attempting to school tetras, limited space.

[trashion]

i received a 10-gal tank setup several years ago, and i've had fish in it for three years. here's the current roster:

1 black skirt tetra, mr. krinkle [<1 year old]
2 red serpae tetras, japhy[added yesterday] and vladimir ilyich lenin [2+ years old]
2 white skirt tetras, gregory[3+ years old] and sue [added yesterday]

i hadn't really taken very good care of them until recently, and i'm trying very hard to be a better fish owner. i was advised in another forum that they would be happier in schools. i have only a ten-gallon tank, and no space [dorm room] nor finances to increase that size. i knew nothing about schooling fish, hence why i had three different types of tetra [serpae, black skirt, white skirt.]

can anyone give me tips? i'm just trying to help my fish be happier and healthier

[Gourami Swami]

My only advise would be to return those fish and choose some mmore suited to a 10g. Or at elast return all but one kind, and get a small school of that type

[emc7]

Keep up with water changes and watch them for aggression. Serpaes can get nippy. Even a lot of the same fish won't school if they don't have swimming room, so don't expect it.

[Betta splendens]

Hm I've had different species of tetra school with each other. But as already advised, maybe see if you can give two of them to someone if the fish store won't take them back. A lot of people have just one tetra species in 10gals in shoals, it does look lovely.

Also, where do you go to collage? I'm wondering which collages allow tank pets in dorms.

[fishbguy]

white skirts and black skirts are the same species. i'm not sure if they school together seeing as i've never kept both at the same time before. if you just got the sarpaes, i would return them and get more black skirts. I would get 3 blacks and 3 whites. so you would have 6 tetras, the recomended number of fish for a school, espacially with tetras. I've noticed that when i had my harliquin rasboras in my 10 galon, they were always closed together in a tightly packed school, but once i put them in my 20 gallon, the school loosend up and they are more spread out.

[JustOneMore20]

IMO Skirt tetras get too large for a 10g. They are one of the bigger bodied tetras and really should have atleast a 20g IMO. I'd return those and get more Serpaes. Or return them all if you can and get a smaller type of tetra like Neons, Cardinals, or Glowlight tetras. Ember tetras would be an even better choice if you could find them.

I know people like variety, as I do as well, but in a 10g its hard to get variety....especially if you have tetras.

Any chance you could return some of them?

[trashion]

i go to suny purchase. they only allow up to 10-gal tanks.

[swordtailbreedr]

i would love a tank with 6 serapes and one dwarf gourami and some ghost shrimp