# Serpae Tetra.. And Guppies



## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Yesterday when I was at Petco, my liitle sister wanted to buy some fish. As well as a couple of other species, I let her get a single (I'm assuming male) longfin Serpae tetra.
Yes, I was aware that Serpaes are schooling fish. I know I made an irresponsible decision. What I didn't know was that Serpaes are fin-nippers. Sure enough, the next day, my guppies fins had considerable damage on them. My question here is wether or not completing the school will stop the nipping or not. Will having 10 of them work rather than 6 or 7? Just so you know, the tank is a working progress, but it will be heavily planted. If I need to, I can return the single Serpae.
Thank you for your help.
P.s.
I need this answer today. Tomorrow I will be going back to petco, for whichever decision.
For more details about this situation, check the last half of page 4 and page 5 in my Journal.


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Completing the shoal will cut down on the nipping. The tetra is probably extremely stressed right now.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

You really think so? Ok then I'll do that. I think I'll actually get to go to the pet store today.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Ack, I can't decide! Online resources seem to be cut down the middle- bad tank mates and perfectly peaceful. Please, I'm looking for as many opinions as possible!


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Serpaes are awful. The more you have the better off you'll be but it still wont guarantee that they wont nip. Feeding them a high protein diet can also curtail the nipping. 

If you really like the look of a serpae but don't want to deal with the nipping you could try a small shoal of Red Phantom Tetras. You could keep them in smaller groups than serpaes, you wouldn't need 10-12. You could do a group of 4-5 with a 1 male to 3-4 females. All the nipping and aggression will be contained to the group. I keep black Phantoms which are basically the same fish, and the spawning displays they put on are really fun to watch. The males flare at each other and swim sideways for hours on end. The females will nip the hell out of each other at first but once a pecking order is established they settle down. Any damage they do to each other will heal unbelievably fast. The only time they bother other fish is when they steal their food. I've never had them nip any of their other tankmates.

At first I hated them and thought they were the biggest mistake I've ever made, but now I love 'em


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

.. That's an excellent idea! I like the look of the phantoms! Hmm, do you think the black and red ones would school together? Oh, but the reds probably wouldn't display the behavior your talking about.. well anyway, thanks! Tomorrow I'll return the serpae.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Phantoms don't really school like other tetras, they just kinda hang out together in a loose group. From what I understand the reds & blacks are pretty much the same fish. I really don't see a problem keeping them together. Reds can be hard to come by but the blacks are easy to find. 

The males will be lighter in color and have a long droopy dorsal fin that they raise like a sail when they display. Females will be stockier and have red in their ventral & anal fins. If they look washed out in the store they will color up in about a week with good food. Any nips you see in their fins will heal once they settle into a group.

I keep a group of 8, 2 males 6 females. Sadly, one of my males "Big Chief" hasn't been looking too good for the last few days, I think it's time to move him into a hospital tank. 

My other male is spawning with a female as I write this and my rummynoses are right behind them and eating the eggs before they hit the bottom!

EDIT: The Phantoms will rise to the top of the food chain in the tank and slower swimmers and bottom feeders could get shut out. Guppies might have trouble getting their fair share of food.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Hmm ok. I'll let my sister pick the phantoms, since she's kinda upset that we have to return Cheetah (the serpae).
Cool, I hope I can tell the genders apart, this'll be my first time trying on fish other than bettas. ;D
Ohh I hope he recovers. 
Hey, bad rummies! Wait, are you actually trying to get them to breed and raise their fry, or are they just randomly spawnning?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

They just randomly spawn on their own, usually after a water change or when I add rooibos tea. I must be doing something right. You should see my very gravid clown pleco, she looks like she's swallowed ping-pong ball. It might be time to get her a boyfriend.

What size tank are you stocking?


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Ha ha do it!
A 29. I only got it 2 months ago, but it filled up fast! It seemed huge compared to my 10 gallon, but now it's much too small! I can't have alot of the fish I want. Part of the problem was that we would purchase random fish that turned out to be schoolers. _Every_ time we go to the pet store... I tell you, that place is dangerous for my family. XD Petco (or is it petsmart..) is having the $1 per gallon sale again, and I admit I'm a bit tempted... But my mom would never let me, and the transfering of fish is complicated. Same with starting up with a new tank.
~Sigh~ The problems of a fish lover...
;D


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

That's funny, my 29 seems way too big right now. I only have one lonely African butterfly cichlid in there. 

The phantoms will do great in a 29. I was at a LFS tonight and saw some babies. They were so cute, like miniature versions of the adults.


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Heh, trade? ;P
When are you planning on putting in more fish?
Aww they sound so cute! :-D Wish i could have seen them/taken them home with me!
This is random, but I read through your Bolivian Ram journal; it was great, are you planning on continuing that?


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

I was planing on putting my baby albino krib in there but it didn't work out. The butterfly became too aggressive. It was predatory and not territorial so I couldn't manage it. He was stalking and trying to kill her. She's now safe and sound in my 40 breeder and happy as can be.

I should be continuing my ram journal soon. There's a lot going on with that tank!


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## ThisDragonisNerdy (Mar 28, 2015)

Ah, that's too bad- at least she's happy in the 40 breeder!
Ok cool! ^.^ I'll stay tuned!


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