I am confused and lost with this 10gal tank (kinda long)

[funnyhatryry]

I appreciate all the help I've gotten lately from this site but now I'm more lost and confused than ever. I have a 10 gal tank that just finished it's cycle last week. I've had it about 2 months now and put fish in a day after I got the tank, then took them out when i found i needed to cycle the tank (kept them at a friends place), when i had fish in it the first time i started with a gourami (still alive and in the tank) and then later I added six neon tetras and a little later a Chinese Algae Eater (got rid of that because it was really aggresive) about the same day I put in the neon tetras they started to seperate from the others one by one and i would find them dead sucked up against my filter. After that i took the gourami out and to a friends house where it was fine while i cycled my water. When I finished cycling the water (yesterday) i added the gourami, 6 more neon tetras, and 3 otocynclus fish. and the next day (today) 3 tetras have gone and died and so has one oto. I am really getting frustrated and feeling hopeless, i dunno what to do anymore. I have checked the water for everything you could think of and the fish are still dying, i'm not sure if i just shouldn't get anymore otos or neon tetras but i'm thinking if they are dying, will my gourami? I know it's a tuff fish so that makes me wonder if it's not going to die, or if it's suffering, and I don't want it to suffer. So if anyone has any idea what fish i could add or what i could do to make my water safer for the fish I would be more than happy to hear. Thank you very much for taking the time to read this and giving your input, I really appreciate it.
-Ryan

[CHINABOY1021]

this might be a bit silly and non scientific, but maybe due to transportation of the neons, they were stressed and weakened and just couldnt over come the power of your filter?

you might want to post your water parameters, so someone can double check everything. sure the test kits are working?

[funnyhatryry]

Ok, well I thought about that too and I'm not sure about that because the current from my filter isn't that strong. I have two tetras left right now from the original six. I think what might have killed them was the temp. bein to high, because i had it at 80 degrees and it said tetras should stay from 72-77 degrees, but since i have lowered the temp. the two i have are still alive so i dunno if that was it. Any more input i can get would be much appreciated. Thanks again.
-Ryan

[ArkyLady]

I assume you did a fishless cycle then?

Are you certain your tank is cycled? Have you tested ph, ammonia, nitrIte and nitrAte? What were the results?

If you haven't tested the water, then that's the first place to start. If you don't have a test kit (shame!) then maybe your LFS or your friend can test it for you.

[SpiritualSniper]

i told you people would ask for your parameters....

he did do a fishless cycle, and it did complete. he's at 0 ammonia and nitrites. he don't have a nitrate test. that all i know, i guess it was the high temp....

[pinballqueen]

Not to rain on the parade, but neons are a horrible choice for a beginner, IMO. They are fragile and need to be in fairly large groups to thrive. 6 is a good starting point, but 15 or 20 makes for much happier, healthier fish. I've been keeping fish for decades and have always had problems with neons (and angels, for some reason...). Can't keep the little cuties alive for some reason. They're just not very hardy fish.

What breed is the gourami? Many gouramis get much too big for a tank of that size. I traded a pair in a few months ago that would have been too much for a 10. They were close to 6 inches apiece, and liked to run the surface of my 55. They were blue/pearl hybrids. A paradise fish, a betta, or a dwarf would be fine in a 10, but any other breed would be a little cramped, IMO.

Check your water parameters and post them here. Ph, ammonia, nitrIte, nitrAte, and temperature. also your filter type. That'll make things much smoother in identifying the problem.

As for temperature, all of my tanks are at 75 (average room temp of this house in the summer), and I have kept everything from goldfish (optimum at 60-65) to mormyrids (best at 80-82) with no problems. As long as you aren't shocking them by just tossing them in the different water temperature, that should not have been a factor at all.

What behavior are the fish displaying before they die? Are they gasping at the surface? Flashing themselves against rocks? Breathing heavily at all? Floating up on their sides or upside down?

Repeatedly losing fish of a specific species usually indicates A: a chemical imbalance in the water that the fish is particularly sensitive to, such as high salt content or nitrates, or B: that your water is not of the suitable type to keep this sort of fish, due to ph or mineral content (Such as trying to keep african cichlids, a high ph, high dissolved mineral loving fish, in a tank with a ph of 6.8....), or C: that the LFS from where you buy your fish has gotten an unhealthy school of fish in. To eliminate option C, check with your lfs to see how many of their neons died in shipment, and how many are stuck to their intakes.

Just out of sheer conjecture, I'll say that you might be overstocking with sensitive fish. But without proper knowledge of exactly what your tank is doing, I couldn't say for sure.

[funnyhatryry]

hey,

thank u all for your help, i believe that it was just the temp. that was killing them, because the tank was around 80 degrees and i got it back down to 73-75 and the fish aren't dying and are fine. thank u all for your input, and your right, tetras are a huge pain to keep alive, if anyone has any good suggestions for fish to put in a 10 gal tank i would love to hear what u have to say.
thanks again
-Ryan

[pinballqueen]

Dwarf Gouramis, bettas, guppies, and platies are all good candidates for a 10 gallon tank, as well as a few other livebearing species and corydoras cats.

I had a 10 once that was stocked as follows:

3 Cory cats
2 Female Fancy Guppies
1 Male Fancy Guppy
1 Chinese Algae Eater

Now, the cories were young, and got traded when they reached an unreasonable size. This tank was planted lightly.

Now that tank houses a crayfish and 3 guppies, and I have another with a betta and a single cory (I know they are supposed to be schoolers, but it is the only one to survive the move. :( ) I don't necessarily suggest keeping anything with crayfish, but I am not concerned too much if guppy fry become part of the food chain.

[anonapersona]

Added ammonia to some ppm level, tested daily for ammonia and nitrites, saw ammonia rise and fall, then nitrites rise and fall, and then added fish?

(I just didn't see the whole process anywhere, some folks think letting the tanks sit empty is "cycleing")

[pennykate]

hi...i am fairly new at the hobby, but i was advised by several "old timers" and breeders,,,(over 10 years) that the tropicals do best in water of 78 to 80 degrees....my lfs is also all the time at 78 and so far with 43 fish....(in 3 different tanks) and all different kinds from livebearers to pl*co's i have NOT LOST A FISH in a year.....also i was advised to do 25% water changes every week and be sure to get my water as close to the tank water in TEMP before i add it so as not to shock the fish.....also, another trick i was told if you have or suspect "ick": is the put your meds in and the TEmp to 85% FOR 3 DAYS.....the ick cannot live in high temps but the fish can!!!!!!.....
i would not change the temp to fast though, my tanks are right now in this heat about 82 % during the day and all seems fine...

good luck with this crazy but exciting hobby!!!!
ellie

[pennykate]

also, i heard that ottos and neons were especially sensitive fish.....i started with 2 albino corries (albinos are not the prettiest corry's and i have 7 different kinds now,) but they are ultra active and scoot all over the tank all the time.....FUN TO WATCH and i think one of the most hardy little fish....i have even cycled a tank with a couple (first tank before i knew anything) and also i find the livebearers especially platties and swordtails (although in a 10 gal...only 4 or 5) seem to do really well and are very visable.....no problems finding or feeding them!!!!
ellie