Flame Tetra Behavior.

[Rick]

Two weeks ago, I upgraded from a 10 gallon tank with continually breaking
down incadescent lights to a 20 gallon with flourescent. While it is nice
to be able to see the fish, my four flame tetras won't come out of hiding.

They used to swim around and scramble to the surface for feeding time in the
10 gallon. Now, they hide behind a rock, have gone pale, and don't come out
during feeding. My plattys seem quite content, corys happy as hell, and
pleco stuck to the glass. I tested the water and all is balanced perfectly.
Could the light be too bright for them? Could they be scared of their new
surroundings?

They do come out and go back to their red color, once in a while, but only
for a short time. I'm worried they will starve to death. And, I went from
a tank that looked packed to a tank that, from a distance, looks void of
life except for two orange ovals (plattys) at the surface and a large black
blob stuck to the glass somewhere in the middle.

Ricky

[NetMax]

"Rick" > wrote in message
...
> Two weeks ago, I upgraded from a 10 gallon tank with continually
breaking
> down incadescent lights to a 20 gallon with flourescent. While it is
nice
> to be able to see the fish, my four flame tetras won't come out of
hiding.
>
> They used to swim around and scramble to the surface for feeding time
in the
> 10 gallon. Now, they hide behind a rock, have gone pale, and don't
come out
> during feeding. My plattys seem quite content, corys happy as hell,
and
> pleco stuck to the glass. I tested the water and all is balanced
perfectly.
> Could the light be too bright for them? Could they be scared of their
new
> surroundings?
>
> They do come out and go back to their red color, once in a while, but
only
> for a short time. I'm worried they will starve to death. And, I went
from
> a tank that looked packed to a tank that, from a distance, looks void
of
> life except for two orange ovals (plattys) at the surface and a large
black
> blob stuck to the glass somewhere in the middle.
>
> Ricky

Sounds like your ditherfish need more dither ;~) If you add a few more
Flame tetras, one of two things will happen. Either the new arrivals
will group with the others in hiding, wondering what they should be
afraid of, or they will swim out in the open (enjoying their new
environment) and the originals will come out to join them. Another thing
you can try is to add some floating plants. This will provide some shade
and comfort for them. Another thing to try is to add another group of
shoaling fish. About 6 of any of the following would create more
activity and make the Flames feel safer : Black Phantoms, Pristellas,
Glow-lights, Black Neons, SilverTips, Rummynose, Black Skirts Head & Tail
Lights or Red-eye Tetra. Some tetras would get too large (ie: Congos,
Scissortail etc), and others would be too similar to your Flames to
provide good contrast (ie: Bleeding Hearts, Serpaes). hth


ps, they might just be settling in too, so a few days might have them
behaving normally.
NetMax