Should I give up on this GBR?

Linoleum Knife

AC Members
Sep 30, 2008
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Charlotte, NC
Hi all, I have a 28 gallon tank I've had set up for around 5 months. All I've put in it so far is 10 glowlight tetras, plants, and snails. I considered getting a pair of GBRs for months and last week I finally bought them. Well 36 hours later one of them was dead. My tank is totally stable and nowhere near overstocked, so I figured I just got a bad fish. I did a massive water change and I got another GBR the next day. That night I had a dead tetra! :swear: Did another water change. Now 3 days later the second GBR is dead too!

I've been keeping the ammonia level pretty well in check, so I'm thinking this surviving GBR is just really aggressive. He does leave the tetras alone most of the time, but he's constantly battling with the other GBR. I even moved a bunch of plants around in my tank to create more hiding spots and disrupt any territory. So I don't know if I should give up on this GBR and either try another pair or just get different fish all together. Or maybe its not the aggression, maybe the dead ones haven't been eating (before they died :)). I've been feeding bloodworms and trying to get the GBRs to eat as much as possible, but I guess maybe it hasn't been enough.

Help!
 
gbrs tend to be really sensitive. when i first brought home 5, 4 died. did you quarantine the new arrivals? its really important so that your fish can acclimate to your water conditions in peace and so that you can keep an eye out for any signs of illness or weakness. i learned that i needed to acclimate mine with aged water while in quarantine and to provide a number of hiding places so that each one had a place to retreat. and once i did that, i brought home a new trio and all three are healthy and happy. i now have 4 in a heavily planted 55. theres some bickering, but ive never seen them hurt eachother. is your tank planted (live or fake)? what are all of your parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH, gh, temp)?
 
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