Phantom Tetras And Pantazona Barbs

[scottca]

Hi All, I have 9 Phantom Tetras and 5 Pantazona barbs, but they are not very active - They tend to sit at the rear of the tank just still, not moving that much. During feeding, they come out and are very active swimming around.

I noticed this when I introduced 3 bolivian rams and 10 mountain minnows, i presumed this was because the rams were pestering the other fish so I took them back to the lfs. I still have the 10 mountain minnows in the tank, they are very active and are showing no problems.

My water stats are all good and im doing my regular water changes, the tank is heavily planted and there is no sign of illness.

Is this normal behavour for these varieties of fish? I thought they were more active than this when I put them in..

Thanks in advance,

Craig

 

[Miss Wiggle]

can you post what your stats are, unlikely to be the problem but you never know!

how much current do you have in your tank, some fish prefer a good strong current and will be significantly more lively with one in the tank.

where in your house is the tank situated? is it a high use area? they could either be spooked by a lot of people going past all the time, or shy when you're watching because they aren't used to having people around the tank.

 

[scottca]

Hi Miss Wiggle

My Stats are:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite Approx 40 (What my tapwater is)

The tank has a fairly strong current going accross it, when it gets time for a cleanout it severly reduces and ive noticed that doesnt make a difference. The tank is in quite a well used room, people probably do walk past quite a few times during the day, its odd though, because when i open the top or touch the tank, they all come out knowing its feeding time!

They all seemed to be fine before i put the new fish in, i got rid of the rams a few days ago as they were chasing, could they be scared of the minnows as they are too active?

its a strange one and I cant pinpoint any problems...

 

[Miss Wiggle]

i wouldn't exdpect them to be scared by the minnows, if anything a lot of shy fish are more active if they've got active fish around. it's called dither fish, common practice. I'd be surprised if it had gone the other way.

i have to say I'm stumped tbh, try re-arranging the decor and see if that helps

 

[scottca]

im stumped too.. thanks for takin the time to look at the thread though, I take it they should really be quite active fish.. I fancy a change around of decor anyway, I also have 2 types of bulb, one is brighter than the other, bright one is at the front (its been like this for some time) could it be that its too bright for the fish? (it sounds like a silly thing to say but im clutching at straws lol)

Thanks again

craig

 

[Miss Wiggle]

yeah they should be reasonably active. they're not danios so shouldn't be tearing up and down the tank 24/7. but definately shouldn't be hiding out at the back of the tank.

do swap the lights around, it's not a silly reason it's perfectly plausible. There's so many factors that make up the tank and any one of them can upset fish if it's not right. makes sense to just switch things around a bit and see what happens!

 

[scottca]

Thanks Miss Wiggle, ill swap things arround and let you know the outcome

 

[f1sh]

I have a couple of phantom tetras and they mainly just hover in the bottom corners at the back of the tank, behind plants and stuff. So i would say they like to hide..but, I'm not entirely sure as they are the only phantoms I have owned so might just be the minority.