May 21, 2007
Fish! (Yes, really!)
(You can barely see the two Serpae Tetra in this picture. There are more pictures, including some better ones of the fish, here.)
So I went back to the fish store this evening. My tank seems to be doing okay (clear water, no more chlorine smell, etc.), so I figured I could go ahead and get my first two fish.
The guy at the aquarium store told me that glowlight tetras would die (despite the fact that I've found sources online suggesting them as good starter fish) and corys would starve (this confused me, since you need to feed them even when you have algae for them to eat). I finally gave up and let him talk me into two serpae tetra.
On one hand they are pretty little fish, bright red with black fins and splotches. On the other hand, I do not want them in my final tank. No way. They have a reputation for being very active, somewhat aggressive, and fin nipping. The bigger of the two is already bullying the littler one. They also do not get along with neons at all. So after four to six weeks it's back to the fish store they will go. Fortunately they are cheap fish, so it's not much of a loss.
I also got two plants. I like the central one, but the java fern is far more mangy than it looked in the store tank. I am not at all happy with it. If it dies I won't be particularly sad. I definitely need some more plants though. The tank is still very bright and just about all forms of tetra prefer shady, densely planted tanks. I'll see how my plants do and maybe get some more next week. I wish I could find better advice on which plants will go well with tetra.
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