Need help please

[mr.geronimo23]

Hi there , this is my first time posting here and I hope you guys can give me a hand with my problem . My neon tetras are disappearing , I originaly had 8 of them 3 days agao and now Im down to only 2 !! I cant find their corpses so my guess is someone is eating them or finishing them off before I can get a chance to see the corpses. Heres my set up:

55 Gallon tank
Emperor 400
Visi-Therm Deluxe 200 watts

Live stock:

1 Male Beta
1 Green cory cat
1 Clown loach
1 Powdered blue gourami
2 Emperor tetras
2 Ballon mollies
1 Pleco
1 Raphael cat
1 Peacock eal
2 Rosy barbs
2 Neon tetras
2 Gold fish (feeder fish)
2 Guppies (feeder fish)
3 Small red fish look like the neon tetras but are red and have a black stripe on the side , sorry but dont know their name.

From what I have notice from watching them everyone seem to get along only ones I see fighting is the gourami and the beta but nothing major , not enough to kill each other but thats about it , I just dont get whats going on last fish I added was the clown loach but he seems to mind his own buissness .My water quality is fine (amonia, ph etc etc.). temp is at 82 .I just dont know hehe please help . thanks .

[Harlock]

How large is your peacock eel? The betta and gourami need to be separated ASAP as one will eventually kill the other.

[mr.geronimo23]

Peacock eal is about 3 inches give or take a bit , so beta and gourami should be seperated ? gotcha . do you think these two are capable of killing neon tetras ?

[Harlock]

Capable, yes, likely, no.

[mr.geronimo23]

So any clues on whats causing my neon tetras to vanish ?

[Harlock]

Not really, not without more information. What are your water parameters, is this a new tank, are these new fish? It's not out of the ordinary for a fish to die then be consumed by his tankmates.

[mr.geronimo23]

Well this is an old tank but the fishes are new use to have parrot fishes in it for years and just recently tried pirahnas but got bored and got rid of them now I bought all these little guys about 4 or 5 days agao , I know my water quality is fine I checked it before adding any fish and also had the water tested at my local pet shop. I just didnt know if any of these species would eat each other or what Im new to these type of fish , I normaly had aggresive fish all my life.

[Harlock]

After the Pirahna, did the tank stay empty a bit? What is your water quality now though... have you tested it since you added new fish?

[Aqualung]

If your water parameters are "fine" (could you elaborate?) I would suspect either the eel or the raphael cat. Either that or you purchased weak or diseased stock (common problem with neons).

[mr.geronimo23]

I did a 50% water change ,I used amquel , cycle and stress coat and let the tank run for about 3 days then I added the feeders ( 2gold fish , 2 guppies ) pretty much as test fish , 3 weeks later I tested the water and everything was ok (nitrate , nitrite, hardness, alkalinity , ph , amonia , temp. ) since thats all I can test for at home I took a sample to the pet shop and everything was fine on that test . So I added the rest of the fish 4 days agao and since that day I have lost 6 neon tetras , no other species died and they all look healthy even the neon tetras that died.

Since Im new to these species I came here for help ,I normally had cichlids ,parrot fish , piranhas , cats and stuff like that . Use to make fun of people that had these type of fish hehe , I just got tired of the fighting and stuff . Thanks for all the help, to me it seems like these tetras just dont last long or were weak to begin with , who knows . ;) .

Once again thanks you guys been very helpfull.

[Harlock]

Ah, well, I think I see what might have happened, and I don't think you're out of the woods yet, either. You let a tank go for 3 weeks with only 4 small fish in it. Your Biofilter adjusted for that small bioload. Then you added:1 Male Beta
1 Green cory cat
1 Clown loach
1 Powdered blue gourami
2 Emperor tetras
2 Ballon mollies
1 Pleco
1 Raphael cat
1 Peacock eal
2 Rosy barbs
6 Neon tetras
3 Small red fish look like the neon tetras but are red and have a black stripe on the side , sorry but dont know their name.

So, basically, your tank is cycling as we speak in all likelihood. I would suggest 50% water changes every day and continued daily testing of your water. Neon tetras are infamous for being some of the best indicator fish around for declining water quality. Unfortunately, they die as the indicator. I have a feeling they were just the beginning unless you can get ammonia and nitrite under control.

