Rasboras Not Schooling?

[imat]

So I recently acquired a used tank, got rid of most of the fish that were in the tank because they were schooling fish and I didn't want to purchase more of them.
This is what I currently have in my 55gallon tank
 
4 oto catfish
5 red minor tetras - (1 was already established in tank)
8 harlequin rasboras (2 were already established in tank)
 
They all seem to be doing well and are thriving.  My question is why are the rasboras not schooling? They are all scattered doing their own thing and don't seem to have any interest in schooling.  Also, one of the rasboras that were previously in the tank when I purchased it is now constantly on the right side of the tank swimming up and down the glass (like he is trying to escape).  Reason for this??
 
 

 

[fluttermoth]

Freshwater fish only school as a defence mechanism, when there are predators about. In the safety of our tanks, they don't do it very often; only when they're nervous (slamming doors, water changes).

No one's quite sure why some fish swim up and down the glass like that, but it's quite common and nothing to worry about, if everything else is normal. It could be that the glass confuses them and they're trying to swim through it (sheets of glass are not something they've evolved to meet in the wild!) or they could be seeing something outside the tank they're interested in, or it could be something to do with light refraction/diffusion that's attracting them.

 

[imat]

Thanks!  Another question.... Can Red Minor Tetras be peacful or are they usually semi- aggressive?  I had read their info wrong and if I had realized they were semi-aggresive I would not have bought them to go with the already established one and I would have donated him.  I wanted to get rummynose tetras for sure and maybe some guppies or a ram (one or the other) and maybe gold neon tetras?  Not all of course.  Just thoughts.  I love the zebra danios have been advised to stay away from them. Thoughts?
I am new to all of this

 

[fluttermoth]

Yes, red minor/serpae tetras can be aggressive, but they should be okay if kept in a large enough shoal (at least 10).

Is your water hard or soft? Guppies like hard water and rams like it soft, so you'll have to pick one or the other, depending on your water. Rams also need a very low nitrates and a warmer temperature than most other tropicals and can be very difficult to keep anyway; I don't keep them any more, even though they're my favourite fish and my water's perfect for them

. Zebra danios like cooler water, so wouldn't be happy at the temperature you need for your other fish.

 

[imat]

poo...i don't want to get 10 of the red/minor tetras.... I have a total of 5 right now.  I am not sure off hand if my water is hard or soft.  My husband has been doing that part.  I will ask him tonight. 
other thoughts on fish for the tank? Should I return the red/minor tetras and donate the other one?  They seem to be leaving the rasboras alone, but I want a few smaller species as well.  like the rummynose tetras.... this is hard! lol. Everytime I think I have figured it out I realize I havn't.

 

[fluttermoth]

Find out your water hardness, and we'll make some suggestions for you based on that

 

[imat]

GH is 30
 
Lucky for me hubby just came home to surprise the kids and I ! (it our youngest daughter's 1st birthday today.)  Do you need any other info?

 

[Freedom]

You can read up on each variety of fish on seriouslyfish.com  I did this when working out stocking for my 50 gallon; made a spreadsheet and everything lol!
 
Seems you want to go the route I enjoy: colorful small fish and plenty of them!  In that case, returning the red minors makes sense, you don't want any semi aggressives in the group.
 
You may want to consider: cardinal tetras; lambchop rasboras (trigonostigma espei) - I LOVE these, they are a smaller version of the harlequin rasbora, so I could fit more of them in my tank!; smaller corydoras (pygmy, panda, hasbrosus); and perhaps a betta (male or female) as a show fish.