Introduced Neon Tetras Hiding

[kuzyaburst]

So recently I went to the pet store and decided to get some Neon Tetras (14). I did everything i'd normally do before placing them into the tank. In the tank I have 5 Zebra danios that are a bit bigger than the Tetras, so they chased them around a bit then stopped after about 15 minutes. The school of Neon tetras were hiding behind some plants, 10 minutes later they separated and went to different sides of the tank. As far as I know Neon tetras are middle swimmers... but mine are swimming at the bottom. The zebra danios (i'm pretty sure) are trying to look bigger and be "in charge" I guess you could say, and the tetras are scared of their behavior. I checked again 5 minutes ago and the danios are swimming in the middle normally not bothering the tetras, but the tetras are still hiding and aren't swimming that much, mostly staying in one spot. There is a group of 9 or so tetras that are swimming around the bottom level of the tank scavenging, but the rest are hiding behind plants and mainly swimming in the back.

 

[eaglesaquarium]

Neons are fairly docile little fish, honestly, and need some time to acclimate to their new surroundings.  Give them a bit of time.  Its not abnormal for new fish to hide in their new home for a while, especially with more boisterous tankmates already in the tank.

 

[kuzyaburst]

Neons are fairly docile little fish, honestly, and need some time to acclimate to their new surroundings.  Give them a bit of time.  Its not abnormal for new fish to hide in their new home for a while, especially with more boisterous tankmates already in the tank.

ok thanks I didn't know that, also usually my Danios are really friendly and swim around the tank by themselves or as a couple, but this time they all gathered up and created a school and swam around the tetras a couple times then went back to normal swimming.  Is this normal behavior for Danios?

 

[Byron]

I would also think you have nothing to worry about here.  Characins are generally more reserved or timid than the danios and barbs in the cyprinids, and a new2 environment, no matter how long they were acclimated to it, is still a new environment and they will be stressed; quiet is the best treatment..  Getting a good-sized group like 14 was a very wise move, and this larger group should help them settle faster.
 
Remember too that these fish are sending out chemical signals; pheromones are picked up by others in the same species, and allomones by other species.  So physical interaction is one thing and something we see, but the chemical signals we cannot see except for the resulting behaviour perhaps.
 
The danio behaviour is simply inquisitiveness when new fish are suddenly present in "their" space.  Fortunately with danios you won't likely see any aggressiveness leading to problems, and once they are also satisfied that the newcomers are not a threat, everyone will settle down.
 
I don't know what else you have in this tank, but both these species will fare better long-term with slightly cooler temperatures than the "average" tropicals, say in the mid-70's with 76-77F the highest I would go with these.  Temperature is important with fish because it directly affects their physiological processes, and the higher the temp the harder the fish has to work just to "live" normally in terms of digestion, heart-rate, regulating things, etc.
 
Byron.

 

[kuzyaburst]

I would also think you have nothing to worry about here.  Characins are generally more reserved or timid than the danios and barbs in the cyprinids, and a new2 environment, no matter how long they were acclimated to it, is still a new environment and they will be stressed; quiet is the best treatment..  Getting a good-sized group like 14 was a very wise move, and this larger group should help them settle faster.
 
Remember too that these fish are sending out chemical signals; pheromones are picked up by others in the same species, and allomones by other species.  So physical interaction is one thing and something we see, but the chemical signals we cannot see except for the resulting behaviour perhaps.
 
The danio behaviour is simply inquisitiveness when new fish are suddenly present in "their" space.  Fortunately with danios you won't likely see any aggressiveness leading to problems, and once they are also satisfied that the newcomers are not a threat, everyone will settle down.
 
I don't know what else you have in this tank, but both these species will fare better long-term with slightly cooler temperatures than the "average" tropicals, say in the mid-70's with 76-77F the highest I would go with these.  Temperature is important with fish because it directly affects their physiological processes, and the higher the temp the harder the fish has to work just to "live" normally in terms of digestion, heart-rate, regulating things, etc.
 
Byron.

Ok thanks and yeah I agree with the lower temperatures I currently have mine set to 75 degrees.