the munched neon up-date -or- the tale of the tail!

[altabc]

A bit of a flippant title to this thread I guess. The fact is that I was very concerned about 12 neons that I added to my tank a couple of weeks ago. Their new "roomies" were 5 lemon tetras, 5 rasbora het., and 3 serpae tetras. The Neons' tail fins were tattered to varying degrees a few days later. One Neon basically had a naked tail. Unbelievable...the fins are growing back! I suspect that the Serpae had something to do with this, but they appear to have reformed!

 

[jenazen69]

I have 4 glow neons that I have had for only a week. The largest of them had all but removed the tail of one of the smallest. They do grow back as long as it's just fin and not flesh. I have kept guppies, barbs, and danios that all have the fin nipping problem. Just make sure you keep the water clean, and try giving them more hiding spaces so the ones that are picked on can get away easier.

 

[tackful]

Early on, when I was slowly stocking my tank, I went through the exact same problem, first with the Serpaes, then with Lemon tetras, same as you! I had to go to the trouble of removing each of them in turn. One of my neons had completely lost its tail and hid for two weeks, but eventually the tail regrew and the fish regained complete health. I think the Serpaes and the Lemons are beautiful fish, but they should only be kept with equally agressive types.

 

[altabc]

You are so right. Funny thing though. The first fish in my tank were the Rasborae. They are so calm and unassuming that I tend to look past them. I do a daily nose count of course..but they just kind of hang out, do their thing, and hold their own. Other, more aggressive fish, do not seem to bother them at all.

 

[jenazen69]

Mine have stopped doing it now that I put them in the 75 Gallon tank and the chase is much more intresting. They don't have to be taken out if they have good clean water. Aquarium salt won't hurt most fish either, and it does help them to heal faster. The fish you named would not have any problem with it.

 

[altabc]

Salt for fish.....I have to confess that I am very leery of putting anything into this tank but conditioner for chlorine. I have seen other people dose thier tanks until the water actually turned colour. I mean..it should be clear, right? I mean no disrespect. No, not at all. I am just new to this, and afraid of blowing it.

 

[phi_betta_kappa]

I love my serpae but they are terrible nippers!

I use salt in my tanks- you can get aquarium salt or kosher salt. I have serpae, black skirt tetras, harlequin rasboras, peppered corydoras, dwarf gouramis, and snails. Also many bettas.