Considering a shoal of peaceful tetras

eug · 08-26-2012, 06:46 AM

Yeah the fiancee said they look too "typical" and "too glowy" so we steered clear of neons and cardinals. :) Oh and of course we have hard water and so it wouldn't be ideal for cardinals.

I'm quite enjoying the slightly more modest colour of the cherry barbs, and never mind that they're not characins as this thread title might imply - they're at least peaceful!

1077 · 08-27-2012, 05:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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.

I have lost fish also in the past while syphoning water and found that some mesh netting (hobby store),around the end of the syphon secured with rubberband work's well .
Sorry the Serpae's did not work out .

eug · 08-27-2012, 06:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1077

I have lost fish also in the past while syphoning water and found that some mesh netting (hobby store),around the end of the syphon secured with rubberband work's well .
Sorry the Serpae's did not work out .

Yeah, I did exactly that exactly today for the weekly water change - I made a little contraption cutting a very thin piece of coarse sponge, a small length of thicker tubing that just fits over the syphon hose, and a rubber band - so it's a little mesh contraption that I can easily remove if say I want to purposely syphon out debris or something (in which case I would from now on CERTAINLY have my thumb partially blocking the intake to prevent any further accidents).

jaysee · 08-27-2012, 08:03 AM

Joining this party late, I just want to comment on the numbers thing. Yes, keeping a larger school CAN help to keep aggression confined, but it can ALSO mean more fish to terrorize tank mates. IME it really depends on the species, and even the specific specimens. It's always best to keep as large a school as possible, but it should should not be a foregone conclusion that just because there are 12 that there won't be problems - I think that's the impression people sometimes get.

eug · 08-27-2012, 08:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jaysee

Joining this party late, I just want to comment on the numbers thing. Yes, keeping a larger school CAN help to keep aggression confined, but it can ALSO mean more fish to terrorize tank mates. IME it really depends on the species, and even the specific specimens. It's always best to keep as large a school as possible, but it should should not be a foregone conclusion that just because there are 12 that there won't be problems - I think that's the impression people sometimes get.

Yeah, in my case the dozen Serpaes really spread themselves out and didn't really show much of shoaling behaviour at all. Basically there were about 4-5 that showed extremely aggressive territorial behaviour, and one would chase the other out of his own territory and into another's, at which point another territorial battle would ensue, and the loser would stumble into the territory of yet another... I honestly can't imagine them all suddenly deciding to get along had I came and added another handful into the mix.

Basically, observing the tank became an extremely nerve-wracking experience and I was really on edge for the whole time!

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