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Light Shy?

Cavan,

I have a problem with tetras in my tanks also. I think it may be because of
the noise level in the house with a loud & roudy 4 year old running around.
I have read they have very acute *hearing*, as opposed to other fish. In a
55 gallon I have only a few--black phantoms and white skirt--and they are
never seen, although the fish are very healthy in that tank, and the other
fish have no problem making their presence known. They'll come and eat out
of my hand at feeding time, and practically jump out of the water, fighting
for food. The tetras slink at the bottom behind plants, hoping something
will pass their way.

I had neons and cardinals in a 29 gallon tank. The neons eventually kicked
off, one by one. By that time, I never saw any of the 5 cardinals in the
tank anymore. I had replaced the lighting with 2 x 55 cfs in the meantime.
I went to the LFS and bought 9 juvenile cardinals. They were a sight to
behold! They swam around in full view, and never hid. Everyone in the house
would stop to look at that tank, because we haven't seen fish in there
swimming for so long. Well, it appears that the 5 remaining cardinals have
trained the 9 juveniles to hide as well. For the most part, they are
invisible again. Where they used to get the connection that *open hood=
feeding time*, if one or two has wandered out adventurously, they run and
hide with the big ones in the back behind the plants when the hood opens up.
I think I should have removed the 5 older ones before putting the new guys
in.

Sylvia

>
> As I have said many times before, I have a number of
> the "Colombian red tail tetras".  All sizes from
> barely visable up to 1.5 inches.
>
> Here's the thing.  Since I got the PCFs, most of the
> adults are hiding a lot.  They aren't nearly as
> aggressive when feeding anymore, much to the delight
> of the tank's more placid inhabitants.  But, the
> juveniles don't hide much.
>
> I don't know if it's because the tank lid slammed down
> a couple times when I was working in the tank, a
> territorial Apistogramma nijsseni (doubt it.  hasn't
> been a problem in the past), or some super bright
> lights.
>
> Has anyone else seen anything like this?  What are
> cardinal tetras like in really bright light?  I'll bet
> they look better in partial shade.
>
> Thanks, Cavan
>
> __________________________________________________