# My fish never do the "norm"



## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Lol, why do I always get fish that do the opposite of what they are supposed to?

For instance, I have 5 Harlequin Rasboras (getting the 6th tomorrow.... had 6 but one went MIA...) anyhoo, they don't school. They just swim randomly and frantically around the tank. We will eventually have 8 Harley's, but we don't want to add them all at once. Is 8 enough?

And, my Julii corys.... they just swim up the glass and all over the tank, but never in a school.... we've got 6. We were thinking of getting 7... is 6 enough?

I guess I just always seem to get 'species confused' fish, lol.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The problem is your size tank. There isn't much room to school. I don't mean that in demeaning way but think of it like this.....if the fish are slightly spread apart but in one general area, it will almost look like they are schooling in a larger tank. 

FWIW, the book that you read about species say a lot of fish are schoolers. Some, they just have it wrong. In one I read it said Guppies and Platies school, but it just isn't true - or at least I haven't seen that behavior. My Cories stay together somewhat, but more like a shoal than a school I think.

If you wanted tight schoolers, Rummy-nosed or Bloodfin Tetras are the tightest I've seen, but in a smaller tank not sure.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Cories don't school but they do shoal, best with those is to have odd numbers, like 7 instead of 6 or 9 instead of 8. The more there is the tighter the school. With fish like rasboras to school they need a dither fish, that makes them feel safer grouped together. Also the larger the school helps here, and with odd numbers.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Alright. * We will add a 7th Cory (in about a week or so)* and will end up getting 9 or 11 Harley's instead of 8 or 10. Right now we only have 5 Rasboras, as we didn't want to stock the tank right off the bat, but wanted to add a few at a time. (I don't mind if they loosely school, like Jrman said, I just thought maybe there was something wrong. They seem to be alright. They are certainly eating, but just kinda' swimming around singly, lol. They don't seem to by shy at all by any means, just not really swimming together.

We didn't want to add any more fish (other than the final Harley's and Cory), since we will be at pretty much 87% stocking (aqua advisor).... will they be happy and eventually school of 9 or 11 together with out any 'dither' fish? The Gouramis and Corys come out and swim among them, so you'd think that would make them feel alright. *We will add 2 more this week and then get the rest when we get back from the cottage after next weekend.* Don't want any big ammonia spikes while we are away!

The Corys shoal - they stay in groups of 2 or 3 mostly but kinda' separate at the same time... sometimes they are single. 

The Harleys seem to shoal too. They are relatively in the center of the tank, but in all directions. Is it normal for them to go after each other? (Almost aggressively?) I'm hoping that will stop if I add 4 or 6 more. (Bigger school but odd number.)

The Corys and the Dwarf Gouramis seem to have settled in perfectly and are really happy... other than the corys swimming up the glass, lol. It's the Harleys that are the most frustrating. 

*There's a lot of action in the tank at the moment with 6 Corys, 5 Rasboras and 4 Dwarf Gouramis! Just hoping that adding the final Cory and final Rasboras won't 'over action' the tank. We want it to be relaxing, not a frenzy... though at the moment it's a bit of a frenzy with the Cory's always going up the glass and the Rasboras going all over the place singly....*


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## Peterjay (Feb 15, 2011)

Holly, the reason that fish form schools isn't because they enjoy each others' company. It's a survival mechanism that they've evolved to make themselves less conspicuous to predators. If there's nothing in the tank that worries them, there's no reason for them to get together. If they were in a larger tank, the rasboras would probably school to "go exploring." It's a "safety in numbers" thing.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

Since adding 2 more Rasboras, they seem to be hanging out a lot more. There's always one or two that like to go off on their own, but it's definitely better than it was.

They Corys are doing a little better too. They hang out in 2's and 3's but will sometimes go off alone.


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## Future Marine Biologist (Aug 24, 2011)

I have harlequin rasboras and when I had only 5 they seemed to school less, now I have 7 and they school even more. My harlequins also will split up in to smaller schools.


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

^ Yeah, mine are doing the same. Swim/shoal together, then in smaller groups.


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## Future Marine Biologist (Aug 24, 2011)

With my harlequins the ones I had for over 2 years stay more near the bottom beside a fake plants. The 3 new guys I have had for a week explore the tank. Though sometimes my older guys guide them into the school it is the cutest thing ever.


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## PapaM (Jul 10, 2011)

Peterjay said:


> Holly, the reason that fish form schools isn't because they enjoy each others' company. It's a survival mechanism that they've evolved to make themselves less conspicuous to predators. If there's nothing in the tank that worries them, there's no reason for them to get together. If they were in a larger tank, the rasboras would probably school to "go exploring." It's a "safety in numbers" thing.


 I agree with peterjay, if you put a larger fish in there, they'll tighten up in a hurry.* fred krueger


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## holly12 (Apr 21, 2011)

^ Hee hee, oh, there is a larger fish in there! His name is Bruce and he's a Dwarf Fire Gourami, but he's about 2.5 - 3 inches! (He should get to be about 3.5 inches when he grows.) The females are around 2 inches.


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## alhays31808 (Aug 27, 2011)

:O


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