Red Eye Tetras still hiding

**Evilash** · 06-03-2012, 02:06 AM

Hi all. I picked up 6 Red Eye Tetras about 5 days ago. They are the only guys currently in my tank besides 4 cory catfish. They stay in hiding except for when it's time to eat. They will come out then but if you stand by the tank to watch them eat they freak out at any sudden movement. Even if you move your hand to put the food down they all go back into hiding. What gives? Are Red Eye's always this way?

PH: 7.4
Amm: .25
NitrItes: .25
NitrAtes: 10 ppm

**MLBfan** · 06-03-2012, 02:08 AM

THey could still be settling in to their new tank or they could feel insecure for some reason.

**Evilash** · 06-03-2012, 02:25 AM

I'm hoping it's the new tank. I made plenty of hiding spots (maybe that's also a problem).

**ScottishFish** · 06-03-2012, 12:44 PM

The main problem is your school is very inadequate. In the wild these fish school in the thousands, so six isn't doing them justice. I personally keep 18 of them, far from their wild numbers but they certainly are a lot happier than when I had 6 of them.

**Evilash** · 06-03-2012, 06:33 PM

I may pick up more when my tank is done it's cycle. I'm kinda limited. I have a 27 gallon tank so 20 of them would make me overstocked. Maybe if I bring my school up to 10 they will feel more comfortable.

**Evilash** · 06-05-2012, 07:37 PM

Noticed last night these guys are getting more comfy. They were chasing each other around a bit more and coming out of hiding. If I walk up the the glass, even slowly, they zip back into hiding though. After hiding they do come out quicker which is promising. Can't wait for these guys to start swimming around because my tank is pretty much lifeless when they're hiding.

**Evilash** · 06-05-2012, 07:43 PM

Believe it or not, there are 6 Red Eye Tetras in here. Maybe I have too many hiding spots.

Excuse the Spongebob decor, this tank is my 2 year old daughters.

**CosmicStar** · 06-12-2012, 10:40 PM

Nice tank! I never had red eye tetras but I had bleeding hearts and they would hide a lot too!! Seemed to be a very sketchy fish so I got rid of them and chose 8 diamond tetras instead. They are much more comfortable and have less anxiety.

**Matt93eg** · 07-22-2012, 08:53 PM

I have 5 red eye tetras in my 55 gallon and these guys seem to always be moving around. One of them likes to hide in the cave i have in there and wont let another red eye come in. They currently share the tank with 11 neon tetras, 6 julii cory catfish, and 3 gold twin bar platys. The red eyes chase each other quite a bit but they dont bother the corys or neons and there wicked fast at feeding time.