Should I buy more Serpae Tetra

[kaytiller]

Okay, so I have a dilemma.
I recently bought three serpae tetras from my local pet store. I know this is less than there should be, but I thought they were another kind of tetra which I already had in my tank so I wanted to add to the school. I intended to go back and buy two more so that I could have five, however 2 have already died. This pet store is not normally where I buy from, i normally buy from an actual fish store, and I'm not quite sure what happened to these two guys. I'm thinking something with their swim bladder.. no idea but they were both really upsetting deaths. ANYWAYS, my question is, I feel really bad for the one guy who is left over, but I really don't want to buy from this fish store anymore, as I believe they must have been sick to start with (I've never lost one, yet alone two fish within a week of buying them). What should I do. Should I buy more from this pet store and risk it, or is it too inhumane to leave this little fella alone until my local fish store brings in some serpaes...

 

[henningc]

I would leave him alone. Serpeas can be big problems in community tanks. My experience is they slowly nip everyone else to death. There one of the few fish that will eat fish scales.

 

[ArtistGardener]

I would disagree on the last advice. Serpaes will mind their own business if they have a nice little school of six or more. I had them for years and loved them--always colorful and active. What else is in your tank? They probably are too much for slower, long-finned fish. One serpae is very likely to become a nipper. Either get more or return the one you have. bummer.

On another note, quarantining your fish for several weeks is always a good idea. You don't need a fancy tank for that--just a 10 gallon tote with a sponge filter and small heater.

 

[treemanone2003]

I would disagree on the last advice. Serpaes will mind their own business if they have a nice little school of six or more. I had them for years and loved them--always colorful and active. What else is in your tank? They probably are too much for slower, long-finned fish. One serpae is very likely to become a nipper. Either get more or return the one you have. bummer.

On another note, quarantining your fish for several weeks is always a good idea. You don't need a fancy tank for that--just a 10 gallon tote with a sponge filter and small heater.

I have to totally agree here. With all the comments. I am a HUGE fan of QT. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. As well, I have come to only deal with specific vendors because of learning mistakes along the way.

 

[t4runnr]

I used to have a school of 8 serpae tetras. I had to move them to their own tank. I called them my alternate piranhas. They went after any fish that wasn't their kind. And when I feed them they would go into a frenzy. It was so funny to watch.