Dwarf neon rainbow question

[Tinafina]

I know these fish like to school in 5+, I had only 1 male I'm assuming and today I purchased another male, says the LFS guy. The original is a little bigger and seems to be getting aggressive. Any idea why and what he is doing? He repeatedly charges towards the new fish. Will this stop? Should I get A female or another male to calm things down?

 

[siva]

If he's actually attacking the other fish, they'll need seperated, but if he just appears to be displaying his dominance w/o actually hurting the other fish, give it some time for things to work themselves out. These are not typically aggressive fish. Getting a few females is definitely the best idea though.

 

[Tinafina]

You know, I think you're right. I think it was the dominance act. They seem ok and the lil guy looks as tho he's holding his own.

 

[Tinafina]

I dounno- the new baby rainbow neon looks really stressed. Hides near the heater and I see tiny white specs on it now. Wtf

 

[Tinafina]

I dounno- the new baby rainbow neon looks really stressed. Hides near the heater and I see tiny white specs on it now. Wtf

It's on it's tail and lip

 

[siva]

UH OH. Looks like little grains of salt, doesn't it? Appears to be ich.

 

[toddnbecka]

Praecox rainbows are actually highly conspecific-aggressive. Best bet would be to get several more males and a couple females, the bigger the group the less any one fish gets picked on by the dominant male.

 

[Tinafina]

Praecox rainbows are actually highly conspecific-aggressive. Best bet would be to get several more males and a couple females, the bigger the group the less any one fish gets picked on by the dominant male.

For the time being I have a 10g tank. Trying to find a larger one. Do u think adding 2 more rainbows would be ruff on them? And do I need to treat it for ich first? Today is only the 2nd day I had him.

 

[Tinafina]

UH OH. Looks like little grains of salt, doesn't it? Appears to be ich.

Sure does. Spiked up the heat hopefully that works.

 

[toddnbecka]

They really need at least a 4' tank, 75 gallons or larger. A 10 gallon tank is better suited to micro rasboras and/or shrimp than active, schooling fish that grow as large as praecox rainbows. They are also good for QT tanks though, easier to treat a small volume of water.
Did you add some salt to the water to kill the Ich?
What else is in the 10 now?
Have you checked craiglist for used tanks/setups?

 

[Tinafina]

They really need at least a 4' tank, 75 gallons or larger. A 10 gallon tank is better suited to micro rasboras and/or shrimp than active, schooling fish that grow as large as praecox rainbows. They are also good for QT tanks though, easier to treat a small volume of water.
Did you add some salt to the water to kill the Ich?
What else is in the 10 now?
Have you checked craiglist for used tanks/setups?

Yea I'm just waiting on a cpl of ppl now.
I have not used salt, I raised the temp. Should I add salt? How much? I have 4 neon tetras. I think the new praecox may very well be a female. Yellow fins. I think I am going to get another female for time being. Suggestions?

 

[toddnbecka]

I think it's 1 Tbsp/5 gallons to kill Ich. Raising the temp speeds up the life cycle of the parasite, it can't be killed while attached to the fish w/out killing the fish too. Once the cyst breaks open the salt will kill the buggers before they find a new host.
Praecox rainbows are recommended as 3m/2f minimum group size. I kept that ratio in a 55, and they still beat the crap out of each other. I'd go ahead and get you group and treat them all for Ich at the same time, then move them into the larger tank when it's ready. Keep the salt level constant for 10 days to make sure all the parasites are dead.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

The Ich life cycle is temperature dependent. Higher temperatures within its livable range speed up every stage of the life cycle, while the lower temperatures will slow it down. At 18°C/64°F the cycle takes 10-12 days to complete.

It has been found that Ich does not infect new fish at 29.4°C/85°F (Johnson, 1976), stops reproducing at 30°C/86°F (Dr. Nick St. Erne, DVM, pers. comm.), and dies at 32°C/89.5°F (Meyer, 1984), [1]

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_ich2.php
I you are worried about the salt adn your neons (FYI I have used salt successfully on them) you can treat with heat alone.