Should fish behave like this? Neons/Albino Catfish

[kev_kb]

Hi all,

I'm a new newbie to this site and have just purchased my first batch of fish today. I went for these:

8 Neon Tetra
1 Albino Catfish

When I first got them home I floated the bag and let them settle in gradually with the lights off. When they entered the water the tetras stuck together and didn't really move around that much, whilst the catfish darted around the tank seemingly testing its limits! It even appeared to make a jump for it out the top of the water a few times!

After a while I turned the lights on and this seemed to calm the catfish down, and I noticed the tetras were staying to one end of the tank. So then I turned down the Fluval filter to its lowest setting and gradually the tetras are exploring more and more. However now they seem to be splitting up more often then they are together, and chasing each other round a lot.

Is all this normal? I never imagined how watching all this would be so fascinating, I've hardly watched the TV since they have been put in!

Thanks in advance for any replies.

 

[corrosive]

Is the albino a cory? If so he may need a few friends soon .

 

[Leslie]

Perfectly normal behavior for Tetras. They tend to school less and less as a general rule when they get more comfortable in their surroundings.

What type of a catfish is it? Albino Cory? Pleco?

 

[kev_kb]

Glad to hear that about the tetras, I was starting to get a bit worried.

The catfish is an albino cory dura, are there any signs that he needs to be with others?

 

[Leslie]

Corys do indeed need to be kept with their own kind in order to be happy. 3 or more together is fine.

What is the size of your tank and how long have you had it up and running? Is it fully cycled?

 

[George&Ade]

Hi Kev

I think the reason the cory makes a dash for the surface is to get air.

Sometimes they can make quite a noise when they make it to the surface and take a gulp

Good luck with the new fish

 

[kev_kb]

Thanks for the replies everyone.

The tank is 60cmx35cmx40cm or near abouts. Its been up and running one week with no fish, I used some cycling chemicals that came with the tank and all the levels were normal before adding the fish.

The catfish has settled a little, but I'm concerned if he is going up for air, does that mean I should have an air pump also?

 

[sakaspuds]

some fish always gulp for air at the surface, if the water is oxygenated or not