Serpae Tetra ???

[NewFishGuy]

I had in my 10 gal what the chain pet store sold me as 2 "Minor Black Spotted Tetras"....I found out yesterday that they are actually "Serpae Tetras". They have been in my tank for 6 months and have always done wonderfully....always kept to themselves.

I recently removed a decorative corner rock face that had caves in it and replaced it with a small flower pot turned on it's side. The corner feature was becoming a problem because twice I found fish (once a cory and once a tetra) pinned between the feature and the glass. Since then the Tetras have been fin nipping one of my corys. The non-dominant tetra is the one picking on the cory. The cory's dorsal fin is almost gone as well as his tail fin missing a good portion of it. It is always the same cory that the Tetra picks on. I never had this problem before the feature was removed.

I have read that Serpae's ARE fin nippers. I have also read that they are much less likely to fin nip if kept in a group of 6 or more. Sticking to the 1" of fish /gal of water rule and I can't get anymore Serpaes. Anyone have any ideas on a solution to the problem? I am afraid the Serpae is going to kill the albin...then move on to the other albino...then the peppered...then the other 2 corys......

 

[lyquidphyre]

Maybe take that one serpae back to the fish store and see if that makes any difference..
I would imagine they would just create a new pecking order... but its worth a shot.

Or you can just take em both back entirely and get something else =o/

 

[fishyrican]

Maybe taking them both back would be best, though they are great looking fish. As lyquidphyre said, I'm afraid that if you just return one, the other will just pick up where his former tankmate left off. I imagine the dominant one is picking on the other one and he/she is just passing the grief along.

Then, of course, there's my favorite solution: just get another tank!

 

[NewFishGuy]

Unfortunately that is not an option. I bought them from a large chain store that shall remain nameless (*cough* PetSmart *cough*). They only accept returns for 14 days. The only lfs in my area is completely getting out of the FW business...says they can't make any money selling $2 fish.

 

[pitt420dude]

Keep the Serpae and maybe he will stop if you give him another cave. Perhaps get one or two more Serpaes to give it someone its own size to pick on. These will work if you want to keep them. If you dont mind, try simply exchanging them, the new fish wont feel "at home" and wont be aggressive initially, you also may just have a genetically aggressive serpae. Good luck, i just lost my only one and feel bad, I loved it and his fins got really long.

 

[lyquidphyre]

Another option is to gradually add another serpea until you have 4-6. This would indeed overstock your tank, but if its gradual and you do extra water changes and keep and eye out on your water parameters, you could do this. I wouldn't suggest adding 4 more all at once... just one here and there so your bioload doesn't increase a whole bunch all of a sudden

 

[fishyrican]

I guess if you are absolutely stuck with the fish, and don't want to venture into the slippery slope of MTS, perhaps an idea would be to create more hiding places for the cory.

 

[NewFishGuy]

Are you kidding me? MTS??? I have a 20 gal in the works to replace the 10 gal FW...I am almost done convincing my wife that a 24 gal nano cube nano-reef would look perfect on one wall in our house and the 10 gal will be set up as a SW QT tank....

Isn't my wife great?????

 

[Jchillin]

Why don't we ask someone who has these fish eh? I knew that serpaes were fin nippers, but that would be eliminated if you have a sufficient number of them. I have 6 in the tank and they haven't nipped anyone.

 

[NewFishGuy]

I was waing for you to chime in JC. I was about to PM you a link to the thread. I've had these guys for 6 months and never knew what they were REALLY called. I finally started just looking at pics of all the different tetras. I started with "A" and went alphabetically. As you can imagine by the time I hit the "S" I was long past giving up. Now I know better why you were always so adamant about them. They are beutiful fish and they are quite active.

I think I have decided to add more. I don't know about the add 1 at a time idea, though. I'm sure my filtration can handle the increased bio load. I am filtering 160 gal per hour on a 10 gal tank. I will be upgrading my tank in the near future to a 20 gal so I will have enough room when they start to grow.

Anyone else have anything to say about the whole "add all at once vs spread it out" debate?

 

[Jchillin]

Well, two schools (no pun intended) are present here:

1. Bio-loads - Most folks say "Don't add all at once" due to the possiblity of "spiking" your parameters.
2. Schooling Fish (passive/aggressive types) - You need to add all at once to keep them in perspective and from setting up "territories" hence going after others afterward. Chances are that if you add a little at a time, they lose identity and possibly not school together.

In an established tank, #1 is not an issue. We know what the parameters are and the tank will take care of itself. If not, we can do what is necessary to keep the balance. This is also true with slightly overstocking. With the 1" per gal rule literally being put to the test, we should be able to fit 90 1" fish in a 90 gal tank. Of course, we wouldn't do that but it's a guide. So, if we go over by a few inches in an established tank...there shouldn't be a problem. Of course, larger fish need room to turn and that creates another rule for these larger guys (ie: Adult angels need 10")

HTH.

 

[black udder]

I've had between 1-4 of these guys in the tank and they've always kept to themselves and rarely chased anybody. Of course, I have a 46g tank and they always had plenty of room.

I'd lean towards just an over aggressive one. Give the others someplace to hide and it might cease.

 

[fishyrican]

Are you kidding me? MTS??? I have a 20 gal in the works to replace the 10 gal FW...I am almost done convincing my wife that a 24 gal nano cube nano-reef would look perfect on one wall in our house and the 10 gal will be set up as a SW QT tank....

Isn't my wife great?????

You are past the point of no return. There's always room for one more, though!

 

[newhobbist]

About a month ago I bought six of them and liked them so much that next day I went to lfs and bought two more. In next 1-2 days I noticed that fins of two of my gouramis became shredded. I did some research online and some observation and had to return these tetras back to the store. They do nip and it is rather their normal behavior than exception. They are beautiful fish, but I had to find some peaceful substitution. And I did it by buying a school of Harlequin Rasboras. They are very colorful, move in tank in the same maner the tetras did, and don't bother anyone.

 

[TankGirl]

I keep serpaes and they spawn in my 55 gal, with several generations of fish in there now. I adore them, mainly for their activity and their vivid red color. I had to get my group initially above 6-7 in order for them to settle down, and once I did so they were fine. If you don't have the space, I'd limit them to one and take the other to a mom and pop type LFS that will take fish on store credit. You might try rearranging the tank and giving poor cory a place to hide.