Blind Cavefish

[AJGray]

just been scanning the net and books and i found these

they look kinda kool and i wouldnt mind a shoal of them

are they easy to keep...reading about them says they are easy to keep

just wanted some advice that was all

 

[AJGray]

anyone at all???

i really like these

 

[arvlyn]

just been scanning the net and books and i found these

they look kinda kool and i wouldnt mind a shoal of them

are they easy to keep...reading about them says they are easy to keep

just wanted some advice that was all

I had some years ago and never had any problems with them, they were no different to keep than anything else in my community tank at that time...platys, guppies, swordtails, etc.

 

[AJGray]

ooooooh marvalous i think ill get my lfs to order some in

how many you reccomend?

 

[Chuka1212]

I've kept some blind cavefish before, and they are fascinating fish. I had a loner and a group at different times and they didn't seem to care. They should be kept with fish that aren't extremely aggresive with food, but I was amazed at how adept mine was at finding food, despite being blind. THey have developed some amazing attributes to make up for their lack of eyesight, in fact they are studied by some evolutionary scientists. If you are a biology/science nut like I am, there are some very interesting articles about their evolutionary traits. Basically their care is similar to most tetras (that is what they are of course, is a type of tetra), and do well in a community tank.

You won't regret getting some, they are fascinating fish and make for great conversation too.

 

[AJGray]

yeah im a big science nut actually im going to phone my fish shop tomorrow and ask him to soruce me some

 

[poopsydrew]

the advice has been good, keep them in groups and dont keep them with slow moving fish or fish with long flowing finnage as they get nippier when they mature. I'd be a little nervous about keeping them with guppies as I think the caudal fin will be nipped to shreds. They are great fish and correct me if Im wrong someone but the only tetra found in the U.S.? I could be way off but I thought I read that in one of my books. Good luck with your fish...

Drew

 

[starrynightxxi]

i agree with drew about the guppies, i've heard these guys are big time nippers.

 

[nmonks]

Blind cave tetras are very nice fish. But they can annoy other fish, either through their endless swimming or by their frenetic feeding behaviour. So I wouldn't mix with anything delicate or nervous. Cichlids tend to be annoyed by them, I think because the tetras swim through their territories, unable to see the cichlids to take notice of them. Given they like (need) hard, alkaline water, the ideal tankmates would be things like swordtails or mosquitofish. They do NOT like soft/acid water, and nor do they like high temperatures, so keep the heater at 25C or less.

A nice tank for them is one designed for low-light fishes. Use black sand, lots of vertically arranged slate to create "stalactites", and then just one small light, maybe a reddish grow-lux type thing. This sort of tank looks very eerie, but the tetras fit right in. Catfish will do great, too, and the more light-phobic species like doradiid and small Synodontis catfish might actually swim about a bit.

Cheers, Neale

 

[arvlyn]

ooooooh marvalous i think ill get my lfs to order some in

how many you reccomend?

If I remember correctly, I kept 6 at a time. I never had any problem with them going after any other fish or their fins at all. They would come up and "bite" at my hands when I had them in the tank, but they never went after the fish or plants.

 

[Luketendo]

ooooooh marvalous i think ill get my lfs to order some in

how many you reccomend?

If I remember correctly, I kept 6 at a time. I never had any problem with them going after any other fish or their fins at all. They would come up and "bite" at my hands when I had them in the tank, but they never went after the fish or plants.

All my fish bite my hands it's because they know it's feeding time.

 

[AJGray]

i think i might get another littleish tank and keep them on there own just because in the big tank i gotashy female gourami and 3 cheery barbswhich arescared of their own shadows
make them a real centre piece having them on their own with some sort of catfish then

thanks for your help