Buenos Aires Tetra

Question
Hi Karen,

I have a shoal of 7 buenos aires tetra in their own 20 gallon aquarium.  The shoal contains 6 males and 1 female (as far as I can tell from body size etc.) and recently the female has been showing up with bites out of her torso (in front of the anal fin) which I assume is for one or more of the males.  I am currently treating the tank with melafix and she does not appear to be in pain, is eating fine and the wound is healing with no problems.  My question is, is this due to the fact that there are many more males than females are just a random behavior and if so do I need to do something about it and what?  (sorry for all of the add-ons).  They do not seem to bother her normally, they don't even chase her like they do each other sometimes at least during the day when I observe them. Thanks in advance for any help that you can give!

Answer
Hi Amanda,
Very likely the males nipped her as you suspected. It would be better if there were more females than males or just take out the female and keep all males --- this is your best option if these injuries continue. But again it may just be a once in a great while wrestle between the fish that really means no harm.

So just keep a good eye on her. I know you will! ;-)

I hope this helps!
Karen~