Question
tetra fin
Hi, I have a 15 gallon freshwater tank that's been going for 6 months. We started with 3 zebra danios and then added 6 serpae tetra about 6 weeks ago after the tank was fully cycled. Things were going perfectly - all the fish seemed to be getting along and our water quality is excellent.
Then one morning 6 days ago we noticed a dead bug in the tank (must have fallen in the back). While removing it I noticed one of the danios was missing an eye! He seemed in bad shape. The next day we noticed several of the serpae tetras have damage to their caudal fins - one has almost no fin left at all. But otherwise they are acting totally fine. No white spots or anything. Water quality still totally fine.
A friend of mine thought the dead bug caused a feeding frenzy which led to the injury of the danio and now the tank is just more aggressive.
Is there anything I should be doing? The one-eyed danio died last night. He was getting bullied and had stopped eating so I'm not surprised. The others danios are totally fine. The tetras are acting fine - no further fin damage.
Will I be okay with just 2 danios? I read they need to be in groups of 3 or more to be happy. I'm afraid adding more fish at this point will just spur more aggression. Or should I just leave it as is?
I did a 25% water change today after removing the dead danio. Is that adequate?
I attached a couple pictures of the tetras - maybe you can see their damaged top fins. The reason I thought it was aggression and not finrot is that it happened so suddenly, but you may have other thoughts.
Like I said everyone seems fine and stable now. I'm just not sure if we should add another danio or two to keep these guys company.
Thanks!
Annie
AnswerIt sounds like you ARE doing everything just fine. I do think that the tetras are nipping, given the information you provided. I too have had problems in the past with the serpae tetras. You may have more males then females and that would lead to aggression if they try to spawn or become dominant. The zebra danios are ideal in groups of 3 or more. Being that they don't get very big and don't take up much room in the aquarium. The danios will always be on the move chasing each other as you probably already have noticed. I would add more danios if I were in your position, especially so if the water parameters are at safe levels. Just monitor the activity and behavior. The most aggression and nipping will take place during feeding and almost directly at the time in between your feedings, if that makes sense to you. Anyhow, keep up the good work and if you ever have issues in the future, I am here to help with anything that may go wrong. Good luck. Going back and reading your question, I just want to add that if you ever encounter any illnesses to use mardel brand medication such as maracyn and or maracide, maroxy etc. You are doing everything just as you need to be doing.
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