Added Tetras to Betta Tank - Didn't see THAT one coming!

[Dan White]

I have been posting about my lonely betta in the hot Eclipse 5 corner tank I
got recently. I decided to get 3 neon tetras to go with the betta and see
if they fought. I also got a compact fluorescent light and the temp dropped
to 80 from about 84.

Well anyway, the question was whether the betta would chase the tetras
around his tank. The answer seems to be "no." They pretty much bump into
each other with no problem. The thing I didn't expect was that one of the
tetras is terrorizing the other two! I might have to return that one. They
all also have slightly concave or flat stomachs. I assume this is from lack
of food at the lfs?

Anyway, any comments are welcome.

dwhite

[NetMax]

"Dan White" > wrote in message
...
>I have been posting about my lonely betta in the hot Eclipse 5 corner
>tank I
> got recently. I decided to get 3 neon tetras to go with the betta and
> see
> if they fought. I also got a compact fluorescent light and the temp
> dropped
> to 80 from about 84.

This sounds about right. The ballast still gets quite warm, but overall
it's much more efficient than an incandescent bulb.

> Well anyway, the question was whether the betta would chase the tetras
> around his tank. The answer seems to be "no." They pretty much bump
> into
> each other with no problem. The thing I didn't expect was that one of
> the
> tetras is terrorizing the other two! I might have to return that one.
> They
> all also have slightly concave or flat stomachs. I assume this is from
> lack
> of food at the lfs?

I would hold off on returning the 'rogue' Neon for a while. A new
environment is an opportunity to set the pecking order, so they might all
settle down soon. I used to feed Neon tetras frozen baby brine shrimp.
Fattened them up so that they could take larger foods. Staple food is
really insufficient (imo).
--
www.NetMax.tk

> Anyway, any comments are welcome.
>
> dwhite

[Dan White]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> "Dan White" > wrote in message
> ...
> >I have been posting about my lonely betta in the hot Eclipse 5 corner
> >tank I
> > got recently. I decided to get 3 neon tetras to go with the betta and
> > see
> > if they fought. I also got a compact fluorescent light and the temp
> > dropped
> > to 80 from about 84.
>
> This sounds about right. The ballast still gets quite warm, but overall
> it's much more efficient than an incandescent bulb.
>
> > Well anyway, the question was whether the betta would chase the tetras
> > around his tank. The answer seems to be "no." They pretty much bump
> > into
> > each other with no problem. The thing I didn't expect was that one of
> > the
> > tetras is terrorizing the other two! I might have to return that one.
> > They
> > all also have slightly concave or flat stomachs. I assume this is from
> > lack
> > of food at the lfs?
>
> I would hold off on returning the 'rogue' Neon for a while. A new
> environment is an opportunity to set the pecking order, so they might all
> settle down soon. I used to feed Neon tetras frozen baby brine shrimp.
> Fattened them up so that they could take larger foods. Staple food is
> really insufficient (imo).
> --

Yeah, we'll wait and see. I just have 3 neons. Of course the Petsmart guy
told me to get at least six because they don't do well in small numbers and
most likely will die early. That sounded a bit exaggerated to me.

thanks,
dwhite

[Jim Anderson]

In article >,
says...
> "NetMax" > wrote in message
> ...
> > "Dan White" > wrote in message
> > ...
> > >I have been posting about my lonely betta in the hot Eclipse 5 corner
> > >tank I
> > > got recently. I decided to get 3 neon tetras to go with the betta and
> > > see
> > > if they fought. I also got a compact fluorescent light and the temp
> > > dropped
> > > to 80 from about 84.
> >
> > This sounds about right. The ballast still gets quite warm, but overall
> > it's much more efficient than an incandescent bulb.
> >
> > > Well anyway, the question was whether the betta would chase the tetras
> > > around his tank. The answer seems to be "no." They pretty much bump
> > > into
> > > each other with no problem. The thing I didn't expect was that one of
> > > the
> > > tetras is terrorizing the other two! I might have to return that one.
> > > They
> > > all also have slightly concave or flat stomachs. I assume this is from
> > > lack
> > > of food at the lfs?
> >
> > I would hold off on returning the 'rogue' Neon for a while. A new
> > environment is an opportunity to set the pecking order, so they might all
> > settle down soon. I used to feed Neon tetras frozen baby brine shrimp.
> > Fattened them up so that they could take larger foods. Staple food is
> > really insufficient (imo).
> > --
>
> Yeah, we'll wait and see. I just have 3 neons. Of course the Petsmart guy
> told me to get at least six because they don't do well in small numbers and
> most likely will die early. That sounded a bit exaggerated to me.
>
> thanks,
> dwhite
>
>
>

