Pristella tetras

[gronlaura]

I have 4 lovely albino (golden) pristella tetras that were added this past Saturday (will be adding 4 more in 2 weeks). They are all active and appear comfortable in my 75 gal, not schooling tightly but roaming all over the tank, interacting with my other fish (7 neon dwarf rainbows and 5 scissortail rasboras).

When I feed, they stay at the bottom or mid tank, seeming to look for the food there. Is this species more comfortable eating sinking food vs food that floats at the top? I am concerned that they haven't eaten, except for the little bit that sinks. I feed Omega One color flakes and freeze dried daphnia every other day.

Water parameters are 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10 nitrates, pH 7.4, temp 77.0.

Opinions please.

[steeler1]

As you increase your school they will be less skittish. IME they don't rush to the top like some tetras but wait till it sinks.

[gronlaura]

As you increase your school they will be less skittish. IME they don't rush to the top like some tetras but wait till it sinks.

Is there a particular sinking food that you recommend?

[Taurus]

Hikari Micro Pellets or New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula. Pristellas are not fussy eaters in my experience.

[gronlaura]

Hikari Micro Pellets or New Life Spectrum Small Fish Formula. Pristellas are not fussy eaters in my experience.

Thank you I will check those out.

[gronlaura]

got the NLS small fish pellets. unfortunately they don't sink quickly enough for the Tetras to get them. I kind of throw them down so they will sink, but they don't make it to the tetras. 1 of the 4 is very shy and does not come out to eat. he does come out to swim and school but he hides when its feeding time.

I wasn't going to add more Tetras to the school for another week. should I add more now so they are more comfortable?

is there a sinking wafer that I could use that they could nibble on?

[Taurus]

Soak the pellets in a cup of tank water first. Then dump the water and pellets in the tank all at once. Don't worry, the Pristellas will get their share.

You could also try dropping in a Hikari bottom feeder tablet to see if they will nibble on that. It's the same table that I use to feed my cory cats.

And yes, I would add more Pristella tetras because the larger the group, the more comfortable they will be.

[gronlaura]

Soak the pellets in a cup of tank water first. Then dump the water and pellets in the tank all at once. Don't worry, the Pristellas will get their share.

You could also try dropping in a Hikari bottom feeder tablet to see if they will nibble on that. It's the same table that I use to feed my cory cats.

And yes, I would add more Pristella tetras because the larger the group, the more comfortable they will be.

That technique worked! I think it will take a few feedings for them to get the hang of it, but they did find the NLS pellets as they sunk. Also, will be completing the tetra school (to 10 fish) with the addition of 6 more this coming Saturday. They are really interesting to watch - they school, separate & roam around the tank, then quickly come together to school again. Very cool fish.

[Taurus]

Glad it worked out.

[steeler1]

That technique worked! I think it will take a few feedings for them to get the hang of it, but they did find the NLS pellets as they sunk. Also, will be completing the tetra school (to 10 fish) with the addition of 6 more this coming Saturday. They are really interesting to watch - they school, separate & roam around the tank, then quickly come together to school again. Very cool fish.

Pristella's are IMO a very underated and undemanding fish. All three color's look good but I still prefer the original wild look.

Enjoy them and you could boost them up to 15 in a tank your size if you chose to.