretty little fish create such hell in a tank.

Maybe we should do a thread or two on tetra experiences. . ,

eug

The cherry barbs are being rather shy, hiding among the thickets of H. polysperma or behind the chunk of wood. Hoping that they become more bold as they get used to their new home.

One sad thing I haven't mentioned yet is that there was an accident as I was removing the Serpaes. I was filling a tupperware box with tank water by syphoning a bit of water out, and this was the first time I syphoned water with the Serpaes in the tank. As I sucked the tube, my eyes were on the tupperware box and not where the inlet of the hose was, and a Serpae was sucked right through and when it came out the other end it was dead.

I feel glad the tank is at peace now - the cories are even kind of shoaling with the barbs as I write this and they seem to be getting along just fine. Their torn fins will likely heal without a problem. The one dead Serpae is what gives this whole story a bittersweet ending.

GoldfishJack

Cardinal tetras can make a great addition. They are very similar to neon tetras but their colors stand out more to me. ;)

sidluckman

Cardinals: Beautiful. Non-aggressive. Nah! That woulda made it too easy!

(actually Eug said early on he wasn't keen on Neons, so we never broached the topic of, you know, Cardinals. . .)