Help With Tetras Please
- Thread starter jakey
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lilfishie
Its a kinda MAGIC!! ^_^
i believe cichlids do better in speicies tanks and some do get quite large and would make a nice snack of neons
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jakey
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ok my cichlids are about 2 inches and i am planning on seperating them so would neons not be ok until i get a new tank for my cichlids
clinton ><>
Fish Crazy
no you cannot put them with tetras 
as they will eat them
as they will eat themTommy Gun
Fish Crazy
You certainly can....HOWEVER - and this is a BIG however - you cannot keep them with every sort of cichlid; and in reality, I would say only a very few cichlids. This is for a few reasons:
1. Regardless of what a fish's diet is 'advertised' to be on some species profile, almost any fish will take the opportunity to swallow another fish if given the opportunity and ability --- even a pleco, or the primarily herbivorous mbuna will eat other fish. Hence, since neon tetras are relatively small fish (even the 'jumbo' version), they are apt to become a snack for many larger fish. Of course, there are quite a few cichlids which are carnivorous, or are at least more than willing to be, given the opportunity
2. While known to be schooling fish, neon tetras are not really the active schoolers that we think of most of the time in that, unless given a good reason not to do so, they enjoy 'hanging out' under plant leaves or other similar hiding spots in groups, rather than swimming around in groups === which they will do, however...
3. One of the larger issues with many tetras is that they are oft considered to be 'scaleless' or befall the same fate as scaleless fish...which doesn't necessarily mean that they are more prone to illness/disease, but are, in general, harder to treat than they otherwise might be --- hence, keeping them in a constantly stressed situation may not prove to be worth the effort
I do understand that the use of dither/target fish in a cichlid tank has great benefit for us though and so perhaps this is your goal as well. However, not all fish make great dithers, perhaps including neon tetras. The characteristics you would want to look for in a community fish when choosing dithers/targets are:
- schooling/shoaling fish (perhaps shoaling fish are the better choice since they are more apt to 'split up' as needed, rather than trying to escape danger as an entire group...adding further to the aggressor's confusion)
- grow too large to fit in any tank mate's mouth
- fast swimmers
- somewhat 'tough' fish (often those which are labeled as being 'semi-aggressive' community fish)
...among a few other traits that I am sure I am forgetting about right now. Examples of good dithers/targets are:
- Many barbs (such as the tiger barb, which is arguably the most popular - although I use Odessa and Arulius Barbs)
- Silver Dollars
- Many Rainbowfish
- Giant Danios (regular danios if the cichlids are small, of course)
- Mollies/Platties
...and I am sure there are many other fish which could qualify as good dithers as well.
Getting back to my initial statement about being able to keep neon tetras with some cichlids (for any naysayers out there), these fish are often kept with Discus and Angelfish, which are both cichlids, and we can keep neons and other similar fish like cardinal tetras with quite a few dwarf cichlids without too many issues (e.g. apistos...maybe kribs)
One of the larger misnomers in this hobby is that all cichlids are created equal...while I agree that some cichlids are best off in a species tank for one reason or another, I strongly suggest that we try to stay away from making extremely 'concrete' statements such as this one because of the simple fact that many many many many hobbyists have found great success in mixig some cichlids with some community fish. In fact, as I pointed out above, there are some fish which truly are cichlids even though we do not refer to them as such all of the time (i.e. discus, angelfish)
Ditto
Being eaten by larger fish is only one of a few problems you would be faced with by keeping some cichlids with neon tetras...as I already elude to, stress is probably the larger factor you have to worry about right now since, as I am sure you already know, stress leads to a myriad of other issues/illnesses/diseases/etc. that can affect your whole tank.
1. Regardless of what a fish's diet is 'advertised' to be on some species profile, almost any fish will take the opportunity to swallow another fish if given the opportunity and ability --- even a pleco, or the primarily herbivorous mbuna will eat other fish. Hence, since neon tetras are relatively small fish (even the 'jumbo' version), they are apt to become a snack for many larger fish. Of course, there are quite a few cichlids which are carnivorous, or are at least more than willing to be, given the opportunity
2. While known to be schooling fish, neon tetras are not really the active schoolers that we think of most of the time in that, unless given a good reason not to do so, they enjoy 'hanging out' under plant leaves or other similar hiding spots in groups, rather than swimming around in groups === which they will do, however...
