Hey...where are your fish?

Jakmax

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Aug 4, 2004
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New York
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I'm so sick of hearing that! I currently have a few red eyed tetras (beginning to stock my 20 gallon) and all they do is hide. I cycled the tank with them (didn't know enough not to listen to the lfs employees who said it was okay for them). My water seems fine (Ph 7.4, ammonia 0. nitrite 0, nitrate 5). Is that just how they are? I just added a couple of rummy nose and THEY swim around. It seems like the red eyes are wasting perfectly good fish space! Is this common?
 
I don't know much about red-eyed Tetra's but I do share your frustration currently. My cichlids of all things are so shy that no one but me gets to see them, and I have to sit very still accross the room before they will come out. I never dreamed a pleco would be the centerpeice in an Oscar tank, but they are young, and the oscar wasn't born in a tank so he seems to have some different personality traits than any Oscar I've previously owned. I get a kick out of trying to get people to sit still long enough to see the fish. :laugh: :sad :sad :sad
 
I'm ready to find a big mean fish to add to the tank to "shake things up a little". Someone to keep them on their toes (or fins :p )!
 
A substantial number of my tanks are occupied by nocturnal, crepuscular, or lurking predator critters - therefore my usual sig line is "where's the fish?" as that is the most frequent comment I get when folks first see my tanks.

For normally free-swimming and schooling fish which do not show that behavior in a tank, providing more cover and/or dither fish may convince them that it is safe to come out. Now that you have the rummynose, the redeyes may get braver.
 
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