tetra behavior

So far, so good. One of the new tetras has white on the lip it's a blister looking thing, I've seen them have this before and it goes away. Normal response to my opening the lid and tap-tap has been for two or three of the boldest fish to come out to see, the rest follow slowly and the oldest one Scrappy stays back in the plants until almost all the food is eaten. So I was happily surprised to see, the first morning after the new trio put in the tank, that when I approached to feed, all eight fish came up front right away. They really do feel secure with greater numbers.

Almost every morning there is chasing, flirting and spawning going on after I feed them. It's different from how my cherry barbs were- the males would beg and pester and coax the females with their flipping pectoral fins. With the serpaes I've noticed it's the plumper females that seem to initiate mating- she will swim ahead of the other fish, quivering her entire body madly and flipping the pectorals in that begging gesture, circling around up behind and to the front to shake and entice again- then leading the male into the plant thicket to spawn. I just read an article about this species that confirms that yes, the female is the one who quivers in front of the male when she is ready. Curious the gesture reminds me of how birds beg- the female to her mate, or the fledgling on a branch, with those quick little shaking gestures of the wing.