The Petsmart guy is right, Neons are very social schoolers that create a
pecking order with the dominant in the middle of the school and the
'pecked-on' weaker/smaller pushed the perimeter to be sacrificed for the
salvation of the inner-circle. The more minions to peck on, the fewer
injuries leading to infections and death.

--
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To eMail me, just pull "my_finger"

[NetMax]

"Jim Anderson" > wrote in message
et...
> In article >,
> says...
>> "NetMax" > wrote in message
>> ...
>> > "Dan White" > wrote in message
>> > ...
>> > >I have been posting about my lonely betta in the hot Eclipse 5
>> > >corner
>> > >tank I
>> > > got recently. I decided to get 3 neon tetras to go with the betta
>> > > and
>> > > see
>> > > if they fought. I also got a compact fluorescent light and the
>> > > temp
>> > > dropped
>> > > to 80 from about 84.
>> >
>> > This sounds about right. The ballast still gets quite warm, but
>> > overall
>> > it's much more efficient than an incandescent bulb.
>> >
>> > > Well anyway, the question was whether the betta would chase the
>> > > tetras
>> > > around his tank. The answer seems to be "no." They pretty much
>> > > bump
>> > > into
>> > > each other with no problem. The thing I didn't expect was that
>> > > one of
>> > > the
>> > > tetras is terrorizing the other two! I might have to return that
>> > > one.
>> > > They
>> > > all also have slightly concave or flat stomachs. I assume this is
>> > > from
>> > > lack
>> > > of food at the lfs?
>> >
>> > I would hold off on returning the 'rogue' Neon for a while. A new
>> > environment is an opportunity to set the pecking order, so they
>> > might all
>> > settle down soon. I used to feed Neon tetras frozen baby brine
>> > shrimp.
>> > Fattened them up so that they could take larger foods. Staple food
>> > is
>> > really insufficient (imo).
>> > --
>>
>> Yeah, we'll wait and see. I just have 3 neons. Of course the
>> Petsmart guy
>> told me to get at least six because they don't do well in small
>> numbers and
>> most likely will die early. That sounded a bit exaggerated to me.
>>
>> thanks,
>> dwhite
>>
>>
>>
>
> The Petsmart guy is right, Neons are very social schoolers that create
> a
> pecking order with the dominant in the middle of the school and the
> 'pecked-on' weaker/smaller pushed the perimeter to be sacrificed for
> the
> salvation of the inner-circle. The more minions to peck on, the fewer
> injuries leading to infections and death.
>
> --
> Jim Anderson
> ( 8(|) To eMail me, just pull "my_finger"

The problem is that it's just a 5g tank, already with a Betta in it. If
the three didn't settle down, I would add 1 more (perhaps 2 more if there
were some live plants like Java ferns or Anubius).
--
www.NetMax.tk

[Dan White]

"NetMax" > wrote in message
...
> "Jim Anderson" > wrote in message
> et...
> > In article >,
> > says...

> > The Petsmart guy is right, Neons are very social schoolers that create
> > a
> > pecking order with the dominant in the middle of the school and the
> > 'pecked-on' weaker/smaller pushed the perimeter to be sacrificed for
> > the
> > salvation of the inner-circle. The more minions to peck on, the fewer
> > injuries leading to infections and death.
> >
> > --
> > Jim Anderson
> > ( 8(|) To eMail me, just pull "my_finger"
>
> The problem is that it's just a 5g tank, already with a Betta in it. If
> the three didn't settle down, I would add 1 more (perhaps 2 more if there
> were some live plants like Java ferns or Anubius).
> --
> www.NetMax.tk
>

Hmm. That's interesting about neons. I'll give it a couple more days and
see. I do have a large mass of Java fern in the tank. Maybe I should just
2 more anyway. They do look nicer in larger groups anyway. If I have a
problem with overcrowding I can always move them to my father's house.

dwhite