rickyscivic

i have 3 neon tetras and two of them swim and play together and one sits in the corner...why

Lucy

Hi Ricky,
Really, I wish you hadn't added more fish until the tank cycles, but that wasn't your question.

Is this fish one of your original fish or one of the new ones?

A couple things might be going on, your neon may not be feeling well due to the ammonia in a cycling tank.

He might be hiding if he is being bullied. Does he show any signs of being picked on? Sometimes it takes a while to get themselves sorted out.

Neons are schooling fish and prefer more of their own kind to feel secure. Once the tank gets cycled you can add a couple more, you will see a big difference in the way they interact with each other.

When I had 3, one of mine hid, now I have 4 and they are much more active. Sometimes one hangs behind a plant, but he's healthy, so I think they just like to do that sometimes.

rickyscivic

i know i shouldnt have added more but the return policy was almost up..there are two that fight alot but the other only plays a little then goes by himself.. i really cant tell if he was the original one though..

Lucy

lol, they do all look alike, I know it's hard to tell.

Mine nipped each other in the beginning, but now they just play.

I followed the advise of my fellow FishLorians and provided more cover and shifted the decorations around, that helped.

Keep up with the daily water changes, hopefully they will survive the cycle.

Edit: Oh, and I wouldn't worry about the little guy hanging by himself, I've got one hanging out alone now.
With the number of neons we have (I have 4) they will hang together, but not really school.

rickyscivic

thanks lucy now they all get along ... i also added 3 x ray tetras and 2 zebra danios and 5 ghost shrimp...they all hang together exept the danios...theyre a little crazy..lol

Lucy

Your welcome, I'm glad they are all getting along, but you really shouldn't have added more fish until your tank was finished cycling.

Please take the time to read the following:
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

You need to be doing daily water changes to keep the levels of ammonia down.

You should also be testing your water preferably with a liquid test kit. Most here recommend the API master kit because of it's reliability.

One more thing, you have slightly overstocked your tank.

3 neons = 3.5" of adult fish
3 x-ray = 6"
2 danios = 4"

That's 13.5 inches of fish in an uncycled 10 gallon.
The rule of thumb is 1"of adult fish per gallon of water.
(The exception being larger fishand heavy waste producing fish an example would be a 10" fish could not survive in a 10 gallon tank).

After you read the article about the nitrogen cycle, please feel to ask any questions you might have about it.
There are a lot of nice people here willing to help you and your fish get through the cycle.

Good Luck!

susitna-flower

I completely agree with Lucy....your tank is likely to start showing signs of "new tank syndrome" soon. You need to read the link to the nitrogen cycle, and start doing water changes unless you can find some bio-spira to add to the tank. Good Luck