Penguin Tetras

[smithyif]

morning all i was just wondering if anyone can help ,i purchased 5 penguin tetra 2 weeks ago from a LFS who said that they are a good community fish , i would like to know are these fin nippers as my fancy tail guppies are loosing their tails (or is it fin root) and also found out they are jumpers aswell as when i was cleaning tank 2 jumped out onto the kitchen floor , cheers ian

 

[ellena]

Most tetras are fin nippers to some degree I think. What are your tank water stats?

 

[smithyif]

Most tetras are fin nippers to some degree I think. What are your tank water stats?

water stats are PH 7.6
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0

 

[ellena]

Hmmm, was just wondering as sometimes fish jump to escape poor water conditions. Maybe they are just jumpers then-you'll have to be v.careful when doing changes!

 

[spectrum]

Penguin tetra have a bit of a reputation as being especially nippy
Don't always believe what the LFS says!

 

[Gilli]

Are you testing your water with a liquid kit or strips which are useless? Im asking because 0 nitrate is very unusual.

 

[bugsy66]

Hello, I can tell you from experience with these fish they are truly nippers. They don't make good additions to tanks with passive fish or long fin fish either. Mine went back to the LFS shortley after I bought them.

They look very neat if you have a large school of them but not for a quiet community tank.

 

[orangefish]

I have 3 penguin tetras, and so far I have not seen any tail-nipping with my guppy. They are really nice shooling fish, and they like to school with my halequins too. Personally, I recommend them- but I might just have some lucky ones!

 

[smithyif]

Are you testing your water with a liquid kit or strips which are useless? Im asking because 0 nitrate is very unusual.

im using API liquid test kit

 

[mikka23]

I have 6 Penguins in my community tank and am thinking about getting rid of them. They chase my rasboras around and are a bit of a nuisance. They dont seem to bother with my guppies though. Not had any jumping from them however.