All Males or No?

[cupofjoel]

I had a stocking question regarding congo tetras. Would I have nipping and aggression issues if I had an all-male congo tetra tank? It would be around 15 males.

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[Byron]

I would not think so, but with characins it is always advisable to have male and female. In many of the species you will observe much more interesting interactive behaviours from the fish if both genders are present. You don't need to worry much about the ratio (you do with some species), so leaning toward more males than females will not cause problems though I would not go to an extreme.

I have had this species three times in 30 years of fish. The ratio I start with is either equal male/female, or say five or six males to four females. They do tend to congregate by gender, interstingly, but the sight of two males having a relay race down the tank is impressive indeed. I have observed a third attempting to enter one of these relays, and usually successfully.

 

[cupofjoel]

I would not think so, but with characins it is always advisable to have male and female. In many of the species you will observe much more interesting interactive behaviours from the fish if both genders are present. You don't need to worry much about the ratio (you do with some species), so leaning toward more males than females will not cause problems though I would not go to an extreme.

I have had this species three times in 30 years of fish. The ratio I start with is either equal male/female, or say five or six males to four females. They do tend to congregate by gender, interstingly, but the sight of two males having a relay race down the tank is impressive indeed. I have observed a third attempting to enter one of these relays, and usually successfully.

Thanks @Byron if I do go with these fish I'll try to have a decent ratio. I just hate seeing females being chased...stresses out me and my wife. Which is why I want a peaceful community tank. Rasboras are another option since they aren't fin nippers.

 

[Byron]

Thanks @Byron if I do go with these fish I'll try to have a decent ratio. I just hate seeing females being chased...stresses out me and my wife. Which is why I want a peaceful community tank. Rasboras are another option since they aren't fin nippers.

I have never observed females being chased by the males in this species. There were some obvious spawnings occurring, but they were so far as i could recognize very brief and the female seemed to be on equal ground with the male. I've seen more "chasing" in my pencilfish and cories.

 

[cupofjoel]

I have never observed females being chased by the males in this species. There were some obvious spawnings occurring, but they were so far as i could recognize very brief and the female seemed to be on equal ground with the male. I've seen more "chasing" in my pencilfish and cories.

Okay, that's good news.

I had a bunch of tiger barbs and their rowdiness really stressed out my wife and we had to rehome them.

 

[Byron]

Okay, that's good news.

I had a bunch of tiger barbs and their rowdiness really stressed out my wife and we had to rehome them.

That's a very different thing. The TB is a feisty fish that is prone to be aggressive among its own, though larger groups in sufficient space can level this out. But it is still a trait of the species.

 

[cupofjoel]

That's a very different thing. The TB is a feisty fish that is prone to be aggressive among its own, though larger groups in sufficient space can level this out. But it is still a trait of the species.

Yeah I know TB are totally different from tetras. This was when I didn't know my wife would be stressed out by semi-aggressive fish. LOL, live and learn.