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

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

"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

"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

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"

"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

"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