Green Neon Tetras New Behavior

[MizuFish]

I've had 5 Green Neon Tetras for a little over 2 months. They were bought to keep my Angel company when he was alone in a smaller tank. Since then things have happened, they've all moved and now there are more fish in the community. When I was gone on a 3 week long vacation and my husband looked after the tank one of the tetras disappeared. I've read around a bit on this forum and before disappearing my husband (who isn't much of a fish keeper) expressed his concern with one of the tetras as it didn't shoal with the others. One of the 5 had always been a bit "off" with the shoaling, now I realize that this was probably more a sign of weakness and most likely the Angels got him although they've never even acknowledged the presense of the tetras and still don't

Anyway, now there are 4 left always shoaling and I've really started to appreciate these guys A LOT more. They have gotten more and more used to me and now they are showing a new behavior which is the point of my post that got a little side tracked. Not only are they more "cocky" swimming around a lot, through the amazon swords. During feeding they are also suddenly more interested in food. They sometimes even dash for the surface to grab food, it's really cool. But also I wonder if this is normal behavior since they've never done this before, am I perhaps.. starving them or something?

Also, with what has happened to the 5th tetra.. should I say that it is a priority to get more of them so they can shoal and protect each other properly..? I KNOW that they are supposed to be in a bigger group and I have nothing to say for myself really.

To keep them more safe, before I left, I rearranged the tank both to throw the Angels off their territory watch and to create more Tetra shelters. So I feel even more like I failed them when this happened.. is there anything else I can do for them? Since they are so small and kind of shy I haven't really been able to get the same connection with them as with my other fish that are more "tame" so it's been hard to cater to their needs, especially when it's such a common house fish that half of the information online is just jibberjabber.

Is their taking up more space in the tank and being more "forward", hanging out in the middle area and swimming around like they are playing a normal behavior?

I think this is my most cluttered and chaotic post ever but I'm hoping at least someone has the energy to deal with me

 

[fluttermoth]

It sounds like they're behaving quite normally; it's probably just taken them while to settle in.

As with all small shoalers, the more the merrier, so if you have room to get some more, do. They're not the kind of fish that you can get to know like a cichlid, but they're very lovely. I have 42 in a four foot tank at the end of my bed and they're one of my favourite fish

Do watch your angels as they get bigger though; small neons are one of the angel's main foods in the wild

 

[MizuFish]

It sounds like they're behaving quite normally; it's probably just taken them while to settle in.

As with all small shoalers, the more the merrier, so if you have room to get some more, do. They're not the kind of fish that you can get to know like a cichlid, but they're very lovely. I have 42 in a four foot tank at the end of my bed and they're one of my favourite fish

Do watch your angels as they get bigger though; small neons are one of the angel's main foods in the wild

Wow, right, you have a lot of them! I'd love to have around 30 - 50 of them in the near future. You're probably right, it's probably taken uptil now for them to get comfortable, especially since it took a while for me to figure out their needs, decoration wise etc.

Well do you think they can do with being just 4, can they survive and do their thing being so few? I could easily list a billion things I want/need to buy for the tank so I have to make a priority list sort of

Yes I heard that and was told in the store that in a case where the Angels have been brought up with the Neons chances are high that they won't feed on them. Perhaps that's just a load of crap though xP I'd hate for them to be treated like Angel food though so I'd move them if it comes to that..

 

[fluttermoth]

I think you should add at least four or five more, if you can; the less there are in the shoal, the more prone they are to stress related illnesses.

As for bringing the angels up with them; I've heard of it working, and heard other cases where it hasn't, so you'll just have to watch things!

 

[MizuFish]

I think you should add at least four or five more, if you can; the less there are in the shoal, the more prone they are to stress related illnesses.

As for bringing the angels up with them; I've heard of it working, and heard other cases where it hasn't, so you'll just have to watch things!

Right! I'll keep a close eye on them and hope for the best.

I will get more tomorrow then, don't want them to suffer cause of a dumb human xP I feel a bit confused though.. I was told when I bought the fish (at a well known pro fish store, no chain store or anything) that they were green neon tetras and they do have a green shimmer to them but I remember we talked about this in another thread when I worried about the color that it's common for the red part to be missing.

But mine look like these

Not at all like these

They have to be the exact same kind of tetra to shoal right?

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes; I remember that thread!

The top one, with the red on is a neon tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi; the one without the red is a green/blue/false neon, P. simulans, although they do have a bit of red that you can see from certain angles.

Different tetras will shoal together in 'emergencies', but more of their own species is always better

 

[MizuFish]

Yes; I remember that thread!

The top one, with the red on is a neon tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi; the one without the red is a green/blue/false neon, P. simulans, although they do have a bit of red that you can see from certain angles.

