Any one own congo tetras?

[aquachris]

I just recently purchased some congos. Five females, and two huge beautiful males. I will be buying one more male, to make a total of eight. If you own congos, or have ever owned them, I'd like to ask a few questions.

Do the males school with the females? or do they always stay seperate from them?

What kind of diet would you recommend?

What ph and temperature do you recommend? (im at 80 degrees, and a PH of 7)

Anything I can do to help them settle in more? It's their second day in the tank, and they are still acting very skittish/stressed. They won't swim with the light on. They just stay idle in one spot. But with the light off, they'll start swimming around.

Also any other advice or suggestions would be great! Thanks

 

[tyspot1000]

The males should school with the females, but are you asking this because yours are not?

Your temp and Ph sounds great for them. Fish can adapt to a wide range of Ph ranges if properly acclimated.

It will take a few days for them to start settling in, just give them time One question, are they eating?

 

[fishguy1]

I'd just leave the lights off for the next few days. It takes time for fish to adjust to a new tank.

The pH and temp are fine. As long as the pH isn't really high or really low, it'll be okay for just about all fish.

 

[aquachris]

well the first day i got them, i did not feed. today i fed (flakes) and the females ate a little bit, not much. but the two males did not eat anything. the females will swim around a little with the light on too, but the males won't. the two males also get really freaked out when someone gets even within 10 feet of the tank. They'll panic and swim around real fast, and even dive onto the substrate and bounce off. Oh and yes, the males are not schooling with the females. The two males stay seperate together. I'm assuming because they're just stressed out, because they were so use to the very nice tank they were in at the LFS.

 

[fishguy1]

It took weeks for mine to not be spooked.

What size tank are they in?

 

[mudraker]

Is your tank cycled?

 

[aquachris]

yep it's cycled. all levels are good. i even tested water right before putting them in for peace of mind. and it's a 50 gal tank. its only tank mates are eight gold pristella tetras, so they basically have the whole tank to themselves.

 

[Jason7894561230]

They are awesome fish that need a good quality diet to keep their beautiful colours alive and also dont put them with any thing that can nit their fins because they have quite flowy fins. Also it will take a while for them to get used to you and a different home.
Try some peas. Boil them in water by putting them into water and then into a microwave for 1 minute then peel the skin off and squash it a little and they should go after that.