Neon Colour Problems

[Kristin]

I have two large schools of neons. A school of 15 black neons and a school of 15 red neons. They have been in the tank for over am month and their colours are not vibrant. The black neons almost look grey and the red neons have a 'clear" pale red. On occasions they also appear to have a faint cloudy appearance on their sides - hardly noticeable. We have tried treatment with Wardley's Promethyasul a couple of times and things have not changed. Any suggestions?

[jb_lyndon]

Are you new to aquariums or just new to this forum? ("posts:2")
By no means do I want to come across as a 'know it all' as I'm just learning myself and have to say that I personally appreciate any response at all, so....

First off... "red neons"? Do you mean Cardinal Tetras (red stripe the length of body) or ordinary Neons (red stripe on the tail end)?

Have they been less than vibrant since you got them or have they recently lost their colour?

What kind of lighting do you have? incandescent or flourescent? I've heard that incandescent lighting doesn't do justice to your fish aesthetically. They look brilliant at the LFS (Local Fish Store) under flourescents but when you take them home to your incandescent they look significantly duller.

Has your tank cycled? 1 of the 12 neons that I too quickly introduced to my new and uncycled tank lost it's colour and died two days ago. I think the stress of cycling (high ammonia followed by high nitrites) took it's toll. I've recently learned that testing water quickly 'forces' you to learn the chemistry of fish care.

[Grassguy]

It would help if we could get your water parameters, it could be the water chenistry.

[snakeskinner]

foods can also alter coloring. Kyle

[Rometiklan]

Could you give us some more information about your set-up? Planted? Size of your tank, other tankmates, type of filtration, your maintenance routine (how often and how much water you change), water parameters (ammonia, pH, temperature, nitrite, nitrate), types of food you feed your fish. Can you tell us about the behaviour of your fish? Do they act and swim normally? Do they eat?

I think a test of your water would go a long ways towards providing some answers. I would perform an immediate water change...about 30%. That should perk up your fish a bit.