Hi! I have 4 red serpae in my 30 gallon tank.They always get into a group and sit near the bottom and rarely swim around :? .Unlike my 5 black fin tetras they always stay in one spot.I am wondering if I need to get a couple more or if that is just what they do all day.Any suggestions :?:
from what i have managed to find they are very active fish, even to the poihnt of nipping and harassing other fish in the tnak. im not sure that adding more would help because the agression/fin nipping is less in a group which to me means that they will be even more peaceful in a larger number. it doesnt seem like normal behaviour though. how long have you had them? perhaps if theyre new theyre just not settled yet?
i wouldnt get any more right away, theyve only been there a wee while so give them a bit more time to settle in imo before worrying too much.
plants are good for the water though, and look more attractive to me anyway, you might want to consider live plants since it seems they like tham anyway.
what else do you have in the tank?
in short, i think it is to do with the fact that you have only 4 of them. if you think about it in the wild they will be in large shoals, so they will feel more confidant if they are in a larger group.
The other things that I have in the tank are a sunken ship that does not take up too much space in the tank(they always hide behind this)I have a small treasure chest with a plant behind it,and also a cave that I made out of rocks.I also have various rocks that are not to big(river rocks)all over the bottom.I really hope this helps. :?
It has been a few days and they are still doing the same thing :dunno: .How long does it take them to adapt? :?The only time that they do anything is when I feed them.then they swim a little just to get some food.Well i guess its good that their eating. :thankyou:
At your local fish store you will be able to buy test kits. Liquid ones (ones with glass test tubes in then and bottles of liquid) are much better than the strips. They're more accurate and last a lot longer, although they are more expensive. You can usually buy seperate tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph, hardness etc but a master kit that contains ammonia, nitrite and nitrate is best to begin with. These three toxins I listed appear when fish waste is first produced and it goes ammonia - nitrite - nitrate in that order. Ammonia and nitrite should be 0 and nitrate relaitvely low as they are toxic to fish (although nitrate is normal, as long as it's not too high it's safe). This test kit will be able to give you readings for these three toxins and then you can post your "water stats" as asked for. Water stats are often referred to water parameters here just in case you had seen that as well and were wondering.
Ok I will do that.I dont know when my parents will be able to drive me there to buy it though.
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