A crazy question

[Sphinx]

Hi, This is probably the silliest question but here goes. I have 6 very small tetra's (I am not sure about exact type I think 3 are black finned and 3 are really small kinda reddish with black markings) and 2 glass cats. My question is why do they swim around happy and playful only when I turn off the light in the aquarium? If the light is on the tetra's group together and hide behind a decoration I have in the tank and close to the bottom. the two glass cats hide together under the waterfall from my filter. They are very healthy, very happy, they eat good. I have a bio-wheel filter all the water levels are perfect (I test 3 times a week with API Master Test Kit). The only thing is with the light. What should I do as I know they need light for their health but they look so scared when it is on. I have googled this and checked everywhere but no one else seems to have the same problem. Am I just crazy. Sorry I forgot it is a 15 gallon tank.

 

[adeebm]

Your lights may be too bright for them or they do not have enough shelter. If the tank is open, they may not feel secure and will hide. When the light is off, the darkness will make them feel more secure, and that may be why they are coming out in the dark. Try to add more plants, rocks or hiding spots for them. What lights do you have?

--Adeeb

 

[Deep Seven]

How strong is the light? What kind of aquascape do you have? (lots of hiding spots? like plants and caves and such)

My thoughts are that the light is too intense for them, or they want more "hiding" spots to feel safe swimming around. I'm not familiar caring for these species, but some fish might want a school size closer to 10 to feel comfortable.

One more question, when you turn off the lights, I'm assuming the room lights are still on? Aquariums really just need light for plants and corals. Fish just need enough light to see them nicely.

 

[Sphinx]

I'm sorry I should have mentioned the decor in the question. I have a cave, 4 live plants and,6 long and short decoration/plastic plants. I put the longer plants in the back and on the sides because from what I read they like to "hide" in these. The aquarium is I guess you could say "moderatly" decorated with enough space for them to swim and play. It is a regular aquarium hood with "eclipse flourescent light". The people at petsmart said this was the best light for them. I have the same lighting and bio-wheel filter in my 40 gallon aquarium. I don't have any "shy" fish in that one just very, very hungry. I have 2 goldfish, an algea eater, and 4 mollies in that one. That one was given to me by a friend he had had it for 5 years but was no longer able to keep it so I adopted them. And yes to the question about the room lights being on. I have them on in the evening but my apartment gets plenty of daylight during the daytime so they have plenty. I just thought it was really strange that they hid only when the light is on. Otherwise they are the funniest most playful fish I have ever seen. I just love to sit and watch them. They actually play like children.

 

[JustOneMore20]

If you had more of each type of fish, they would most likely stay out in the open more. Each of those is a schooling fish, so you really need around 6-8+ for them to feel comfortable. Any chance you can exchange 1 type of tetra for 3-6 more of the other type?

 

[Sphinx]

I am not sure what you mean. The six Tetra's we have are schooling tetra's. The LFS people said it was ok to have two different types of schooling one's as they will school together with each other and they do. all six are usually right around each other and they play with each other when the light is out.Lol I know that sounds weird. But thanks for your input. I will double check but I have really got attached to these six.

 

[Deep Seven]

I'd experiment with less light if you can, try and acclimatize them to the light.

Maybe adding 1-3 more tetras would help them feel more comfortable as well. If they're schooling together I don't think you need to split them up, but a slightly larger population might help. I'd work with the light first though.

Glad you're enjoying them, hope everything works out

 

[Sphinx]

Thank you D. I am going to try that. I will turn the light on for a certain amount of time and then turn it off and keep trying that to see if it helps. I welcome all the input. If that doesn't work maybe I will try to find a low wattage bulb like a nite light type. Thanks. PS the glass catfish I have even "pal" around with all the tetra's. They say they are schooling fish also. They are great and fun to watch.

 

[dkpate]

When I moved my fish into the new tank with the brighter light, they also hid. But now they are used to it and don't care. For about 2 weeks I had to use a dimmer living room lamp aimed at the glass before they would come out.

 

[JohnPaul]

If you cannot easily change the brightness of your lights, another option would be to buy some floating plants that will float on the surface of your tank and effectively help to shade the rest of it. Many fish in nature are in natural waterways that have lots of floating plants, and adding a fair amount of floating plants to your tank is often that is all it takes in order to make them feel comfortable and come out and swim more.

Frogbit, duckweed, penneywort, or any number of other floating plants would do the trick. So would the equivalent type of plastic floating plants.

 

[mommytron]

+1 on the floating plants, great idea. also, not all tetras will school with other species. in my 20gallon tank i have 9 cardinal tetras and 6 black neon tetras, and they stay completely separate. the neons school close to the top and the cardinals stay towards the bottom. you should really have at least 6 of each kind, i bet you anything they would be more comfortable when the lights came on if they had more of their kind in there. also, glass cats are schooling fish and love a strong current. not sure what kind of filter you have, but if it is adequate, you should be able to get away with 6 of each kind of fish that you have (6 each of the tetras, 6 of the glass cats) especially with a good maintenance schedule. do you have any pictures of the tetras? maybe we can help you ID them.


also, a fish that is a schooling fish does not mean it will school with any other schooling fish. it means they need big groups of their own species to feel comfortable.