3. One of the larger issues with many tetras is that they are oft considered to be 'scaleless' or befall the same fate as scaleless fish...which doesn't necessarily mean that they are more prone to illness/disease, but are, in general, harder to treat than they otherwise might be --- hence, keeping them in a constantly stressed situation may not prove to be worth the effort
I do understand that the use of dither/target fish in a cichlid tank has great benefit for us though and so perhaps this is your goal as well. However, not all fish make great dithers, perhaps including neon tetras. The characteristics you would want to look for in a community fish when choosing dithers/targets are:
- schooling/shoaling fish (perhaps shoaling fish are the better choice since they are more apt to 'split up' as needed, rather than trying to escape danger as an entire group...adding further to the aggressor's confusion)
- grow too large to fit in any tank mate's mouth
- fast swimmers
- somewhat 'tough' fish (often those which are labeled as being 'semi-aggressive' community fish)
...among a few other traits that I am sure I am forgetting about right now. Examples of good dithers/targets are:
- Many barbs (such as the tiger barb, which is arguably the most popular - although I use Odessa and Arulius Barbs)
- Silver Dollars
- Many Rainbowfish
- Giant Danios (regular danios if the cichlids are small, of course)
- Mollies/Platties
...and I am sure there are many other fish which could qualify as good dithers as well.
Getting back to my initial statement about being able to keep neon tetras with some cichlids (for any naysayers out there), these fish are often kept with Discus and Angelfish, which are both cichlids, and we can keep neons and other similar fish like cardinal tetras with quite a few dwarf cichlids without too many issues (e.g. apistos...maybe kribs)
One of the larger misnomers in this hobby is that all cichlids are created equal...while I agree that some cichlids are best off in a species tank for one reason or another, I strongly suggest that we try to stay away from making extremely 'concrete' statements such as this one because of the simple fact that many many many many hobbyists have found great success in mixig some cichlids with some community fish. In fact, as I pointed out above, there are some fish which truly are cichlids even though we do not refer to them as such all of the time (i.e. discus, angelfish)
Ditto
Being eaten by larger fish is only one of a few problems you would be faced with by keeping some cichlids with neon tetras...as I already elude to, stress is probably the larger factor you have to worry about right now since, as I am sure you already know, stress leads to a myriad of other issues/illnesses/diseases/etc. that can affect your whole tank.
clinton ><>
Fish Crazy
he has the cichlids that grow quite big as he is my friend well at least he thinks he is 
so thats why i said no he couldnt keep tetras with them
so thats why i said no he couldnt keep tetras with them
Tommy Gun
Fish Crazy
he has the cichlids that grow quite big as he is my friend well at least he thinks he is
so thats why i said no he couldnt keep tetras with them
I see...sorry then, I obviously did not know that. However, I do feel as though it is somewhat of our responsibility to ensure that we are not misleading others who might be reading these posts to answer his/her own questions, so in the future, it might be good to point this sort of thing out rather than make blanket statements that could be misconstrued by others. Make sense?
Indeed
Most people would say no, general rule for cichlids is species tanks. If you could specify which cichlids and the size of the tank this will help greatly
Also, if your not here to accept ALL responses (even if there not exactly what you want), id recommend not asking too many questions
Most people would say no, general rule for cichlids is species tanks. If you could specify which cichlids and the size of the tank this will help greatly
Also, if your not here to accept ALL responses (even if there not exactly what you want), id recommend not asking too many questions
xxBarneyxx
Fish Aficionado
Yeah. You might get away with it with most dwarf cichlid species (given a big enough tank and fully grown neons) but most others will either be too aggressive or see them as a snack. Really does depend on what ones you have though.
Tommy Gun
Fish Crazy
By comparison, do the fish in the picture that you can view by clicking HERE look close to, or exactly like your fish? If so, then these fish are relatively small cichlids as adults, which might increase your odds for keeping neons with them. By all accounts (i.e. species profiles I just read), these cichlids are relatively docile...however, I am not sure if that means they are docile when compared to other cichlids, or just fish in general. In any event, I agree that you would almost certainly want to ensure your neon tetras are fully grown or close to it since, like I eluded to before, even peaceful fish might eat another fish given the right circumstances.
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