[mr.geronimo23]

Thanks for the advice , everything seems ok now , the two remaining neon tetras are ok , eating well and looking healthy.Just added a pair of black mollies and 2 angel fish 2 days agao and they seem to be happy as well .

[Harlock]

Did you ever test the water again?

[mr.geronimo23]

No I havent , I havent had a chance to do it but Im going to check it this weekend for sure been a little busy .

I have another situation now and perhaps you can give me some advice on this matter. I have a emperor 400 filter in that tank and it seems to be too powerfull for the small fish ,I had to save the peacock eal from it because it was sucking her in and it just killed a angel fish , I turned the filter down a bit to where it pumps less but Im not sure if this will hurt the quality of the water , so my question is : Is it wise to turn the filter down a bit to where it doesnt pump in that much water ? Is there another way I can solve this problem with out having to tune down the filter ? It only seems to be sucking in angels and the eal everyone else seem to swim by it with no problem .
Thanks

[Harlock]

To be honest, the Angel and the eel should be more than able to outswim that current. I mean, a guppy should be able to. Sounds odd. Are you certain the fish are healthy? Er, when did you ge the angel, it wasn't in your original stocking list... if it's a large one, that may explain the neons disappearing.

[mr.geronimo23]

I added the two angels about 2 or 3 days agao , they are not big about the same size as everyone else , as far as the health goes they look healthy , eating well , swiming around nothing odd that I noticed, none of the fish in my tank look sick they all seem to be eating well , swiming ,they are nice and colorful . When the eal got sucked by the filter I was right next to the fish tank and was able to tune down the filter and she swam away from it , but the angel wasnt so lucky , I wasnt home . Oh and the neons are fine havent lost anymore .

[mr.geronimo23]

Well I got a ich ! just noticed a few small spots on about 3 fish , already started treatment and added some salt . This is sad . :mad:

[flyfly]

wow, this brings back fond(?) memories for me. You have made almost exactly all the mistakes I have! I think Harlock is right when he said that your tank is kinda cycling again. You have completely stocked a tank almost instantaneously. I did the same thing and I remember it well..."oh my fish are so happy! Happy, happy, fish. hmmm... a fish died, wonder how that happened?" a day or two later... "what happened to this little bugger? Oh well, must not of been strong enough".... a week or two later... "what are these white specks on my fish?" Yeah, how could I forget all those problems? I think Harlock is right, major water changes are in order, maybe even every day. I couldnt stress more checking your poram's on a daily basis while you have this problem, then you at least know what is going down in your tank. In the future, as hard as it sometimes gets, you should hold off on buying fish at least until the bio filter has adjusted to the last one. I have found myself planning long in advance my purchases, and slowly working towards that goal.

Good luck my brotherrrrr!

[mr.geronimo23]

Yeah well this wasnt a new set up this tank has been set up for years , only the fish change , yeah they might have been a cycle but nothing mayor because they tank had fish in it most of the time , for only 3 weeks the tank had no fish but was still running and before I put in all these fish I had put in 4 test fish and a pleco , then after these test fish were in there for a couple weeks is when I added the rest. I could have bought sick fish from the get go who knows , or harlock could have been right also. The problem Im having is Im not use to these type of wimpy fish :p I normaly had piranhas , cichlids , parrot fish etc etc. but... Im learning . I should be able to over come this small problem. Thanks for all the advice harlock ,will stay on top of it and will let you guys know if things get worse , hope I dont lose anymore fish :D .

[Harlock]

they (sic) tank had fish in it most of the time , for only 3 weeks the tank had no fish but was still running and before I put in all these fish I had put in 4 test fish and a pleco , then after these test fish were in there for a couple weeks is when I added the rest.Three weeks was enough for the bacteria to starve down. Bacteria have to have an ammonia source to feed on, or they will starve. Then, adding four test fish and a Pleco you, at best, cycled the tank for four fish and a pleco. Then, you added a bunch of fish, some got sick, then added more fish. Are you testing the water daily?

[mr.geronimo23]

No I wasnt testing it daily but have been testing it every 3 days or so , should I start testing everyday ? Oh I think I have the ich problem under controll only one fish still has spots but not as many as he had 2 days agao.