I bought 3 Glofish tetras from the pet store 2 days ago. All they mostly do is stay in one corner of the tank behind the decoration. They aren’t very active and mostly just stay there. I have a 20 gal fish tank and all the water tests are normal. I tried feeding them but only 2 of them eat, the other one doesn’t eat. And we have to push the flake food down for them to eat, they don’t swim up and get the food themselves.
New Fish HELP
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Could just be them getting used to their new home.
Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle and how to cycle a tank?
When you say water tests are normal, can you post actual numbers?
How did you acclimate the fish to your tanks water?
Are you aware of the nitrogen cycle and how to cycle a tank?
When you say water tests are normal, can you post actual numbers?
How did you acclimate the fish to your tanks water?
Yes I am aware of the nitrogen cycle. I had put quick start from API and waited about 48 hours then placed the fish in the tank.
I acclimated my fish by placing the bag in the fish tank for about 20 mins. I was told not to use the drip water method since sometimes it can mix different pH levels and temperatures leading to more stress on your fish.
My nitrates were between 5 and 20. My nitrite was zero. Ammonia was 0.3 ppm and I did a water change which brought it back down to zero. pH is between 6.8 and 7.2.
I acclimated my fish by placing the bag in the fish tank for about 20 mins. I was told not to use the drip water method since sometimes it can mix different pH levels and temperatures leading to more stress on your fish.
My nitrates were between 5 and 20. My nitrite was zero. Ammonia was 0.3 ppm and I did a water change which brought it back down to zero. pH is between 6.8 and 7.2.
That all looks good. Perhaps as i said, maybe its them just getting used to things.
Does your filter provide good surface agitation or do you have a bubbler for oxygenation?
Glofish are notroriously not hardy fish. They are inbred to high heaven and more susceptible to all sorts of issues. That could be contributing.
Also tetras are social fish and like bigger numbers than 3 fish. As you add more to their number they should become more comfortable. However, you arent cycled so be careful adding more fish. Dont add too many fish in too short a space of time
Does your filter provide good surface agitation or do you have a bubbler for oxygenation?
Glofish are notroriously not hardy fish. They are inbred to high heaven and more susceptible to all sorts of issues. That could be contributing.
Also tetras are social fish and like bigger numbers than 3 fish. As you add more to their number they should become more comfortable. However, you arent cycled so be careful adding more fish. Dont add too many fish in too short a space of time
Ok. What should I do about feeding them. Since one of them just doesn’t eat. I don’t think it’s an oxygen issue since the fish seem to be breathing fine and they don’t go to the surface repeatedly. Althoigh I have a theory. The fish remain on the left side of the aquarium behind a piece of decor. On the right side there is a large piece of driftwood and it seems to be making the water yellow, even though I soaked the driftwood for a while and rinsed it. Could this explain why the fish are staying away and aren’t going to the other side of the tank?
They have probably found a spot they like and are comfortable there. My black phantoms (your Glotetras are GM black phantoms) arent active swimmers throughout the whole tank. They tend to just stay in their territory.
As for feeding, i would give it a few days. If they are nervous, then they will not be inclined to eat. And i have to be straight here. From what ive read about glofish, if you get 2 out of 3 survival you have done well. Glofish are illegal here, so ive never kept them (or even seen a real live one) so i cant comment from first hand experience.
The water colouration is tannins. Thats really beneficial for the fish. It can take months of soaking to remove tannins, a few days wont do it. You could boil the wood to remove a lot more a lot quickly, or if you wanted to to deal with it in the tank, activated carbon in the filter will remove it from the water. Is the colouration just affecting the area around the driftwood? That might indicate a lack of good water flow.
A note on drip acclimatising. The reason to drip acclimatise is to gradually adjust the water from the parameters it arrived in to the parameters of your tank. Its a sudden change in parameters that shocks the fish, which shouldn't happen with drip acclimating. If the water from your fish store and your tap water are similar there is no need to drip acclimate. I very rarely do this. Drip acclimating "can" be a bad idea with mail order fish however.
