Rummy and cardinal schooling only during day.

[Box of Demons]

#1
Not really an issue just something I've noticed as a new fishkeeper I have around 12 cardinal tetras and 6 rummy-nose tetras have noticed during the day they tend to school and swim together

but on a night time after 7 hours of light they all seem to swim individually all over the tank and picking a bit of wood and trying to find bits of wood in the plants is this normal behavior for tetras?

Not complaining as the tank looks beautiful and full and there's always something interesting to watch I also wondered whether there was a certain light spectrum that would make these fish pop a little bit as my aqua sky 2.0 seems a little bit bright and they seem to get lost in the bright lights.

 

[Colin_T]

A lot of fish hide in plants at night and it's not uncommon for tetras to do this too.

If you want the fish to show the most colour:
Have a dark picture on the back of the tank.
Have a dark substrate.
Have lots of plants on the surface.

 

[Retired Viking]

If they are swimming by themselves it is actually a good sign, They are not stressed or in fear and are comfortable enough to go it alone or in small groups. I have embers, neon, glow light and a red eye tetra in my 55 gallon tetra tanks and when there is a lot of movement or loud noise they school but most of the time they move around alone or in small groups. They like to swim around the plants except my glow light tetra which have taken over the center of my tank which is more open.

 

[Box of Demons]

Thanks only got them today so thought is was strange so comfortable so soon. Any suggestion on surface plants?

 

[JuiceBox52]

Thanks only got them today so thought is was strange so comfortable so soon. Any suggestion on surface plants?

Frog bit and water lettuce!

 

[seangee]

Can you dim the lights? Tetras don't like bright light which may be why they stay close together when its on. Floating plants will definitely help them relax. In the wild they live in forests and unshaded areas make them feel vulnerable.

 

[Retired Viking]

I use anacharis both as a planted and floating plant along with hornwort. Frog bite looks great but I can not buy it here. @seangee is right about the lights too. I use t-8 lighting for my plants which also is lower light.

 

[Retired Viking]

When I first bought my tetras I was doing a silent/planted cycle so I add a shoal at a time. Every week or two I would add 5 tetras starting with red eyed tetra and they would stick together. It was fun to watch as I added a new shoal, like the scene at the train station in the movie Zootopia. Each shoal sticking close together moving around my 55 gallon tank and trying to avoid the other shoals. In a few days at most they were all swimming around alone again until the next group of fish was added.

 

[Meg0000]

For the floating plants I would say frogbit! My favorite thing about these are the beautiful long roots and this floating plant also doesn't take over a tank like duckweed.