Should I be concerned about my Tetras?

[StanTheBetta]

I'm a bit of a newbie to fish but I bought a 10 US Gal tank from wal-mart with a power filter, heater, and hood. I was eager to get started so the next day I bought 2 hi-fin black skirt tetras and 2 serpae tetras and 2 sunset something with a v (they were in the platy section at petco). I also placed my Betta in the tank because I didn't have room for the 1 gal tank he previously resided in. Its almost a week later and I'm concerned about the tetras. The 2 black skirt tetras have splits in there tails and they're not sticking together like they were. My girlfriend suggested they might be nipping each others fins but I never witnessed it. Also there fins appear to have lost some color. I'm worried about one of my serpaes as well. He just sits under a plant on the left most side and seems to struggle against the current from the filter.

Do I have anything to be concerned about?

Should I buy an ammonia test kit?

I kind of jumped into this without researching it and now that I know about cycling I'm hoping I didn't add too many fish too soon and kill them. Is there anything I can do to make it better for them like maybe moving some of them to a temporary tank?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

1. Do a water change ASAP.

2. Absolutely by an ammonia test kit. Always test for ammonia regularly when staring a new tank or cleaning out an old one.

3. Tetras are most comfortable in schools. Instead of buying 2 of many varieties, it's better to buy more numbers of just a couple of varieties.

 

[G_Sharky]

you need to get atleast 5 for them to school together and they seems to be more active if they are in a group

 

[PereguineFalcon]

I thought the minimum for a school was 4? 5 makes sense though, but the more the merrier. I know that after i added one more congo to my existing 4 they really perked up and are out in the open even more. Of course, i'm sure the fact that it was a second male helped as well.

 

[thecichlidaddict]

There is no magic minimum number: the more the merrier, so long as there is room. I prefer not to put less then 6 schooling fish together.

 

[StanTheBetta]

After a 25% water change yesterday ammonia is at between .5 and 1.0 ppm and nitrites are at 0. One of the black skirt tetras has a sizeable chunk missing out of his back fin. Should I try to give these fish to someone else that already has black skirt tetras or should I buy more? I'm concerned I already may have overcrowded my tank early on.

 

[pendragon]

Fin problems seem fairly common in black skirts, especially the long-finned variety. They seem prone to fin "splits" and such if their living conditions are not great. Undoubtedly, they were not living in ideal conditions at Wal-Mart. If they aren't getting nipped, some time in a healthy environment will probably heal them up (unfortunately, I don't think your environment for them will be particularly great for a few weeks if your tank is not cycled, but I'll come back to that). Two things come to mind:

1.) Serpaes are sometimes ornery, nippy little cusses. It's not universal, but it's not at all uncommon for serpaes to nip at or bully more passive fish. Their behavior can be more barb-like than classic tetra. I wouldn't condemn them until you've witnessed it, but keep an eye out. By and large tetras aren't problem fish, but there are a couple which can be under the right circumstances, and serpaes are one of those.

2.) I get the impression you may not know yet about the process of cycling a new tank. You dropped a pretty heavy bio-load in there for it not to be established, and those fish will probably have a tough time in the days ahead. It might not look like a lot of fish, but there's not a lot of room in a ten-gallon tank (sad, but true). If you don't understand cycling particularly well, may I suggest some educational reading here? In fact, if you are a newbie (and believe me, we all are at some point ), I strongly recommend all the FAQ's at http/faq.thekrib.com. There's a lot of very helpful information there.

Also, I agree with regard to the numbers of schooling fish. To be honest, if you want schooling fish in a ten-gallon, you don't have much room for anything other than that fish. If it were my tank, I'd choose what I wanted to keep, the black skirts or the platties, and I'd take the serpaes and whichever fish I didn't choose back to the store. After the tank cycled (but not before), I would add a couple or three more fish of the kind I chose so they could form a small school (and be much happier). You're probably also going to want a small scavenger or two (not a pleco! ) to keep the substrate clean, but i wouldn't worry about that until after the cycle completes. Most scavengers don't tolerate the changes a tank goes through while cycling terribly well, anyway.

Just my humble opinion.

pendragon!

 

[StanTheBetta]

Yes when I dumped all these fish in here I was a newbie (well I still am) but since then I found this site and a couple other useful sites and learned a thing or two. I bought the tetras from Petco actually and I wonder if they'd give me anything for returning them. Money is kind of a concern right now because I'm out of work at the moment but I suppose the $1.60 those tetras were each isn't going to hurt me.

 

[noelberg]

My blackskirts are pretty ornery little cusses. They do like to nip at each other, although it usually isn't too bad, but I would tend to put them in the "close to semi-aggressive" category while they're still new to the tank. As I'm sure you know, poor water conditions are not good for the fin-nipped fish, as this can lead to infection or poor recovery. My black skirts had a tear or two while the tank was cycling, but I haven't seen one rip or shred since - I've added more hiding places, which has also helped. They're fun to watch, but they do get up to 2.5 inches, so that limits the max amount in your tank.

Since coming to the forum I also realize I made some newbie mistakes, such as pulling the "noob Noah", or getting two of every fish. But I also believe that if the fish appear happy and well-adjusted in your tank, having only 2 of a species is better than giving them up to some lfs. The fish go through added stress and the lfs is likely to sell only one or two to some less-informed person with an overstocked tank. In the end it's all about doing what you believe is best for your fish.

 

[plecoperson]

I have lots of tetras - black skirts, glowlights, head and tail lights and neons and they are all just in pairs - they all seem perfectly happy.

 

[BigSteve]

8) I agree with plecoperson.. I've had pretty good luck with small groups of
2-4 tetras, as long as there are no bigger fish or bullies in the tank. I think
all the hype about them being "schooling fish" and so much better/happier in
groups of 6 or more is somewhat overrated.
To StantheBetta.. serpae tetras are quite known for being nippy, and I think
black skirts can be too. In fact, I have concluded that all of the tetras with the
taller bodies (serpae, black skirt, red eye, bleeding heart, etc), seem to have
a certain number of bullies and fin nippers among them. Whereas almost all
the tetras with the slimmer bodies (neons, glowlights, cardinal, black neon,
bloodfin, etc.) are generally mellow and peaceful.

 

[drobbins27]

Don't buy tetras....I find them boring and weak...and disease magnets....and expensive....

R.I.P The huge school of Neon Tetras I had before I got my Silver Dollar

 

[plecoperson]

I have had my fish for only about 4 months and have lost 3 tetras in that time - 2 of 4 neons and one silvertip. I dont think they are particularly hardy but I havent found them to be disease magnets!

 

[Sea_Monster87]

I think the betta may be responsible for parts of their fins being missing. They usually nip at the fins of longfin fish.

 

[Gabe]

I just want to defend the Black Skirt Tetras. I now have six, but 3 I've had for over a year and a half and they have survived all my newbie mistakes. I had a small fungus problem a month or so ago, but it cleared up quick and I didn't have any problems before that. My female Tetra I lost due to her swim bladder being messed up, she chouldn't swim properly for quite a while. I'm not sure exactly what happened there but I find they are a very hardy fish.

I agree with Sea_Monster, it may be the Betta as they don't like any other long finned fish.

Gabe