# Destroyed Zebra



## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

I came in the living room today and found one of my long-finned zebra danios had all of his fins shredded. This is a mystery to be who did it..
Tank mates:
Lf zebra danio's
Guppies
1 platy
Panda corys
Neon tetras
Serpae tetras
1 dwarf gourami
(Also new to the tank today is a power head)


Any ideas?


I have him in a floating breeding tank to observe and see how he does, I am not sure if he will make it.

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## WildForFish (Aug 5, 2008)

The Serpaes.


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## LizStreithorst (Aug 5, 2015)

WildForFish said:


> The Serpaes.


I agree


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Yep the moment I saw the name serpae i instantly knew it was them.


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

I was afraid of that...they are little jerks

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## WildForFish (Aug 5, 2008)

Fish that have long flowing fins are almost always open season.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

i also vote for the Serpaes....meaner than their cousins the Piranhas..


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

I wonder if the store will take them back?

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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

BUT let's not just give serpae tetras a bad rep right off the bat. Some of them are real nice and would not even nip a betta. I speak from experience. I had to move my serpae tetras in with my betta for about a month because a tank sprung a leak I think and my betta was never nipped. The betta was just a little loving guy and the serpae tetras were just so nice. This is just me experience so this may not apply to you.


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

doulos668 said:


> I wonder if the store will take them back?
> 
> Sent from my Samsung Galaxy S5


They probably will. Was it a LFS or a chain pet store like petco?


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## WildForFish (Aug 5, 2008)

In the OPs case, the Serpaes are the likely culprits


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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Yeah I do agree it was most likely the serpae tetras, but I don't want him to get the impression that all serpae tetras will nip. Some are just as sweet as can be. Also OP here is a tip I have learned. Long fin serpae tetras tend to be less aggressive then short fin serpae tetras.


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Petco

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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

evil wizard said:


> Yeah I do agree it was most likely the serpae tetras, but I don't want him to get the impression that all serpae tetras will nip. Some are just as sweet as can be. Also OP here is a tip I have learned. Long fin serpae tetras tend to be less aggressive then short fin serpae tetras.


I should have went with those

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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

They will take them back if if has been 30 days or less since you bought them. Also the long fin serpae tetras cost a tad bit more then normal ones at about a dollar more.


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Not too bad...thanks

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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

WildForFish said:


> In the OPs case, the Serpaes are the likely culprits


OPs?

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## WildForFish (Aug 5, 2008)

Original post / poster


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Serpae tetra prison...until I return them...they killed two more today

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## WildForFish (Aug 5, 2008)

They are beautiful fish, too bad it can be hard to keep them in a community tank.


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## lohachata (Jan 27, 2006)

I love serpaes because they are beautiful and very active..but i do not love them because they can be such terrors...
a well planted 29 or 30 long with a dozen or two of them with some corydoras is an awesome sight..


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Very pretty fish, but crap for neighbors 

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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Not all of them are bad just..... the majority. Also has it been over 30 days since you bought them?


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

No just 5. I took them back today. I replaced them with 2 white sail fin mollies and a few blue wag platys. Very nice looking in my tank!

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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

2 things.
1 when I said not all of them, I meant them as a whole species. Not all of the serpae tetras int eh world are mean, just the majority.
2 Those mollies and platy's are most likely already pregnant.


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## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

What kind of other fish do you have in there, or should I say what's your pH? Common livebearers (guppies, mollies, platies, swordtails) prefer more basic water...


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Mollies, platys, guppies, neon tetras, panda corys, cherry shrimp, the zebras and one dwarf gourami named Clint (Eastwood)....he was the only one that would give back what the serpae tetra were dishing out. (The serpae are gone now)

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## bullseyejoey (Aug 30, 2012)

I'm surprised the pH isn't killing off either the livebearers or the tetras, that is unless you have like a perfect 7 pH.


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

It has been at 7 for some time. I have not had issues with this combination in the past. The neon tetras are pretty hardy

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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Make that 7.2....everyone is happy now with those foolish serpae out of the picture

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## big b (Aug 17, 2014)

Fish will adapt to many ph levels as long as they are slowly changed and they don't change to quickly or to soon.


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## doulos668 (Jul 24, 2015)

Yeppers!

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