I currently have cardinal and ember tetras in my 20g. I’ve had the cardinals since November and the embers since December.
I first rescued two cardinal tetras from a uncycled tank and they were obviously very skittish. The next day I went and got 6 more to bump their population up to 8. I waited a week and noticed that they still were super skittish so I got four more to bump their population up to 12. When I noticed that they were still acting very skittish after a month, I got 6 (or 8) ember tetras, hoping that higher population and a more confident fish would fix the issue.
Fast forward to now, they will all hide as soon as there is ANY movement relatively close to the tank. It’s gotten to the point where if you want to see them, you have to sit very still next to the tank for a few minutes and then they will come out, but even if you move slightly, they’ll run and hide again.
I hate that I can’t see everyone in my tank swimming around happily. It upsets me a lot that they get scared at any movement because I want them to be comfortable in the tank. Not only that, it’s so difficult to see if anything is wrong with them.
I’m at a complete loss of what to do. Can anyone help?
Posted by meeperswastaken
12 Comments
Also, ignore the wood stick in there! That was a shrimp lollie for my shrimp and snails lol
You could try adding a bigger fish like an angel or gourami that will stay out. Then the tetras know it’s safe to come out. Nvm I see you have shrimp they may get eaten.
Embers can be wierd and shy sometimes. In a situation like this I recommend zebra danios, they are unapologetically brave and just relentlessly swim around everywhere. Usually you want to add fish that are out swimming to signal to the other fish that there’s no danger. Snails, bushynose pleco, khuli loaches, hillstream loach, peaceful goby, etc.
100% I had the same issue until I put in two angels and a couple rainbow fish that were larger. They felt instantly more comfortable and now swim around even with movement around the tank.
Spend more time around your tank. They get used to movement fast if there’s movement around. Just like hang out by the tank reading, watching tv, host a friend and hang out by it, etc
https://preview.redd.it/aedwlnvk09tg1.jpeg?width=2252&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=b93138c453592985d6354a76ce60d98ae70ba8c5
I have embers and neons. Had that issue until I added my Gourami. Now they go wherever. As long as the Gourami feels safe, they feel safe. And the Gourami feels nothing but hunger. Safely hungry, all the time
But, spend a lot more time with your tank without tinkering, maybe? They need to know you arent danger. Ive been associated with food now, but I think thats the Gourami’s doing.
You have to be careful with temperament although my betta, Valentino, is extremely aggressive he tries to murk all my neos (thankfully the bottom of the tank is 95%% covered by plants, wood & rocks so they’ve got plenty of hiding spaces) I was nervous especially bc they’re literally the same size as some of my large snowball neos but my black neons love Valentino’s presence & he couldn’t give less of a crap about them 🤣. He’s very active patrols the whole tank all day long every single corner, every water level. He def makes them feel safe & looks like a giant compared to them lol. They also really love my presence too when I approach the tank they all come up front & start playing around ☺️
All small tetras are. Easy way to get them to more bold is have a massive school.
Adding more fish isn’t always a viable or responsible option and it sounds like you’re about stocked comfortably.
Is the room they’re in high traffic? Very low traffic? I feel like either make it hard for fish to feel comfortable when there is stuff happening outside of the tank.
Try skipping feeding every day. Then when you feed, stand in front of the tank for 3-6 minutes before providing food. Hopefully, they start to associate you with food and come out/don’t hide as often. Then they will slowly start to be comfortable coming out when you’re around.
Me, or my dog, walking into my aquarium room used to freak out my tetras and then they would hide for a while, but they have opened up a lot over time. I have 22 and they’re constantly spread throughout the tank and I think it’s mostly from them associating me with food and getting used to how often there is movement in the room. I sit and stare at them for like 20 minutes every day – I think that’s helped as well lol
Adding another “careful” schooling fish wasn’t the solution, sadly. Like others are saying, a dither fish would probably solve the problem in a day. I’ve got an aspidoras shoal as my dither fish (they’re basically corydoras). My embers are always out and about.
Once my aspidoras were in a food coma (after a mishap with too many bloodworms) for a few hours and suddenly my embers formed a tight school and hid in a corner, never seen them do that! Once the aspidoras digested their meal and dithered on, the embers were back to normal.
I would start by ruling out issues with the environment. Stress within the tank can cause fish to hide.
Have you checked your water parameters recently?
What type of filter do you use?
No advice but the tank looks amazing, well done