lonely neon tetra

[JacopoFishy]

I had a small bunch of neon tetras... just 3 of 'em to hang out together and such. now, unfortunately, I only have one of the little guys left. I'm wondering if it's a bad thing for him to be all alone and not with more of his kind? Essentially, do neon tetras have to be part of a school?

thanks

 

[OohFeeshy]

I'd say about 6 makes a decent size school.

 

[guppy_man]

yes they need to be together thats why at the pet stored they sell 6 or more together

 

[silvershark]

i'm led to believe that schooling fish get stressed (scared?!) on there own, therefor not a great idea. look at it this way; take a city slicker and stick him in the middle of no-where with no-one else around and he'd need a new pair of trousers, whereas i, being brought up in "the sticks" quiet land would probably have the time of my life (not vcery social, me!). this is only my opinion though so wait till sumone with real brains answers!!

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Neons are schooling fish but they take it more seriously than most other schooling fish/community fish; neons need to be in large shoals as in the wild as they depend on their numbers for their survival and when in very small numbers or alone they become very stressed and usually do not last long even if there is no desease or other fish in the tank picking on them.

 

[JacopoFishy]

thanks guys. my tetra thanks you as well. I'll pick him up some buddies today.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

i think they will live, but they wont be happy. i had 5 neons before, and i was down to one for like a few months, it didnt eat much, it just took bites and swam away. i bought some cardinals a week ago, its been eating like a pig now

 

[bunjiweb]

I hope your tank has good filtration, a 10G is too small for Mollys really... they grow up to 4"..

I think you should contemplate getting a larger tank, or a second identical tank within the next few months if you are thinking of getting more neon tetra.

I know Tanks are cheap in america, we pay ridiculous prices for tanks over here in the UK, so for americans theres no excuse not to develop extreme MTS.

Ben

 

[The-Raven]

neon tetras are the most inept fish on the planet. They'll die if you happen to sleep-in one day and thus don't get to turning on your aquarium light until 2-3 hours later than usual. They get stuck in filters when they're still alive (despite what you've heard, fish don't only get stuck in filters when they're sick and/or dead).

I had a school of 6 once - and they almost never even stuck together. They were gone within a week.

I wish they didn't look so cool though

 

[The-Raven]

I hope your tank has good filtration, a 10G is too small for Mollys really... they grow up to 4"..

I think you should contemplate getting a larger tank, or a second identical tank within the next few months if you are thinking of getting more neon tetra.

I know Tanks are cheap in america, we pay ridiculous prices for tanks over here in the UK, so for americans theres no excuse not to develop extreme MTS.

Ben

Where on earth did you hear that rumor? 10G's are cheap, yes. 29G's (if you only get a tank I don't know, but if you get a whole system, tank, light, etc.) are $100... after that, the prices are just ridiculous.

I'm a poor college student, I bought a 29, and I think that's all I'll have for a few years, heh.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

neons dont school once they know the place is safe, but once you tap on the glass, they all go back together.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

you can probably get a 10 gallon set up for about $45 with no hood. after 18 gallons, it starts to get expensive

 

[bunjiweb]

I have read people saying that you can get a 10G with everything for under $40, sounds cheap to me!

Neons will school if the water flow is quite high or there are alot of them...As said, in smaller groups if there isnt much flow and they know the place is safe they will tend to stop schooling and just sit about..

In the tanks at work there are schools of 200 or so neon tetra, and they school round in a circle or sometims in groups with other ones hanging around them.

Ben

 

[andywg]

If the conditions are ideal and the fish don't feel threatened then the neons will sort of spread out across the tank unless they feel threatened at which point they will school tightly again.

Sometimes I wonder whether we should have a stickey of all the fish that should be kept in schools..Like barbs, tetras, Silver Sharks, Pictus, Cories, most catfish...

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

I agree you should get another tank; maybe use the mollys to help cycle it, no?
I find 8 neons are the ideal minimum number in my experience- once you reach that number and more you will find your neons will last alot longer if the water/tank conditions are good too.