Glowlight Tetras hardy/suitable for beginners like me?

HI I just got some Glowlight tetras yesterday and these are my first fish so I was wondering if they are hardy/suitable for beginners like me?

I got them instead of neons because I learned that neons are too sensitive . I have completed the nitrogen cycle so don't worry about me not knowing about it. My ammonia is 0, nitrite 0 and 30ppm nitrates. My ph is 7.8. The petco where they came from als0 had a ph of 7.8(this stock was there for about a month so I assume it will be ok in my ph)

 

They are pretty hardy, even smaller ones - at least they handle it better than neons as neons are stressed easily (not saying glolights won't be stressed easily, they just don't seem to have as much of an issue with stress as neons..)

 

Yes in my experience Glowlight Tetra are tougher little fish than Neon Tetra so in that regard you made a good decision.

There seems to be a fair chance of purchasing Neon Tetras which are diseased already and so there can be a tough time at the start with them which is not what you need as a beginner. I purchased two lots this year, one lot were diseased and the other lot were perfect.

I'd say overfeeding (which pollutes the water) is the beginners mistake to avoid. Fish actually need only a couple of flakes per day each, but of course you have to make sure everybody gets a share.

 

Overfeeding can be countered by large and numerous water changes. I feed my tetras multiple times a day, and do bI weekly 50% water changes to remove excess waste

 

I started with 6 neons, 10 days later added 6 glow lights. All survived and are thriving.

 

Glowlights are one of the old time aquarium fish. They come from Guyana, and are from harder water than many similar tetras, like softwater neons. In nature, a glowlight's pH is above 7 ( a neon's is well below). So that makes them much more adaptable to your conditions. You made a great choice for a first tetra.

Well done, and props to you for doing research before.

 

My glowlight tetras have been with me since March 2015. Hardy and beautiful little fish!

 

I have 9 of them in my 20 long. Very peaceful, hardy, and pretty, especially in low light. I find them to not be super active though. They like to just hang around in the bottom third of the column. They are more active when the lights are turned low. Maybe this is why they're used as dither fish.

 

They have only one warning with them - if you overfeed, that is a tetra that gets quite overweight. Since fat collects around their internal organs and not under their skin, like mammals, overfeeding really shortens their lives. You have to be disciplined about feeding them, because they are cute little hogs that beg. The temptation overfeed is real, but the results are too...

 

I have 9 of them in my 20 long. Very peaceful, hardy, and pretty, especially in low light. I find them to not be super active though. They like to just hang around in the bottom third of the column. They are more active when the lights are turned low. Maybe this is why they're used as dither fish.

This. Mine generally do nothing most of the day until the lights go off. I have some single led accent lights and they go nuts at night. They look awesome when they catch the light. Although I have some in with gold pristella in a larger aquarium, and they follow them around all day.

 

I don't know why but I think 2 or 3 of the smaller ones are ganging up and fin nipping the larger one because I saw them chasing him and today his tail fins look raggedy, what's going on I thought they were peaceful

 

I don't know why but I think 2 or 3 of the smaller ones are ganging up and fin nipping the larger one because I saw them chasing him and today his tail fins look raggedy, what's going on I thought they were peaceful

Mine sometimes will chase each other but they never do any damage. In particular there's one almost double the size of everyone else. He frequently chases the next largest one until it goes to the back of the school. I've never seen them do any damage and I've had these almost a year now.

 

How many do you have, and what size is your tank? Like most tetras, they like to be in groups of at least 6 or 7. Mine have done some chasing and a nip now and then, but that seems to be just being a tetra. If you just got them, maybe they're just setting up their "pecking order". I think it will settle down. Other opinions? ?

 

They will reestablish a pecking order once they are away from the pet store group - while mine dance and zip at each other they do no damage. Was gonna ask numbers but Karen beat me to it.

 

I have 5 in a 10 gallon (smallest being an inch and largest being 1.2 inch)

 

Pretty calm...

 

Mine are more active they swim and dart everywhere around the tank

 

Mine are more active they swim and dart everywhere around the tank

Mine more like stroll, with the occasional dart! LOL!

 

Pretty calm...

I like those rocks especially the one in the back on the right and is that stained glass background?

I've had no luck finding any nice large white rocks. Pickings are pretty slI'm and anytime I find anything of size its always limestone.

 

I like those rocks especially the one in the back on the right and is that stained glass background?

I've had no luck finding any nice large white rocks. Pickings are pretty slI'm and anytime I find anything of size its always limestone.

Thank you! I picked up all of my rocks around my house. We're in the low desert in SoCal, and we literally "grow" them!
The background was originally sold as a window covering. It's slightly translucent, and yes, looks like stained glass. But it has greenery, and flowers, along with blue areas. Weird to use as a background, but I like it. Didn't need it on a window, and it was given to me, so repurposed it. 2 of my tanks have it as background.

 

I guess I'll just wait and see if things get better

 

Thank you! I picked up all of my rocks around my house. We're in the low desert in SoCal, and we literally "grow" them!
The background was originally sold as a window covering. It's slightly translucent, and yes, looks like stained glass. But it has greenery, and flowers, along with blue areas. Weird to use as a background, but I like it. Didn't need it on a window, and it was given to me, so repurposed it. 2 of my tanks have it as background.

That's awesome. I recently just moved from oregon to new jersey. Jersey is horrible especially where I live. If I was still in oregon there's so much I could find for my aquariums. Most of my rocks are from oregon. I brought them with me lol. No shame in repurposing it looks nice. I scavenge and repurpose everything. I just used a bunch of fluorescent light covers for drop ceilings as a background. Someone from the forum gave me the idea. Now I'm thinking about those custom stained glass kits they sell at craft stores I imagine you could make some interesting backgrounds.

 

I guess I'll just wait and see if things get better

Sorry didn't mean to take your thread off topic. I imagine they are just setting up their pecking order like mentioned and getting accustomed to their new surroundings. Just keep an eye on them if it gets bad you can separate the bullies with a pasta strainer or a breeder net for a little while. Adding more plants couldn't hurt either. During the day my glowlights separate into little groups of 3 and 4 and hover in caves and in anacharis and hornwort until lights out then they all school together in open water.

 

Females of this species are bigger than males. So if a big one is being chased - they like your tank. Odds are, they are laying eggs (which they will eat).

 

Yes, I had two and the female was much much bigger than the male. Mine also just sat still all day, not very active but totally problem free. My male did not chase the female but stayed by her side.

They were one of the first fish I had when I set up my first community tank (without the benefit of the knowledge available today).

 

update: 4 out of 5 fish have raggedy fins and the one with perfect fins was my culprit as I saw him/her chasing the others ones the most agressively. I also just realized that I bought 3 constipated tetras including that aggressive individual (hes the most constipated one rn) and I didnt know they had it until I observed them the other day and saw how abnormally big their stomachs were( I am assuming the petco employees only feed them fish flakes and no other fiber supplememnt.

So I was thinking about exchanging the aggressive one with another one(ill make sure this ones not constipated) and putting both the constipated ones and the non constipated ones on a whole week of just algae wafers and cucumbers. Then when I see their condition improving ill go back to some flakes.

I can't do something fancy like epsom salt or other stuff because I , although embarrassed to admit it, currently have no extra money that I can spare.

 

so what do you all think about this

 

Can you post a pic of the fins?

 

sorry my thing isn't working but I assure u those are nipped fins