About my bothersome tetras..again

[Christmasfish]

Now what?

I have to fight them away from Dutch's treat food. Are scallops good for Tetras? Why such interest.. They pick it up and run if Dutch doesn't take it from my hand or drops it.

And why won't they eat at top? Like good little tetras. The clowns and Black ghost do. Not these boogers. They eat out of Dutch's dish when they are not sleeping in it! As passive as my Knife is I may chance Cardinals. (Not the otos though. They sit still too long and I think my punk clowns would stress them.)

Pretty bad when my Clown loaches are more likely to mess wit little bottom feeders tham my predator.

 

[ScottS]

Cardinals and a knife fish????
<--- my poor babies!

In my past and present experience, the more shy tetras have to feel very secure in order to feed at the top. I have a dozen Cardinals, and the only other fish besides the cleanup crew is an extremely timid Pearl Gourami. It took several weeks, but now the Cardinals nip at the surface when I open the lid.

 

[Christmasfish]

Hahah!
Yeah..sure sounds like a arrangement of predator and snackmates.

Several of the penguins and phantoms are same size as neons.
The penguins were first..they were meant to be snacks. None missing.
So my daughter bought more tetras.
Even though they poke in his cave, sleep outside his lair and in his dish.
None come up missng. They pester him so much he snaps at them like a moray and retires back to his cave. Maybe Dutch is too well fed and prefers to look pitiful hungry for scallop time. And once he is half his adult size perhaps his demeanor will change.

The phantoms are shy, they stay under a log and do dart and grabs for dinner. Sometimes they will school with teh other pesty tetras. The rummys are delinquents and they follow Bernardo around when he swims midwater. The penguins are usually with the rummys. A few stray around.
All make way for the clowns.Who are getting really big.
The tetras will gather around my hand trying to steal the treats I give Dutch. Sometimes i wave them away pretty firmly and they WONT go! Selective shyness? Maybe the new clarity and skimpy planting keeps them from up top? I dont have a background on theis tank yet either.
My knife is a cripple (he has a arm where his right pec fin should be....creeepy) and may never take up his job as a culling machine.
That is why have my self picked polypterus on backup. He already eats things twice the size that Dutch prefers. And Dutch has a larger mouth with teeth! Only exception is ghost shrimp. He'll eat ful size ones when he was still half his current size! Must be tatsy!