Aggresive Tetras

[J-Bird]

I seem to have the problem in my tank of mixed Neons and Glo Light Tetras in which they will chase each other and one of the Neons has suffered a tail injury in which most of his tail is gone. There definatly isn't an issue in which the tank has too many males or not enough cover as the whole back half the tank has good plant cover and the front has a cave rock piece and a drift wood cave thing.

Could it be that i am not feeding them enough? I have been feeding them the recommended amount on my food container of twice a day with amount they can eat in 2 minutes or so but they always seem to be hungry.

 

[Lynda B]

How many of each species do you have? I believe they should be in a minimum grouping of 6 for each.

 

[xxBarneyxx]

As lynda said you need at least 6 of each, more helps to spread the aggression around and stops one fish getting constantly picked on.

Tetras in general are quite peaceful fish but like a lot of shoaling fish they do have their own "pecking order" and will fight with each other. It is very rare that they actually do that much damage to each other though. You will normally see 2 fish "dueling" and they tend to swim at each other but not actually make contact. Tetras have teeth at the front of their mouths though so they can do a lot of damage to fins if they catch them wrong.

Depending on how many you have you might want to increase the size of each group and give them plenty of plants to hide in (they will not often hide in caves). You might want to consider using an anti-bacterial and something like stresszyme to help prevent any infection in the one with the damaged tail.

Twice a day feeding is enough in my opinion. Overfeeding normally causes more problems then underfeeding.

I have found also that if you have other fish that the tetras perceive as a threat they tend to shoal a lot more which means they don't fight as much. The trick with that though is getting a fish that will do this without actually be a threat to them

Some tetras are worse then others, in my experience glowlights and neons are some of the least nippy but no two fish are ever the same

 

[J-Bird]

Thanks for the answer. There is 6 of each species in there right now and i was gonna up it to 8 of each in a could weeks or so.

What kinda fish do u recommend to put a little fear into the little guys so they will kinda start sticking together but won't get eaten?

 

[Lynda B]

Do you have a picture of your tank? Perhaps we can recommend moving your decor around to make them feel cozier.

 

[J-Bird]

Here u go

 

[xxBarneyxx]

I would say they need a LOT more cover. This way the ones that are at the bottom of the pecking order have a place to hide. try adding more grassy or fine leafed plants on one side of the tank. Also if you can go for the silk plants rather then the plastic ones.

 

[J-Bird]

Can u please recommend the names of the plants u would go with so that i know exactly what i should be looking for. I did wanna get more of the grassy looking plants in there though.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

When you say you have "mixed neons", what types of neon tetras do you have exactly? How long have you had the fish in the tank as well? The tail damage could also be finrot too, which is a common secondary infection on fin wounds, fish which are already stressed are particularly vunerable to it.

 

[J-Bird]

When you say you have "mixed neons", what types of neon tetras do you have exactly? How long have you had the fish in the tank as well? The tail damage could also be finrot too, which is a common secondary infection on fin wounds, fish which are already stressed are particularly vunerable to it.

Sorry i was unclear but they r all the same species of Neons the tank is just mixed with Neons and Glo Lights.

They have been in the tank together for about a week now and they do seem to be doing alot better lately though. The guy with the tail damage has been out swimming with the other guys again and doesn't seem to be getting picked on any more.

I am gonna run out today and look into getting some more plants to build up the right hand side of the tank a little more behind the rock thing because they seem to like to go there to hide sometimes and i figure a little more cover won't hurt them too much.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

If you have not had the tetras together for long then it is most likely that they are simply establishing a pecking order of sorts between them, this is quite common/normal in many species/types of fish. I would treat the tank with some Melafix though to help prevent the injured tetra's fin wounds getting a secondary infection though and to also help incourage the healing process .

 

[J-Bird]

If you have not had the tetras together for long then it is most likely that they are simply establishing a pecking order of sorts between them, this is quite common/normal in many species/types of fish. I would treat the tank with some Melafix though to help prevent the injured tetra's fin wounds getting a secondary infection though and to also help incourage the healing process .

Ok i will have to look into some of that stuff. The guys seem to be doing better now and i have kept up the twice a day feedings and i went out on saturday and got another 4 grass like plants to put in the tank and it looks alot better cause i also moved them around.

What kinda fish would be good to kinda scare them into their own group but wouldn't hurt the tetras at all?

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

How many gallons is the tank?
Its not good if the tetras shoal all the time as in the wild shoaling is a defensive behaviour that fish like tetras do when they feel threatened or stressed. So if the tetras in your tank are not shoaling a great deal, then that is a good sign they are settling down well and feeling more at ease in the tank .

 

[J-Bird]

How many gallons is the tank?
Its not good if the tetras shoal all the time as in the wild shoaling is a defensive behaviour that fish like tetras do when they feel threatened or stressed. So if the tetras in your tank are not shoaling a great deal, then that is a good sign they are settling down well and feeling more at ease in the tank .

Its a 29 gallon tank and there is currently the 12 tetras in there right now.