Bleeding Heart Tetras may be sad!

[Absinthena]

I just set up a 30 Gallon someone else had about 2 days ago.
I don't know the fish very well but I was looking today and my 3 Bleeding Heart Tetras may have something brown on them. I can't remember if it's part of the fish or not!! All 3 of them have it, in variation, on both sides. I attached a picture of one of them to show you.

Someone help!

Also... how to B.H. Tetras behave? Mine stay together a lot of the time and normallytowards the bottom and to the back. They seem to have a sort of attitude to each other and the other fish.

I may can take other pictures if needed.

 

[Absinthena]

Also!! They don't seem to eat like the other fish. They don't go up for the food. Come to think of it.... none of my Tetras do. Is that just a characteristic of Tetras?

 

[outlawpc]

Don't know about the brown stuff. but. . .

My 6 tetras stay near the bottom when the flouresent light is on, maybe come up 3 or 4 inches from the bottom at best.

However, I notice that when the light is off, they move into the middle third of the tank (I have a 29 gal, so that is about 10" or so above bottom.

They do not eat from the surface, and also have ignored food on the bottom. They eat so I do not worry. . . the food just has to be where they swim.

They do tend to school in any lighting condition.

QUESTION: How can I reduce the lighting. Is there another bulb/tube I should try.

 

[sweetsuvvyb]

Is the tank cycled?

I don't know much about this particular species, but I've heard that if your nitrite levels are too high, fish can get "brown blood" (presumeably since the nitrite gets "stuck" in the hemeglobin, and changes its chemistry + color).

 

[Megalofyia]

QUESTION: How can I reduce the lighting. Is there another bulb/tube I should try.

Have you tried a lower watt bulb?

 

[Absinthena]

I don't have any nitrites, my tests say. I have an eeny weeny amount of ammonia but the tank they were in previously, I'm sure, had more. Maybe they are like brown stress spots or something.

 

[outlawpc]

Checked wattage this morning it is 20 watts. Looked up 24" flouresents and the lowest wattage is 18.

I can get the lower wattage tube (10% less), but possibly the color spectrum has something to do with it?