Loner Of The Group

[littlest]

I have four dwarf pencil fish in a 30L tank with 2 amano shrimp. I've had them a few months but in the past couple of weeks I've noticed that the smallest of the four pencil fish doesn't hang out with the others much. He's often on his own in one of the corners of the tank, or hiding behind plants. He does swim, doesn't seem to have any symptoms of disease. He doesn't bottom-sit or gasp or anything like that, he just seems shier than the others. As a result he's not getting as much food (the others are very quick at feeding time).

would adding a couple more help do you think, or could that make it worse?

(btw, I've never had ammonia or nitrite in this tank)

 

[funkycat]

Ok first of all its impossible to to never have ammonia or nitrate in your tank. A tank with fish will ALWAYS have some ammonia/nitrite because thats the waste which fish produce.
However in good tanks levels of ammonia are kept low because of bacteria (usually in the filter) which break down the ammonia into something...which isnt toxic to your fish.

You could get more pencil fish, but i dont know if that would help because likely they would just join the other three. Is he getting enough food? or is he getting none at all. If he's still getting enough, i would just leave him, hopefully he'll get over his shyness or something.

How long have you had them for?

 

[littlest]

when I said there's never been ammonia, I meant that that I've never had a test with a reading of ammonia since the fishless cycle.

He is getting food, just not as much as the others. He was out swimming with them more today.