Schooling.

[BristlenosePleco]

I have 5 bleeding heart tetras and one von rio tetra and they won't school. Does any one know why? I assumed all tetras just kinda ran to each other. My platy schools with the bleeding hearts more so than the von rio. lol

 

[Doomhed]

are there size differences? some fish dont like to school with fish very different in size from them or different colors. I remember having 5 different colored female platies and the male would only chase my red wag female. Same with my swordtail, he only chased the red wag female, although he was a red wag sword.

 

[lauraf]

My von rios never school. And yeah, my male red platy will only go after the female platy, not the other blacks.

 

[BristlenosePleco]

Theres no noticible difference in size, but colour the von rio is like almost a gold flake colour on his "chest" and red towards the back. The bleeding hearts are almost translucent, but the platy is red and he loves them. lol

 

[misterking]

Tetras generally only shoal with other species of tetra if theyre a similar shape/colour/size. For example, glowlights and black skirts are unlikely to shoal, congos and neons are unlikely to shoal, and I reckon von rios and bleeding hearts.

Personally I'd bump up your von rios, he'd be a lot happier.

 

[BristlenosePleco]

Well he doesen't seem unhappy, he chases the other tetra and interacts with all the fish he just doesen't hang out with the other tetras.

 

[Violet]

I would still add a couple more, shoaling fish like a group of their own.