How Can I Make My Tetras Shoal Together?

[jellychris]

I recently added 8 neon tetras into my 52 litre tropical tank which has a few guppies and cories.
The tetras shoaled for the first day - still scared I assume - but now they have settled in they are all over the place.
I much preferred it when they where shoaling but how can I make them shoal again?
I've thought of maybe adding a bigger aggressive fish to make them scared again but it would bully my breeding guppies too.
What can I do?
Thanks, Chris.

 

[zain611]

It probably takes time for them to get used to the move of tanks and adjust to your parameters

 

[garyspence84]

It might not seem that fish are shoaling together because its a smaller tank. Of fish were in a longer tank, say 130ltr for talking sake, of would look more like they were sticking close by 1 an other. But I may be wrong? Bit don't go buying a bigger, "more aggressive fish", it'll no doubt just end up eating them and/or to too big for your tank.

 

[JenJ]

I've thought of maybe adding a bigger aggressive fish to make them scared again

That's not very nice

As an aside, you're already theoretically overstocked. If you use the inch per gallon rule (which usually is more generous than most would use) you have a max. of about 13 inches of adult fish for your tank, yet your neons alone are 16 inches of adult fish. Add breeding guppies and cories into the mix, and you're way over.

 

[MBOU]

I'm sure the Neon Tetras are shoaling!! They are a shoaling species, NOT a schooling species. They only swim together when feeding or scared, the rest of the time they swim in a loose group. This is normal for the species and research beforehand would have told you this.

You cant change a fish's nature so dont even try.

 

[Boromir]

Maybe get another shoaling species. but think you need a bigger tank, these are not scared and they are not feeding but maybe they are waiting for me to feed them

Heres my neon's shoaling with some glowlights
.

http/s227.beta.pho...ec2534.mp4.html

 

[jellychris]

Well thanks for your advice, I guess they are how they are.
As I speak they are shoaling and look amazing but it shan't last.

 

[NeonSagaris]

Yes, swimming sort of apart from eachother and then grouping together for food is perfectly natural. A schooling species is when they are in a group all together, all the time. It's like, for example, Harlequins and Lambchop Rasboras school together, just in their nature to. If you were to put Harlequins and Lambchops together, say 5 or 6 of each, they would most likely all swim together as one big group. So with fish like Cardinal and Neon Tetras, they loosely school. So don't worry.

 

[elmo666]

I really wouldn't worry too much. It is far more important that they have good colour, swim freely throughout the tank and feed well. Not all fish behave in exactly the same way, if it's any consolation my neons and cardinals very seldom group, I have twenty and very rarely see more than three or four together. As for putting in an aggressive fish to encourage schooling, that's not schooling that's STRESS AND FEAR!

 

[fluttermoth]

I

I really wouldn't worry too much. It is far more important that they have good colour, swim freely throughout the tank and feed well. Not all fish behave in exactly the same way, if it's any consolation my neons and cardinals very seldom group, I have twenty and very rarely see more than three or four together. As for putting in an aggressive fish to encourage schooling, that's not schooling that's STRESS AND FEAR!

I would argue that stress and fear is the reason for schooling; in freshwater fishes anyway; marine schoolers do usually school all the time.

Most of our shoaling fish will only school if they're upset; the green neons in my bedroom school beautiful when my son slams his door but it's not fair to deliberately make them do it; it's a defence mechanism.

Even then, in our tanks, they often learn that any threat is not real. I had to put my angel in with my neons for a while as an emergency (he was being nipped where he was, and was too small to eat them) and, though they schooled all the time for the first few days, they soon stopped, and only schooled again if he swam at them.