mimi86

I'm probably going to re-do it (different substrate, plants) , maybe I'll post a build journal here! How big of a school? I have 9 of them I've definitely been hatching more baby brine lately to see if it helps. I do have guppies in other tanks, I was hesitant to add them not knowing if the tetras were sick or not, but I'll try it! I'll also see if I can get some garlic based food for their tums--I didnt consider that all the antibiotics might do that! The sides are not blocked immediately but theres a curtain on the left hand side and a wire rack on the right hand side where i have some tools and food, so they can't see out into the room on the sides' Thank you!

I'm looking for some help from tetra experts on what I might be doing wrong, if anything. My Green Fire Tetras are extremely shy and not eating as enthusiastically as they used to. In early March I received a shipment from an aquabid sale for what were supposed to be 6 kubotai rasboras. Instead they sent me 9 Green Fire Tetras, aka 'Rathbun's Bloodfin Tetras' aka Red-flanked Bloodfin Tetras. They get to be 2" long and these were a little smaller than neon tetras at the time so they were juveniles, I consulted some folks from a well-regarded fb group who even said they were so young they couldnt accurately identify at first. These guys ate *ok* while in quarantine, they were in a 5gallon sterilite tub for well over a month because I had to get a bigger aquarium (since these were not the kubotai rasboras I ordered). I fed them mostly flake foods as they ignored my ground-up pellets. They got Extreme Krill Flake & Spirulina Flake, baby brine shrimp, and egg yolk most of the time. They went through QT with levamisole, maracyn 2, and sulfaplex for 1 week each (but they were in QT for longer overall). No signs of illness. I ended up putting them in a lowboy/riparium style setup in early/mid April. I took a 40 gallon and cut it in half. Specs: Size: 20 Gal (more like 17g because of hardscape and since I don't fill it all the way) Filtration: 2x sponge filters rated for 15 gallons, with directed return flow above the water to create surface agitation. I've also included an airstone for more aeration Substrate: White sand with lava rock in the back for BB growth (and hydroton clay pellets for the riparium plants) Hardscape: Cypress driftwood, seiryu stone Tankmates: 6 pygmy corydoras, a handful of malaysian trumpet snails Lighting: 2x Hygger Planted 24/7 suspended 12" above the water surface, on a 24 hr daylight simulation cycle. Moderately planted with salvinia floaters for cover (i say moderately because all the underwater creeping jenny I had melted as soon as it started to emerse so I'll be adding more). Riparium plants were mostly purchased bare root or otherwise washed REALLY WELL and transitioned to emersed growing in a separate jar to mitigate fouling of the tank water. I have antherium, maidenhair fern, english ivy, stonecrop sedum, creeping jenny, philodendron, purple waffle, polkadot plant, and sweet potato vine) I test this tank more frequently than my others, thinking I was having a chemistry issue, but it seems consistent: ph 7.2 ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 10 temp: 78 KH: 5 (API test #drops) GH: 15 (API test #drops) These guys do nothing but hide behind/inside/UNDER the hardscape. They sometimes come out if they see food drifting down but often end up ignoring it. They're not really growing much and not 'filling out,' I feel like even if they're longer theyre proportionally thinner than when I moved them from quarantine to the new tank. The only food they really LOVE and consistently eat is the baby brine shrimp. I was toying with the idea of removing the floaters and moving the filters all to one side to create flow, but if they're timid then maybe they'll feel more exposed. Do these guys eat better at certain times of day? Is this just how tetras are in general, and I have picky eaters on top of it? (in the pic the white spot on the far right tetra's flank is a falling crumb of egg yolk, it was one of 3 pics i took in rapid succession and it's not in the 2 other pictures)