04_si

my glowlights are super shy, theyre always hiding. I thought they were supposed to be a good dither fish? i have 6 in a 35g and 2 hide under the driftwood, and 4 hide in the plants in each corner.

anything I can do so they swim around more?

Sam Livingston

Any regular zebra danios in there? The ones I used to have swam a lot but zebras targeted them because of their color and they quickly became skittish. Also how long ago did you put them in your tank?

04_si

nope, no Danios. I dont want any because ive heard Zebras are SUPER fast and I dont want to stress my other fish out.

they've been in there about 6-7 weeks also..

also, 2 of them died so i took them back to the pet store and got 2 different ones. but i know FOR SURE it was from the same batch because the 2 died the day after i first brought them home.

Sam Livingston

Let me make sure I'm understanding the right fish. Are these the glowfish danios? The ones that are genetically engineered using squid DNA to make them look like highlighters?

04_si

ohhh nope, they are the glowlight tetra
http://www.fishlore.com/profiles_glowlight_tetra.htm

even on this site it says they can be shy. crap!

Sam Livingston

Ohhhh okay haha yeah big difference. Yeah unfortunately it is normal for them to be skittish, as it is in their nature to be prey for just about every fish. Are they by themselves in the tank? If so you can add a few more in their to see if they liven up. For shoaling fish if they aren't shoaling then a lot of times a few more of that fish will liven them up. And because they are so small and fragile it's not uncommon for them to die off quickly.

04_si

i have a small angel, a pair of blue rams, 2 tiny clown loaches and 6 kuhli loaches..

cant really add anything else unless my rams were happy in a 10g tank.. which isnt always the case the need 20g

Sam Livingston

Yeah definitely can't add anything else. Angel and clown loaches might find them a nice snack when they get a little larger. Clown loaches need a minimum of 55 G and I suggest 75 G at least when they are full grown. They get about a foot long. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but they just need a bigger tank.

04_si

oh im well aware.. when they get about 4 inches im going to trade them in...

Sam Livingston

Ah okay not a problem then, just be weary of angelfish he very well might eat your tetras. With bigger fish in the tank the tetras may never shoal much due to fear of being eaten.

04_si

hmmm something to think about... i cant get rid of the angel fish my girlfriend would KILL me hahaha thats hers. she talks to it ALL the time!

any recommendations for maybe a different tetra that is relatively small? i like the look of those Blue tetra (trying to find proper name)

04_si

http://www.aquariumlife.net/profiles...tra/100133.asp

i like these, but nippy... hmmm

Sam Livingston

Those are in same boat as the glowlights, the angelfish might them as well. And if angelfish didn't get to them the tetras would definitely be biting the angelfish' long fins. There are still many tetras or barbs that should meet your wants. Look for fish that get to about 3" and do not nip long fins. Hmmm... most the tetras I'm looking at nip fins. Not sure someone maybe able to shine a little light on this. Colombian tetras only get 2" but they are also wider so wouldn't have problem being eaten by angelfish, but they also might nip at the angel's fins.

04_si

im not worried about the angel he doesnt put up with any crap. I just want something small that will school around more in the open than the glowlights.

Ill look into the Colombian Tetra. Thanks for all your help!

Sam Livingston

Glad to help hope you get nice shoaling fish soon.

04_si

thanks! the Colombian tetra is a bit too big for me. It would put me farther overstocked.

any other suggestions? haha

cichlidlover

are they new? mine are always shy when they are new, they eventually start to swim around more though

04_si

been this shy for about 6 weeks now. I was hoping it was because they were new...