Serpae Tetras

Tetras, Hatchetfish, Pencilfish, Other Characin Fish (Silver Dollar, Headstander, Leporinus)
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Andys temperate tank
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Well done on the rescue Martin.

I saved a duplicareas cory on Thursday. It had been in horizon for a few weeks on its own.

They were £12 each, I got him for £5 seeing as I had 15 friends for it to live with.
64l kitchen tank: 16 golden tetra.
5ft 425L: 7 blue angel fish, 30 rummie nose tetra, 20 black neon tetra, 1 longfin bristlenose plec, 2 corydoras sterbai, 2 SAE.
Netsu
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wilkinss77 wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 21:35 pm Serpaes are indeed nasty gits & unlike other nippy shhoaling fish, keeping them in large numbers doesn't alleviate the issue.
Good to know! They are very attractive fish.
wilkinss77
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Netsu wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 16:19 pm
wilkinss77 wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 21:35 pm Serpaes are indeed nasty gits & unlike other nippy shoaling fish, keeping them in large numbers doesn't alleviate the issue.
Good to know! They are very attractive fish.
Better choices would be rosy/bentos tetras, diamond tetras, red or black phantom tetras or lemon tetras.
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Martinspuddle
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wilkinss77 wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:16 am
Netsu wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 16:19 pm
wilkinss77 wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 21:35 pm Serpaes are indeed nasty gits & unlike other nippy shoaling fish, keeping them in large numbers doesn't alleviate the issue.
Good to know! They are very attractive fish.
Better choices would be rosy/bentos tetras, diamond tetras, red or black phantom tetras or lemon tetras.
All of the above would of been better than 70 Serpae's picking on three Pristella Tetras in the store. :[
WARNING - DO NOT BREED, FEED OR PET THE PUDDLE! :dodgy2:
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wilkinss77
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Martinspuddle wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 10:11 am
wilkinss77 wrote: Thu Jul 15, 2021 9:16 am
Netsu wrote: Wed Jul 14, 2021 16:19 pm
wilkinss77 wrote: Sun Jul 11, 2021 21:35 pm Serpaes are indeed nasty gits & unlike other nippy shoaling fish, keeping them in large numbers doesn't alleviate the issue.
Good to know! They are very attractive fish.
Better choices would be rosy/bentos tetras, diamond tetras, red or black phantom tetras or lemon tetras.
All of the above would of been better than 70 Serpae's picking on three Pristella Tetras in the store. :[
Indeed so! Baensch atlas describes the callistus complex to which serpaes belong as being 'like piranhas' toward slower & weaker fish. :(
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Stephen
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Serpae Tetra (Hyphessobrycon eques) are lovely fish.
They have a bit of a poor reputation for nipping other fish's fins but that is usually due to poor numbers in a too small aquarium (a 3 foot aquarium is barely big enough).
How can anyone not love these beautiful fish ?

Image

I had a nice group (maybe 18 or 20) in my Rio Guapore themed aquarium and the only issue I had was not seeing them as much as I would like, they usually hid amongst the plants at the rear of the aquarium.
They did shift around though (they can really move), all following (or chasing) each other but usually at the rear of the aquarium amongst the plants.
Mind you I do have a 6 foot aquarium with the correct water parameters for this fish species (slightly acidic at pH6.8 and soft at 4.6dGH).
The only slight fin damage that I observed was to each other, all the other fish were fine.

If Serpae Tetra (Hyphessobrycon eques) have a large enough aquarium and the correct water parameters then they are generally fine.
In smaller numbers and in smaller aquariums with the wrong parameters they can be a nightmare. A planted aquarium is essential (in my opinion) for this fish species.

All the best
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

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Martinspuddle
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Think the main issue @Stephen is when their cooped up a 30 cm square cube aquarium, numbering 50 - 70 individuals I think this was part of the problem for their aggression.
Stephen wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 10:58 am How can anyone not love these beautiful fish ?
Oh I don't deign they are a beautiful fish, just best kept on their own. ;]
Last edited by Martinspuddle on Sat Jul 17, 2021 13:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Stephen
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Martinspuddle wrote: Sat Jul 17, 2021 13:38 pm Think the main issue @Stephen is when their cooped up a 30 cm square cube aquarium, numbering 50 - 70 individuals I think this was part of the problem for their aggression.
I agree, too many in a tiny aquarium is asking for trouble. ::thumbu::
425L SeaBray Elite aquarium - Rio Mamoré (Bolivia) theme
4 x Cupid Cichlids, 14 x Cory caudimaculatus, 13 x Cory sterbai 52 x Reed Tetra, 4 x Honeycomb Bristlenose (L519)

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