Why Are They Shoaling?

[PRW1988]

Neon tetras tend to stick together as a survival instinct, your Ram is probably a bit of a bully, you may not see it, but it's more than likely there... Neons tend to school regardless, it's a natural occurance, safety in numbers and all that...

 

[chrisdoesntmiss]

Mine go through phases, they stick together and then 10 minutes later are at either ends of the tank. No explanation either.

Chris

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Started before the xmas stuff (I believe), is probably somthing to do with the snail "killer" (which managed to kill a fish and leave all the snails?). No doubt ive poured some stupid copper based killer into the water, im working towards removing it atm though and no one else seems to be suffering

Where is the tank situated in your house? If its near a tv, cd player, noisy washing machine or tumble drier or in a kids bedroom etc etc, these sorts of noises and distractions can cause tetra's to shoal.
I do think it is relatively normal for tetras to go through phases of shoaling as they travel from one end of the tank to the other etc, but if they are shoaling all the time then there is probably something amiss. Increasing the size of each type of tetras shoal may help they become more confident and relaxed in their environment (since the more of their own kind there are, the more secure they will feel)- it is generally recommended that you have at least 5-6 tetra's, but sometimes some people need to get a little more than that for their tetra's to feel better and more at ease in their environment.

I never used snail killing meds or anything like that, but it may be having an effect on the fish, if you put a carbon sponge in your filter for a day or two it should remove any meds left over in the tanks water .

 

[SJ2K]

The snail killer is the only thing I could put it down to (as stated a few times, NOTHING else has changed, they've all been together and fine for quite a long time).

Ive already got some carbon in there to take it out, combined with daily water changes

Thanks for your time guys.

 

[andywg]

cause tetras are shoaling fish.

There is a mixture of terminology that often happens with schooling/shoaling.

When a group of same-species fish swim together in a loose group, moving independently but staying in the same relative group, its called schooling
When a group of same-species fish swim together in a close knit group, mirroring each others movements precisely and moving as one body, its called shoaling.
The difference is very notable.
Fish school by design, they like to be near others of their kind.
Fish shoal as a response to a threat/predator or when in a strange environment, its a survival instinct.

Actually that is incorrect and pretty much backwards.

Oh, and if i remember rightly a school of fish is a group of fishes all traveling in one direction where as a shoal of fish is a group of fish just hanging about with each other with no particular purpose.

Just some more mindless information from somewhere at the back of my brain

That is pretty close.

The best definition I have found (and which is located in my previous thread ) is from Fishes, An Introduction to Ichthyology Fifth Edition by Peter B. Moyle and Joseph J. Cech, Jr.:

Shoaling is perhaps the most fascinating social behaviour possessed by fish, although most attention has been focused on the most spectacular aspect of shoaling: schooling. A School of fish often seems to have a mind of its own, moving in co-ordinated fashion through complicated manoeuvres with the members precisely spaced within it. A shoal is any group of fishes that remains together for social reasons, whereas a school is a polarised, synchronised shoal (Pitcher and Parish 1993)

 

[kribensis12]

I have no idea why they are shoaling/schooling, as they are schooling/shoaling fish. That seem's normal to me. My black phantom tetra's shoal/school all the time, adn they are under no threat!

 

[Thirdfloor]

cause tetras are shoaling fish.

There is a mixture of terminology that often happens with schooling/shoaling.

When a group of same-species fish swim together in a loose group, moving independently but staying in the same relative group, its called schooling
When a group of same-species fish swim together in a close knit group, mirroring each others movements precisely and moving as one body, its called shoaling.
The difference is very notable.
Fish school by design, they like to be near others of their kind.
Fish shoal as a response to a threat/predator or when in a strange environment, its a survival instinct.

Actually that is incorrect and pretty much backwards.

Oh, and if i remember rightly a school of fish is a group of fishes all traveling in one direction where as a shoal of fish is a group of fish just hanging about with each other with no particular purpose.

Just some more mindless information from somewhere at the back of my brain

That is pretty close.

The best definition I have found (and which is located in my previous thread ) is from Fishes, An Introduction to Ichthyology Fifth Edition by Peter B. Moyle and Joseph J. Cech, Jr.:

Shoaling is perhaps the most fascinating social behaviour possessed by fish, although most attention has been focused on the most spectacular aspect of shoaling: schooling. A School of fish often seems to have a mind of its own, moving in co-ordinated fashion through complicated manoeuvres with the members precisely spaced within it. A shoal is any group of fishes that remains together for social reasons, whereas a school is a polarised, synchronised shoal (Pitcher and Parish 1993)

Oops! got it backwards. thanks for clearing up my backward information, andywg.