mr baer

Hi all,

I'm new to fish keeping and need some help.
I have a 10 gallon tank. All levels are ok (pH, ammonia, temp. etc.)
I originally got 4 serpae tetras after setting up the tank.
Two weeks later I got 10 neons. I thought this may be too much for 10g tank, but the expert at my local fish store assured me otherwise.

I lost one of the neons within a couple days as the poor little guy got stuck in the vent to the filter tube. I put this down to poor design of the inlet - basically the gap to suck up the water was wide enough to also get a little neon stuck in it. Have since wrapped it in gauze so no fins can get stuck but water will be allowed through to the filter.

Now I have another problem with one of the serpaes, in that it has a badly damaged fin. I've noticed generally that 3 of the serpaes can always be seen together and 1 always swims by himself, but otherwise had seemed healthy and just as colourful as the others. I've since read serpaes can be aggressive. Do you think he had his tail nipped by one of the other serpaes, or the school of 9 neons?

What should I do? Should I use fin repair treatment, or am I just wasting time and money? I don't have a quarantine tank or divider, but may have to invest in one...

HELP!
Thanks :-)

Amanda

Welcome.
You are severly overstocked.
Serpaes are very bad fin nippers, and need to be in large schools to control this. I really wouldn't keep them in a 10 gal., as they can't be kept in a large school.

agabr123

sounds like fin nipping to me, definitely unfortunately, the guy at your LFS gave you pretty bad advice, 10 neons in a 10 gallon IMO is definitely overstocked. as amanda said, the serpaes are pretty aggressive and probably are attacking each other.

also, when you say that your levels are okay can you post your exact readings? what test kit are you using? if you're using the strips, unfortunately they're pretty inaccurate, the API freshwater master test kit is the best that you can get, it's more expensive but will last a whole lot longer and is extremely accurate. your levels in your tank should be 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and 5-20 PPM nitrate, that means that your tank is cycled.

here are some links on the cycle, if you have any questions on what it is or how it works these can answer them
http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/TheNitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm

IMO your best option would be to return the serpaes and get fish that are more suitable for a 10 gallon tank. although it is small, you have a lot of options!
1. one betta (two if you get a divider)
2. three guppies and three pygmy corycats
3. two dwarf puffers
4. three african dwarf frogs
5. one african butterflyfish
6. six neon tetras OR six cardinal tetras OR six glolight tetras
7. six glofish OR six zebra danios
8. a whole bunch of other things that i can't think of right now

welcome to fishlore!

mr baer

just got news from home that the damaged serpae has died. and two of the neons have now also been found dead. i guess the lesson is, never trust your local fish store "expert" unless you really know they know their stuff, and aren't just out to get you to buy as many fish as possible to fatten their wallets. i feel totally ripped off, but more than that, sorry for those poor little fishies. i'll always be checking with the people at fishlore first.

i don't know what to do with my fish now. i think i need to remove the remaining 3 serpae. this will leave me with 7 neons in the tank, which is probably a pretty good set-up.

thanks for your assistance on here. alex, i do already have the API Freshwater Master kit. I'll post the readings tomorrow after i get home from work tonight.

Lucy

Welcome to Fish Lore
I'm really sorry you lost some fish and got poor advice from the fish store.
I must have the best behaved serpaes on the forum. So many people have problems with them nipping when not in a proper school.
I have 4 in my 10g and they are a delight.

Great advice from the above posters.
Good luck with your tank.

agabr123

i'm sorry you lost your fish

7 neons in a 10 gallon is a good stocking definitely. i'd talk to your LFS and see if they can bring the serpaes back, if you tell them that they are too aggressive for your tank and you can't keep them they should take them back.

mr baer

Thanks all for your advice.
As a newbie i was prepared to lose some fish, just disappointing that it happens in this way.
Interestingly, the 4 serpae seemed fine together for 2 weeks when they were by themselves. It seems to be the introduction of the neons that sent one a bit nuts. I've identified him after careful observation and he is in isolation in a net at the top of the tank. Will try to take him back or find another local fish keeper with a decent size tank who can have him in a school.

As for my water - temp is 24.5C (76F), pH is 7.0, ammonia 0.1, nitrite 1, nitrate 5. so seems i'm not doing too badly with that at least!