Fish acting Skittish?

B

Baile

New member
I have a 20 gallon tank, it has fully cycled and three of my fish are acting very skittish: My Red Mollie, My Red Minor Tetra and my black striped tetra, All three of these fish are constantly hiding in the large amount of plants placed for them, and all my fish (including my comet goldfish) hide when the tanks light goes on. Some times they will all come out when the tank light is off but not always.

What could be causing my fish to act this way? I could understand the two tetra's but not my goldfish and not the mollie
 
You've got a bad mix of fish in here. The tetra both need to be in a school, this skittish behavior is normal for schooling fish that are housed alone.
They need to be in schools of at least three, preferably something more in the ball park of 5-7.
The molly is alone as well, though they generally don't need as large of schools as tetra, they still need their own kind.
The goldie should not be housed with tropical fish. The 20 isn't going to be big enough for him as a forever home a he'll reach 2-3 feet.
They also tend to develop digestive disorders when kept in warm water, were as tropicals tend to develop parastitic disease when housed in too cold of water. There is no real comfortable middle ground for these types of fish to be properly housed together.
Re-home the goldie, get 3-5 more of each tetra and 2-3 more mollies and everyone should calm down and settle in.
Best of Luck!
 
There are a few reasons for this..

1. Someone may have been disturbing them alot, banging on glass etc.
2. Your light may be too bright, try reducing the amount of time you have the light on.
3. If they live in a busy area, living room, kitchen, etc, then they may constantly be disrupted.. try moving their tank somewhere else.
4. Sometimes my fish act this way when their water is chilly. Check that out, id keep that tank you have at 74-76.
 
Bad. You're mixing tropical fish with cold water fish. A comet goldfish shouldn't be in a 20 gallon tank, it should be in a 55 gallon tank or a pond.

Also, mollies thrive in brackish water.

Maybe the wattage on your light is too high or something, the fish shouldn't be hiding when the light is on.
 
Bad. You're mixing tropical fish with cold water fish. A comet goldfish shouldn't be in a 20 gallon tank, it should be in a 55 gallon tank or a pond.

Also, mollies thrive in brackish water.

Maybe the wattage on your light is too high or something, the fish shouldn't be hiding when the light is on.
 
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