Different tetras will shoal together in 'emergencies', but more of their own species is always better

Ah! I was under the impression that Neons always had a full red line that went fron head to anal fin. I guess there is a chance that I got regular Neons mixed in with green, that would explain why especially one of them is significantly bigger than the others. I'll spend some time tomorrow and try to figure out if I got a mix in the tank, if that's the case I think I'd rather get Neons as they grow slightly bigger, that should be safer with the Angels.

 

[creeker]

Yes; I remember that thread!

The top one, with the red on is a neon tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi; the one without the red is a green/blue/false neon, P. simulans, although they do have a bit of red that you can see from certain angles.

Different tetras will shoal together in 'emergencies', but more of their own species is always better

Ah! I was under the impression that Neons always had a full red line that went fron head to anal fin. I guess there is a chance that I got regular Neons mixed in with green, that would explain why especially one of them is significantly bigger than the others. I'll spend some time tomorrow and try to figure out if I got a mix in the tank, if that's the case I think I'd rather get Neons as they grow slightly bigger, that should be safer with the Angels.

I think you're confusing Cardinal Tetra (full red line) with Neon. I have 9 Neons in my tank, and they behave just like you describe yours. The whole floor of the tank is carpeted with Argentine Swordplants (started out with two!), and they enjoy darting in and out of the plants and up to the top for food. I really think eventually you will want to re-home the Angels somewhere. Sooner or later they will become a problem for your small fish. I also agree that you should get more Neons. I need some more myself!

 

[MizuFish]

Yes; I remember that thread!

The top one, with the red on is a neon tetra, Paracheirodon axelrodi; the one without the red is a green/blue/false neon, P. simulans, although they do have a bit of red that you can see from certain angles.

Different tetras will shoal together in 'emergencies', but more of their own species is always better

Ah! I was under the impression that Neons always had a full red line that went fron head to anal fin. I guess there is a chance that I got regular Neons mixed in with green, that would explain why especially one of them is significantly bigger than the others. I'll spend some time tomorrow and try to figure out if I got a mix in the tank, if that's the case I think I'd rather get Neons as they grow slightly bigger, that should be safer with the Angels.

I think you're confusing Cardinal Tetra (full red line) with Neon. I have 9 Neons in my tank, and they behave just like you describe yours. The whole floor of the tank is carpeted with Argentine Swordplants (started out with two!), and they enjoy darting in and out of the plants and up to the top for food. I really think eventually you will want to re-home the Angels somewhere. Sooner or later they will become a problem for your small fish. I also agree that you should get more Neons. I need some more myself!

Yes I think I've misunderstood completely what I was told. They showed me though how the ones I was buying were infact green and I agreed! But now when I look at them, way no, I've got regular neon tetras not the green neons.

Not the best picture but I think it's easy to see that it's not a green neon. All of them always have a clear, red half line and a clear blue line. There's only been that one period when I posted about it in the illness section that the red was not so visible and I figured out quickly that they were stressed at the time.

 

[creeker]

MizuFish,I think you do have a Green Neon there. Notice how the blue/green line runs all the way to the tail? Now scroll up and look at the Neon Tetra. Notice how the blue/green line ends at the adipose fin? At least that's how I see it. It's kind of hard to tell for sure in your pic, because the tail kind of blends in with the background. But that is an awfully long and straight blue/green line. The Green Neon pic posted earlier in this thread shows a specimen with very washed out colors and may be adding to the confusion.

 

[MizuFish]

This is tricky... I filmed them, maybe a little too much but I really wonder now what it is that I have.

I don't want to buy the wrong kind that would be a waste D;

 

[fluttermoth]

I think they are green neons and not normal ones; the colours of fish can change quite a lot according to the tank set up and lighting

 

[MizuFish]

I think they are green neons and not normal ones; the colours of fish can change quite a lot according to the tank set up and lighting

Yeah I was hoping they'd move around more for you but they're so tame lately. I used to scare the life out of them but this morning when I reached for the glass to call the Angels the whole shoal came up!? I was in shock.
The one in the front is the biggest one too, the others are kind of small which to me is a Green Neon sign. They're barely an inch. But they are always red.

 

[creeker]

Your youtube is definitely of Green Neons. The blue line goes all the way to the tail.

 

[MizuFish]

Your youtube is definitely of Green Neons. The blue line goes all the way to the tail.

Ah yeah, NOW I get what you mean (I'm not the smartest at times) then there's no doubt, I got green tetras.
Thank you for helping me clear that out
I will go get more tank mates for them tomorrow so that they can shoal properly. And some more amazon swords, mine are growing bushier and wider but not.. taller.