As for feeding, i would give it a few days. If they are nervous, then they will not be inclined to eat. And i have to be straight here. From what ive read about glofish, if you get 2 out of 3 survival you have done well. Glofish are illegal here, so ive never kept them (or even seen a real live one) so i cant comment from first hand experience.
The water colouration is tannins. Thats really beneficial for the fish. It can take months of soaking to remove tannins, a few days wont do it. You could boil the wood to remove a lot more a lot quickly, or if you wanted to to deal with it in the tank, activated carbon in the filter will remove it from the water. Is the colouration just affecting the area around the driftwood? That might indicate a lack of good water flow.
A note on drip acclimatising. The reason to drip acclimatise is to gradually adjust the water from the parameters it arrived in to the parameters of your tank. Its a sudden change in parameters that shocks the fish, which shouldn't happen with drip acclimating. If the water from your fish store and your tap water are similar there is no need to drip acclimate. I very rarely do this. Drip acclimating "can" be a bad idea with mail order fish however.
I would probably stick with the glofish if thats what you already have. Not that i would recommend them to beginners as they dont seem to be the hardiest of fish. But i would want 6 minimum of a particular type of tetra, in a 20 gallon, i would probably just up the numbers to 8 to 10 and then go with a handful of corys, probably panda corys as they are fairly small. Then call it a day as fully stocked.
Maybe the filter is too strong? Do they swim about the tank more if you turn off the filter? Are they more curious about their surroundings if you turn the light off?
I have tried lowering the filter pressure and that still hasn’t helped, although I have only lowered it down for like 5 minutes and put it back to normal since I am concerned about a lack of oxygen if I lower the filter too much. Do you want me to try lowering the filter pressure for about an hour and seeing if it works?
Yes, when I turn off the light they at least swim around a lot more and I haven’t turned the light on much ever since we got the fish, When the lights are off they seem to swim more freely, although after swimming for a little bit they end up going back to the corner and stay there.
Yes, when I turn off the light they at least swim around a lot more and I haven’t turned the light on much ever since we got the fish, When the lights are off they seem to swim more freely, although after swimming for a little bit they end up going back to the corner and stay there.
I think them swimming about more when the light is out answers your concern. They are just not comfortable in the tank yet and are braver when the light is out. Adding some more tetras in time will help. Is there much cover in the aquascape? Any plants (real or artificial)? Could you post a photo of your tank?
I don’t know how to post a photo on this website, but I can describe how my tank looks. I’ll try to figure out how to post a picture and post it asap. Both corners and the front portion are covered with fake decor. Although the center portion of the tank is fairly open. Only two of the three Glofish feel more comfortable and swim somewhat more out when the light is off. One of them still remains in the corners and he doesn’t eat. Although the other two are fed and they eat the flakes.
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Yeah. I think they are just staying close to where there is more cover. They are more comfortable in that spot. Try moving your decorations around a little and see where they end up afterwards. They will probably just follow that tall artificial plant around the tank.
Removing their preferred piece of cover isnt a good idea. You will just stress them out more. The idea is to make the fish comfortable, not force them out into the open.
You cant force a fish too eat. Hopefully when its more comfortable it will eat. I would give it a few more days. Fish can go a week without food and its common for new fish to take a while to find its appetite. You could try feeding with the light off so its a little more comfortable. Try some different food. Flavouring the food with garlic can get fish to eat. Maybe some live food like baby brine shrimp.
You cant force a fish too eat. Hopefully when its more comfortable it will eat. I would give it a few more days. Fish can go a week without food and its common for new fish to take a while to find its appetite. You could try feeding with the light off so its a little more comfortable. Try some different food. Flavouring the food with garlic can get fish to eat. Maybe some live food like baby brine shrimp.
Ok thank you so much I’ll try covering the food with garlic. But when I float the food they don’t eat ( is it because they don’t see it), when I push the down into the tank two of the Glofish eat. But now I’ll try covering the flakes In garlic.
Also, I also have another theory. Two of the three Glofishes sometimes swim around together but one of them always stays in the same spot. Could there gender influence there actions. Although I don’t know the gender of the three Glofish, could their gender play a part in how they act?
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