Aggressive Buenos Aires Tetra

Cer81

New Member
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Hi all I have 40 litre tank which has been up and running for 4 months- we have only had fish in it for a month due to an initial problem with the quality of the water. Once all the water tests come back fine- We went to our local pet store and they recommended us getting a pair of Buenos aires tetras initially which we did however one of the fish ( we think female due to larger size and less colourful fins) has been very aggressive to the other tetra ( we think male- smaller and more colourful)from the start. He hides behind the filter constantly every time he attempts to come out from his hiding place she immediately chases him back in- he seems well in himself and eats regularly and when both fish feel under threat ie when doing the water changes they stick together for a while till the aggression starts again. We recently purchased 4 more fish on advice of the pet store ( the last fish we wil get due to size of tank) these are 2 cat-fish and I have forgot the name of the other two they are small orangey-yellow and have red tails they are settling in well but have had little effect on the aggressive fish who up to this point has only targeted the other tetra- we were hoping that getting the final four fish would take her dominance away. What more can we do?- we dont want to get rid of any fish if we can help it as so far no damage has been done we just have a fish which has been hiding for the last month.
 
BA tetras are one of the most aggressive tetras im affraid. the only way to stop 1 fish getting picked on is to get more of the same species, this way the aggression will be spread out among the group instead of being directed at a single fish. i also think a 40L tank isnt big enough for these fish as they do get quite large for a tetra.
 
i have 5 BA tetra in my tank and they all seem to get one very well with eachother, and keep themselves to themselves. they are the best shoaling fish in my tank, they are ALWAYS in a group. in my tank it is so rare that they arent swimming in a group, if the group of 5 isnt together, something is wrong. twice i have only counted 3 or 4 in the group, and each time i have found the missing fish in or behind the filter, stuck.

upping your group to 5 or 6 i think i will show an improvement. got some pictures of your other fish ? are they cats cory catfish ?
 
I wouldn't add anymore fish as your tank is too small for these. Either get a bigger tank and buy a proper group of 6 BA Tetras or exchange them for smaller fish like Neon Tetras.
Carl
 
Hello and welcome to the forum.

Keith S.
 

Most reactions

Back
Top