Why Do My Tetras Hide?

[Fishmanic]

Why havent you entered that tank in the Tank of the Month contest?

 

[Aqua67]

I just wanted to say that I have a 38 gallon long aquarium with 14 ember tetras and they are always hiding in the huge java fern bush in my aquarium. Also housed in that aquarium is one Siamese algae eater, 4 glass cats, and 3 cories. Like the OP my cories are always swimming all over. The glass cats hide in caves under all of the java fern, and the Siamese algae eater rests on plants when it is not swimming around. My embers hang out in the java fern bush and come out when I feed them. When I first got 18 of them, about a year ago, they would school and swim across the front and the back of the aquarium, but now they mostly stay in the plants.

Since the plants are low tech, the aquarium light is not particularly bright. Roughly half of the aquarium surface is thickly covered in lemna minor, held back using a piece of styrofoam wedged between the front and back glass. There is a pole in front of this aquarium which makes it hard to get a good picture of the entire frontage in one shot. I intend to add a few more cories, but I’m also considering adding another 10 kubotai rasboras or other small schooling fish, but for now I’m hoping the embers are trying to breed in that java fern. It seems there are only 2 males in the whole group though.

It seems that hiding in plants is just something little tetras do. They swam around a lot in the beginning when they were new to the tank, but once they’ve familiarized themselves with the new territory, they settle in. These fish are in my basement, very quiet and they aren’t bothered by a lot of activity outside of their tank.

I also have 8 neons in my 30 gallon long tank with 1 large angelfish, another siamese algae eater, and 3 kuhli loaches, and they hide often because if they don’t the angelfish will get them. They have a lot of places to hide though. I hope to breed the neons on my sun porch this summer in a small container with blackwater.

 

[MuddyWaters]

Why havent you entered that tank in the Tank of the Month contest?

I did enter the 15 gallon tank last month. The 75 gallon tank was started in November and no fish until December, so haven't had the chance.

 

[MuddyWaters]

I just wanted to say that I have a 38 gallon long aquarium with 14 ember tetras and they are always hiding in the huge java fern bush in my aquarium. Also housed in that aquarium is one Siamese algae eater, 4 glass cats, and 3 cories. Like the OP my cories are always swimming all over. The glass cats hide in caves under all of the java fern, and the Siamese algae eater rests on plants when it is not swimming around. My embers hang out in the java fern bush and come out when I feed them. When I first got 18 of them, about a year ago, they would school and swim across the front and the back of the aquarium, but now they mostly stay in the plants.

Since the plants are low tech, the aquarium light is not particularly bright. Roughly half of the aquarium surface is thickly covered in lemna minor, held back using a piece of styrofoam wedged between the front and back glass. There is a pole in front of this aquarium which makes it hard to get a good picture of the entire frontage in one shot. I intend to add a few more cories, but I’m also considering adding another 10 kubotai rasboras or other small schooling fish, but for now I’m hoping the embers are trying to breed in that java fern. It seems there are only 2 males in the whole group though.

It seems that hiding in plants is just something little tetras do. They swam around a lot in the beginning when they were new to the tank, but once they’ve familiarized themselves with the new territory, they settle in. These fish are in my basement, very quiet and they aren’t bothered by a lot of activity outside of their tank.

I also have 8 neons in my 30 gallon long tank with 1 large angelfish, another siamese algae eater, and 3 kuhli loaches, and they hide often because if they don’t the angelfish will get them. They have a lot of places to hide though. I hope to breed the neons on my sun porch this summer in a small container with blackwater.

Pretty tank, Aqua67- the embers look like ornaments on the plants LOL.