non edumicated neons

[harmy4993]

so i got 6 neons last week and they dont school at all. either 6 isnt enough or they dont feel threated by the glolights enough to school. im going to guess thou that its just not enough. if i add 2 or 3 more will i have a better chance of getting them to school?

 

[Sum22]

The answer is, it depends. If your tank can handle extra fish, then it doesn't hurt to try. Some fish don't shoal very well. In spending way too much time watching fish at the store, I tend to think the glolights shoal better than the neons do.

 

[harmy4993]

i have 5 glolights and they swim farther apart then the neons do.

 

[tabbycat0282]

I love the thread title! Sorry they aren't smart enough to figure it out.

 

[neilanh]

When I first got my rummies it took them a week or so before they started schooling together. Don't know why, that's just what happened.

 

[JohnPaul]

Some "schooling" fish school a lot more than others. In my experience, neon tetras never really school much unless they are really scared of something. Of all the tetras, I think rummynose are by far the best schoolers.

While you don't want to "scare" your fish into schooling, sometimes adding one, larger fish to your tank will promote schooling a bit more. This is assuming you have the space. But if your tank is a 20 long or larger, maybe consider adding one (regular, not dwarf) gourami like a Pearl Gourami or a Gold Gourami. Or maybe a single betta (female might be better than a male just to prevent any fin nipping by the tetras).

But as to your idea, I doubt adding just a few more neons will result in much of a change. It might help (a tiny bit), but don't expect any miraculous improvements.

 

[chrissy86]

i have 5 glolights and 7 neons and went through the same as you. the neons were added first then a week later the glolights but it wasn't until 2 weeks after the glolights went in that they schooled at all. when it did happen they all schooled together. i find that three of the glolights lag behind though. they also all feed together. i spread the food along the base of the tank to give all fish a chance to eat and the tetras will start at one end and then move along in the group. the only time they seem to seperate is when they are spawning.

 

[meegosh]

I started with 8 neons and two died within the first 24 hours, the smallest ones. The six I have now are ALWAYS schooling together. I don't know if they are afraid of the 5 diamond tetras in there or what but they are always together. It did take the 4 I added a while to join with the 4 I previously had in the tank. After 2 days they all swam together.

 

[newfound77951]

I moved 4 Pristella tetras from a 10g to my 55. Boy did they school for about a week until they realized that the big rainbows weren't going to bother them. But now they don't and tool around the tank by themselves. I will second that rummynoses definitely school, I have 9 in my 36 and they always travel around in a big pack.