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Serpae Tetra Stopped Eating
4/1/08 Hello Crew, First of all, thanks so much in advance
for your help. We are new to the hobby, and are not sure what
information you'll need, so have included as much as possible
below. We have a 55 gallon freshwater tank; it has been up and
running with decorations since December 2007. We are using a
Marineland Penguin BioWheel 350 for up to 75 gallons, and have
included an Algone pouch in the filter to help control algae. We
also have a circulation pump on the opposite side of the aquarium
from the filter that has a flow rate of 2300 L/H, 600 GPH. There
are no live plants, but there are a lot of silk plants, large
pieces of wood, and floating plant decorations, providing plenty
of hiding places. The first fish were added on Feb 24: 4 Head and
Tail Light Tetras, 4 Red Eye Tetras, and 4 Harlequin Rasboras.
During this time, levels of Ammonia and Nitrate stayed at 0, and
PH was steady at 7.0; one water change of 15% was performed on
March 16, and levels continued to stay the same. Temperature
fluctuates slightly between 77 and 79 degrees. On March 22, the
following fish were added: 2 Farlowella Catfish, 4 Emerald Green
Cory Cats (Brochis Splendens), 4 Serpae Tetras, 4 Black Tetras, 6
Brilliant Rasboras. The Ammonia / Nitrite / PH levels have
continued to stay the same, and most of the fish are doing great.
Additionally, we have been adding API's Stress Zyme weekly as
directed, to help the live bacteria. However, there is one Serpae
Tetra that has recently stopped eating (we have been feeding once
per day with Aqueon Tropical Flakes, and planned to incorporate
other types of food later). At first, all 4 Serpaes ate the food.
All the other fish are still very interested in the food each
day, and swim freely around the tank, but this particular Serpae
stays in one corner of the tank pretty much all the time, and is
most often near the bottom. At feeding time, the other fish rush
over to the food, but this Serpae stays at the bottom of the
tank, usually hiding under a piece of wood. We have not noticed
this fish eat for 4 or 5 days. He shows no obvious signs of
illness. Two of the other Serpaes have dorsal fins that look as
if they could have been nipped, but this Serpae has a perfect
dorsal fin. We have not noticed any bullying, although the other
three Serpaes do chase one another around, and one of these three
(with a possibly nipped fin) often hangs out nearby the
non-eating Serpae. How can we get this guy to eat? Thanks, Kate
and Jason <Greetings. Serpae tetras (Hyphessobrycon spp.) are
not good community fish, and they do indeed feed on the scales
and fins of other fish. They will nip other fish in the tank,
particularly slow moving things like catfish. Secondly, Serpae
tetras have a "feeding frenzy" of sorts, and when kept
in too-small a group they are apt to bully one another. Even six
specimens is too few to get good behaviour from this species. You
need 10-12 at least for them to create a stable "pack".
Frankly, I'd recommend against any aquarist keeping them
unless they know precisely what they're letting themselves in
for. Yes, they're cheap, and yes, they're hardy, and yes,
they're pretty. But they just aren't good aquarium fish.
Sooner or later you will find your Serpae Tetras bully each other
to death until you end up with just the one specimen. Stories of
people keeping "peaceful Serpae tetras" usually end up
being situations where people have kept look-alike tetras with
nicer personalities. Do read up on the species sold as
"Serpae tetras" , i.e., Hyphessobrycon callistus, H.
eques and others. Remember also to treat nipped fins: these can
quickly become infected, yielding to Finrot or Fungus. As a total
aside, many of your fish are schooling species: that means they
MUST be kept in groups of at least 6 specimens. When kept in too
small a group they will, at the least, be stressed. You're
also not going to see them behave normally. Resist the temptation
to treat them like pick 'n' mix candy and take a couple
of these and a couple of those. They're animals, and they
have needs. Trust me on this, you'll also find them
longer-lived, healthier, and more rewarding when kept in SCHOOLS
rather than small numbers. Cheers, Neale.>
Re: Serpae Tetra Stopped Eating
4/1/08 Neale, Thank you very much for your response. We
definitely do want to have healthy and happy, non-stressed fish
(we thought a group of 4 was good for schooling fish, obviously a
mistake). It sounds like we should remove the Serpaes and take
them back to the LFS (they are definitely Hyphessobrycon
callistus). If we did that and increased the other schooling fish
(Harlequin Rasboras, Head and Tail Light Tetras, Red Eye Tetras,
Black Tetras, Emerald Cory Cats) to 6 fish, would that be all
right, or is that too many fish for our 55 gallon tank? We
don't want to overload it, and doing that would remove 4 fish
and add 10. Our apologies if this is a naive question--we are
beginners and we greatly appreciate your help. Thank you, Kate
and Jason <Hello again! Six is generally considered the
MINIMUM number for schooling fish. Any fewer and they just
don't "school". Upgrading your schools to 6 or more
in a 55 gallon tank will be fine. I'd even go for 8-10 a
piece. Serpae tetras were the first fish I ever kept, back around
1987. All they did was nip, nip, nip. Terrible fish. What they
are is miniature piranhas, and kept on their own in a big swarm
they're actually quite good fun. When they feed, they go
berserk, and will rip bits off each other if they can't get
enough food to eat. It's a real feeding frenzy. But as
community tropicals, they are of limited value. Anyway, all your
other fish would be fine, except with these provisos: Black
tetras (by which I assume you mean Gymnocorymbus ternetzi) are
also fin nippers, though usually only when kept with Gouramis,
angelfish, guppies, Bettas and the like. With other tetras and
fast-moving fish they're fine. Red-Eye tetras (Moenkhausia
sanctaefilomenae) are only very rarely reported to be
fin-nippers. Keep an eye out for it, but in groups of 6+ they
should be fine. Again, don't put temptation in their path.
Farlowella catfish are perhaps the most difficult commonly traded
catfish to keep alive for any length of time. They are really a
fish for advanced hobbyists. The problems are two fold. Firstly,
they're easily damaged by other fish (look out for signs of
nipping, e.g., damage to their tail fins). Secondly, they are
almost entirely algae-eaters, and cannot "scavenge".
You will need to add Algae Wafers to the aquarium at least 3-4
nights per week for these fish to eat, though frankly I'd be
surprised if the Corydoras didn't eat them first. You can
also offer thin slices of softened or blanched vegetables,
weighted down with little bits of lead (the stuff used to hold
down aquarium plants, very cheap). Courgette (zucchini) is a
favourite, but tinned peas, cooked spinach, and Sushi Nori will
also be taken. Some small invertebrate foods like bloodworms will
need to be give as well. Lifespan in most aquaria is sadly rather
short. Hope this helps, Neale.>
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