Help required for complete beginner - please!

[cyberbeer65]

Progress is not good!?! :help:

In the end we put in a Bristlenose Catfish and 6 Neon Tetras. (recommendation from the Fish Shop who did not have Danios). However, we checked in a book in the shop and this seemed OK.

We put them in yesterday lunchtime. 2 Neons died this morning. First each one separated from the group and after 15 mins or so, swum to the surface. He looked to be panting. Then he stopped swimming.

Took water to the shop and they replaced the fish (Water was checked and no problems found. They said it was not the water).

This afternoon 2 more died the same way. 4 left seem OK. Had the water checked at a different store and confirmed that it was not the water.

Not sure what to do now except wait and see. Don't want to put any more in really until we understand what is wrong.

Any ideas please?

We need to know what your water parameters are (ammonia,nitrite,nitrate).

I would suggest getting a quality testing kit,the one from Aquarium Pharmaceutical is a good one,and the one I use.

We won't be able to help you untill we know your water parameters.

 

[jammy]

The water was tested in two separate shops with very similar results..

Ammonia = Zero
NO3 = 10
NO2 = Zero
PH = 7.7

I also bought an Ammonia testing kit and confirmed that there is zero.

I hope this helps!

 

[jm1212]

wait... dont add neons to an uncycled tank! they are not very hardy at all and may die quickly from the ammoina and nitrite spike. if the fish store did not have danios then perhaps they hed platys, which i used for my tank, they are super hardy and are cool to watch .

 

[joylynn]

One thing I haven't seen any mention of is dechlorinator, are you using a dechlorinator for your water? If so what kind?

 

[jammy]

Hi - (This is James' Dad)

We have used Interpet Fresh Start Tap Water Conditioner. Then left the tank to run for three weeks before we put any fish in.

As James said before we went to two different shops to check the water - explained the problem - and both could find nothing wrong with the water. One even checked the Hardness and a few other things.

I now understand that Neons are not the most hardy of fish, although not sure why half of them have died and half haven't.

 

[joylynn]

Hi and welcome! Another questions is, did you just add the fish straight from the bag to the tank or did you float the bag in the tank for 15 mins, add some tank water to the bag, then float for another 15 mins at least before relasing them into the tank? The reason being is that the change in temperature and water quality can shock fish, particularly if they are less robust than others. If you simply added the fish it probably shocked the weaker ones and that is why they died, just a theory, you seem to have a bit of a mystery going on and I am trying to rule out the usual suspects

P.S. - For James' dad, I am quite impressed with the maturity, responsibilty and writing ability your son has displayed on this site, you should be proud!

 

[jm1212]

yes me too lol




*hes not the only young person here* cough

 

[jammy]

Thank you and thank you. (Still James' Dad!)

Yes - we did float the bag in the top of the aquarium for about 30 mins to an hour, but did not add any of the aquarium water to the bag during this period.

Ideas (questions) I have thought are...

Temperature? The tank is running in the high 20s - between 28 and 30 depending on the time of day.

Water Circulation? There seems to be quite a strong current flowing round the tank. Is this good or bad? If bad - how do I stop it without reducing the filter effect?

Lighting? How much time per day should the lights be on. The books seem to indicate 12-14 hours, yet the man in the shop said NO! - only 6.

Feeding? How do you know if all the fish have eaten evenly - especially when the current carrys the food round the tank?

Aplogies for being so ignorant. However, I do find the whole thing fascinating. I thought it was just a few colourful fish in a bowl of water. Job done!

 

[jm1212]

its alright, im a year younger than him and i know what its like
ok... 28 and 30 degrees celcius might be pushing it a little... you may want to lower it. higher temps mean lower oxygen content for the fish and bacteria.
your light only needs to be on for about 3 to 6 hours if you dont have any live plants. if you do, go with 10 to 12. if you go for 6 hours of light, be warned- algae may grow vigorously
the fast current may be able to be slowed by a knob on the filters, some have them, but others dont.
when it comes to feeding... put some food in the tank and if they eat it up very fast, you may put in some more. most tetras eat quickly, and ones that are slower will soon learn to be a tad faster.
also_ do you have an aerator? they help alot with oxygenation for the fish and benificial bacteria... some decorations for the tank have airstones attached, like ones with "rivers" or "waterfalls" made from the bubbles. some even have wheels that may aid in the biological filtering (like the bio_wheels in marieneland filters)

 

[RockabillyChick]

86 is a bit high, but my tank is about 85 right now too, just because its summer and i have no AC, lol.

though at that temp and with only those fish, its not stocked heavily enough for them to be running out of oxygen. i think perhaps you just got a bad batch of neons. they are not hardy at all and even in the best conditions you can expect to lose about 30% of them.

try doing a water change. even though your water is fine chemically, it's still a good idea to get some fresh water in there, since the tank has been running with no fish for 3 weeks, that water is a little old and it would never hurt to replace it with some newer water.