Glowlight Tetras Are Aggressive All Of A Sudden? Please Help Me.

I have been working so hard to get all my water levels right. I just did a 50% wc with prime and all of a sudden, and for the last hour, the tetras have gone crazy. I don't know if they are all picking on one or if one of them is picking on the others. It's hard to tell because they all look the same. They have never been like this in the month or so that I have had them.
I don't want to lose them. I saw this with tiger barbs, but I wasn't surprised by that. In the end, 4 died and 1 went back to my LFS. I have 6 tetras and 3 danios and 1 ABN pleco. :helpsmilie:

 

Make sure your water levels are the same. 50% may have been a shock if the water was not preconditioned and the temperature was off make sure the water is the same.

 

I'm surprised about your glowlights.
They are not normally known as aggressive, at least not ime.

Try switching around the decor to block their line of sight.

Good luck!

 

Try switching around the decor to block their line of sight.

I like this idea. Thankfully, I never got a chance to try it! They are much better now. They have had 3 wc's in 4 days, two of which were 50%, so I think I would probably be a little irritable, too. I also check the water temp with a digital meat thermometer before I put it in the tank. I don't want to shock them.
Question: My lfs said that I could add a little water conditioner (as stress coat) to the tank at times like this to calm them down. I'm using prime. Is this true?

 

Glad to hear they calmed down.

Can't say that I've heard stress coat would calm things down but I don't think it would hurt to try.

 

You know what may have happened? You may have ammonia or nitrite in your tap water. If it was unusually high today that might have caused some aggression until the levels came back down. That would explain why it was suggested to use water conditioner.

 

You know what may have happened? You may have ammonia or nitrite in your tap water. If it was unusually high today that might have caused some aggression until the levels came back down. That would explain why it was suggested to use water conditioner.

Oh, I should have been more clear! I used prime...but I was thinking...maybe I didn't shake the bottle first? hmm...this might belong in another thread!

 

Hmm. Maybe you're confusing excitement with aggression... OR perhaps you have too many males?

 

I wondered about that, but I was so scared because (another bad event in my journey) I got 5 tiger barbs and ended up with one very mean little barb that had to find a new home. I didn't want that again!
They were almost wrestling around...going through stuff and around stuff and nipping. They totally could have been excited, but it was a new behavior. Usually they just kinda tighten their school and go to the designated corner of the tank. I'm guessing it must be their pre-determined fish emergency meeting place.

I have no idea which are males and which are females. Do you know how to sex these little guys/girls? I suppose I could look it up here on FL, too!

 

Glowlights are difficult. They say the females are rounder.
Sometimes you get some chasing behavior when water is changed. The freshness seems to get them excited. If it's going back to normal that quickly I wouldn't be concerned about it.

 

Thanks. I'll try not to freak out so much!

 

Just keep an eye on it. If it gets to a point where they aren't stopping in a few hours, THEN you'll want to worry. Chances are they're just kicking up their heels a little. XD

 

Well, they deserve it! x

 

Does anyone have their Glowlight Tetras being nipping other fishes?

I had 7 glowlight tetra and 5 Glofish Tetra in my 15g community tank. I started seeing one of my Glofish dorsal fin getting nipped... This also happens to one of my guppy getting nipped in my 10g and I decide to relocate them to the 15g.

Did I give them too less food? I usually feed twice a day and fast them alternate. And how can I contain their aggression?

 

Tetras are generally bickering a lot, mostly among each other. Some species go for long, flowing fins, they trigger feeding instincts.

What you can do: Not much. Remove either the species being nipped at or the nippers. That's all.

 

yes, they can get aggressive.

I've had 7, 2 had died just after getting them 2 years ago. I'm down to 3 now and not planning on rebuying them. They're nice fish, but they are fin nippers.

move decor around to break up territories, but if continues - remove either them or the fish they attack. it's a pecking order thing imo.

tetra skirts will kill other fish.

Good luck!

 

Yeah, this will be my last with them.

I bought them since they're very young, from a innocent scarily fish that hides away to being a terror behind your back.

 

You never mentioned the size of your tank. If a tank is large enough and has sufficient hiding spots, nipping is generally not an issue. However, if your tank is crowded and lacks plants and other decorations that allow fish to escape, you can expect nipping.

 

You never mentioned the size of your tank.

in my 15g community tank.

Beg to differ, he did. But never showed it.

 

In a lot of threads about "agression" in tetras (or even several different species) we don't think about our own acts inducing this in those cases.

A lot of fish in a too small tanks, too small shoal, wrong tankmates, overstocking, spare plants / decoration, high / bright lights, bad waterconditions,etc...(or combinations of these) can cause this to happen.

Also several people see normal behaviour (sparring males, mating, etc...) as "agression".

Not saying this is the case in this thread (though the shoalsize is a thing to me) but just trying to show often it aren't the fish which cause these problems

 

Beg to differ, he did. But never showed it.

You are correct. I have been gone for a few days and read the posts too quickly in an attempt to catch up. My bad.

Still a 15 gallon tank is not ideal for the stocking.

 

This is the said tank, current stocking is as follow; 7 Glowlight Tetra, 5 Glofish Tetra, 3 Oto and 3 Panda Cory.

The said fish have developed SB issue which could be a result from the nip, or could have developed before the nip and cause him to be an easy target of fin nip. Others are doing fine.

 

What I notice in the first pic Eddie is that all fish are "forced" to swim in the same waterlayer (lower) cause of the absence of floating plants and the bright light. So the space of the 15G is even limited to the half. Provide some shade / floaters so your fish will have more swimmingspace / are more divided. Less frustration cause of the less frequent "encounters" that way.

 

I see, I'll get more plants to improve the situation