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New Member
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Last Login: 9/28/2008 7:59:27 AM
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What happens to neon tetras if there is only 2? I worry because I only have 2. They don't eat well and they get scared too easily. People say you have to get 6. I wonder if they are wrong because the 2 are still living from when i started my fish tank. (September)
__________________________________________ "The only time you run out of chances is when you stop taking them."
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| Any fish, or other animal for that matter, can technically live alone or without much companionship. However, some animals are best kept in groups because by nature, they enjoy the company of their own kind. It's well documented that many animals deprived of companionship develop severe psychological problems from their isolation. With that said, many fish are "schooling fish" - they prefer to be in groups. Physically, they are capable of living alone, but they get a lot of benefit from being in a school. In the wild, being in a bigger school means it's less likely that you'll be the one that gets eaten. So, more fish in an aquarium means that each fish is more secure and not as fearful. That's why it's recommended that you keep those types of fish in groups of 3, 4, 6, etc. Stress, which comes from a variety of sources like bad water quality and fear, causes fish to be more likely to get sick. When fish aren't as stressed, they eat better and are more healthy. So your job as a fishkeeper is to avoid causing your animals stress. In the case of your neon tetras, you're probably noticing that they are more nervous and panic more easily. This is because they don't have a large school to feel secure in. So, even though they've lived since September in your tank, they aren't at their healthiest. They're treading a fine line between surviving and succumbing to disease. Certain things help to offset the insecurity of a fish with few companions. Plants in the aquarium give them a sense of shelter and protection, and other aquarium decor can provide hiding places for fearful animals. But the moral of the story? Even though they're surviving, your two tetras aren't at their best and will be happier with more friends. Giving them more neon tetra companions - you need a bare minimum of five to six -will decrease their nervousness and make them bolder in the tank, and make them more resistant to stress-based illness. So they'll live longer and provide you more enjoyment as an aquarist. Plus a vivid, moving shoal of neons looks absolutely great! Good luck with your fishkeeping experience. :)
In the Mountains Of the Mountains For the Mountains
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| Well, you've already gotten some fanatastic advice, so I'll be brief: Shoaling species need shoals, period. Brief enough?
"Tears aren't a sign of weakness, they're a sign of poor plumbing." --Dead Men's Lies
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| Math Only pretty much just sumed it all up for you so there really isn't any thing i can add.
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| The only thing I would add is that there is a difference between fish "surviving" and fish "thriving". Fish that need to be in schools or shoals will survive -- but to thrive they need to be kept with as many of their kind as you can afford. The nice thing about schooling or shoaling fish is that the "rules" of how many fish you can keep in a tank are flexible when you are considering small schooling fish like neons, cardinals or other tetras. BTW -- the difference between shoaling and schooling is a question that always comes up. My take is that schooling fish all stay together, and the school moves as one -- rummy noses are a great example of schooling fish. They all travel together, and they all face the same direction. Shoaling fish just tend to hang out together, and move together, but they all face different directions, and the shoal just seems to flow as one group. Discus are an example of shoaling fishes.
*************************** Be warned -- everyone at college has a weird roommate. If you don't have a weird roomate -- then you're the weird roommate.
Conan O'Brien, Stuyvesant High School.
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| Hi Cherridot, With you only have 2 Neons, they will be slightly stressed hence why they are not eating well and they are so nervous, as others have said, they need to be in a small group of around 6, and then you will see the difference, they will eat better because they know they have buddies to watch out for them, and when they swim you will see just how beautiful they are, go get some friends for them and i bet your troubles will be over :D Good Luck ;)
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