Congo Tetras

I have 2 males and 1 female, and have noticed that one male is growing more and more aggressive toward the other male and the female. I have also noticed that they are all hanging out in the back lower party of the tank behind the rocks and wood. They are becoming very skittish and timid, and are slower to come out for feedings. I was curious if anyone else has seen this behavior? They are the largest species in the tank, so I other than recent tank rearrangements and cleanings I don't know what they would be so afraid of? I am starting to regret not going with the german blue rams that I wanted (too impatient to wait out the quarantine at the LFS)....

as fara s the aggresion you may have to make a addition of more tetras in order to diffuse the aggresion.and unfortunatly the best route to go with would be the less colorfull females.i have kept a small group of congos before with more male than female ratio 3-2 and never had any problems although most would recomend an equal amout of each.as far as being skittish the pestering from the other male may be contributing to the fish hiding.more visual barriers will help in the mean while and in the long run so i always recomend plants .try out some water sprite or wisteria as it can float and be planted,hygrophylia species are pretty nice too..also sometimes when fast moving schooling fishes that are a little timid you can try and block off the sides of the aquarium with background or posterboard from the dollar store as to provide them with a less stressfull enviroment.

I see, I will consider adding a few more congos.. I hear the AH has got some more zebra nerites in? I still want to grab one of those, and maybe another blueberry and/or crystal red shrimp to add to the mix. I am about to bust out my digital camera to try and get a picture or two up so you can see what I have in the tank. I am done putting any more plants in for the time being, as once they all start growing vigorously I am going to have a lot of pruning to do. Ill check back in once I get some pictures uploaded onto the computer.

i can help you out as far as the shrimp and possible snail as i have several.although i believe the AH will be getting more shrimps soon and they just got some nerites...two types i believe.