Noob w/ Neons dying =(

pharasalia

pharasalia

Minion of Aquarius
Feb 9, 2007
146
1
18
Fort Myers, FL
www.facebook.com
Real Name
Melisa
Hiya!

I am completely new here. I just posted in the Intro sections. I'm so happy I found this place.

Normally, I am a research hound and belong to forums about my pets and am involved (I love ATSHQ.org).. but maybe I was arrogant and thought I knew what I was doing, but I was excited and so I didn't get online until too late (ie, the fish already in the tank). So now I am cycling my tank w/ fish. I've read the articles. I've added some Bio-spira type stuff just in case it helps. I am monitoring water parameters daily and doing water changes to keep the ammonia under control - so far I'm getting nitrites showing up in tiny amts and nitrates now also so I know the bio filter is beginning to be established. Now that I've found these forums, I am here to learn and hope I haven't screwed things up too bad. This is my 20g long tank I'm speaking of.. it currently has 6 zebra danios and 2 rosy barbs in it.

Here is the problem. I have a freshly set up 2.5gallon tank at work that is my responsibility now (after setting up my 20g my boss decided, yea, fish at the office!). It is a fresh tank, ie, was not cycled properly. It is stocked w/ gravel and fake plants, has a filter and airstone. It was stocked initially with 5 neon tetras and 1 glofish and has only been set up for about 3-4 days. Unfortunately, in that amt of time, 2 of the neons have died. One in transport, and one within 8 hours after transport so I think stress was the cause... but after some reading I have learned about the different water parameters for the neons... so am not sure if that may also be the problem.... my master test kit only tests pH, nitrites, and nitrates - not water hardness... and I'm thinking our water is hard.

I don't want to get too flamed/scolded at the outset - after all, I've come here to cure my ignorance on these issues and hopefully save the fish that have now become my little dependents. I'm completely addicted to this now and am more than ready to roll up my sleeves and do as many pwc, water testing, and reading articles etc as it takes to come out the other side as a successful fish keeper - one where my babies thrive. As it is, the loss of the 2 neons makes me very sad.

I am going to stop at pet stores on my way home and try to find a separate test that tests water hardness... but what else should I do? When I tested the tank earlier, ammonia was at 0.5ppm, nitrites 0, and I didn't test for nitrates as I'm assuming there is no bacteria growing in this tank yet. Please help!

Oh, ps, this does not appear to be that neon disease... the fish were completely healthy and swimming all weekend before transport to the office and have no sores or milkiness or other symptoms of the disease.

Thank you in advance..
 
please test nitrates......and hard water shouldnt matter much, i have neons, and my water is very hard..they adapt
 
most neon tetras available are maas bred in fhsih farms, so your pH and hardness probably didint play a factor unless your pH was over 9 or something extremely high like that.

what im more concerned about is the stocking. 5 neons and a glofish are to amny for a 2.5 gallon. they were probably stressed from being so crowded and they died as a result. neons are not good with stress.
 
I came for advice and so really - don't take this the wrong way, I'm not doubting you... but they hardly seem overcrowded or stressed from it. The tank actually positively seems to swamp them. They have lots of room. If anything, the tank they came from was far far more crowded than this... as pet stores seem to stock their tanks to the max.

I retested all my lvls just now and this is what I came up with:

pH - was as high as 8 yesterday, tested now at 7.8-7.9
Ammonia - 0.5ppm (I know any above 0 is bad, but this tank isn't cycled yet)
Nitrites - between 0-0.25ppm
Nitrates - 7-8ppm

As far as stocking, what is currently in the tank now:
3 neon tetras (they are very small, not even close to adult size)
1 Glofish, also very small

I am already 15 min late closing up the office so I could finish my testing and I have to go now so I won't be able to do more until the morning. I don't have another tank or the money for one so I can lighten the bioload in there.

One of the neons is swimming around and a bit perkier than the other 2, they seem so be hanging out mostly towards the bottom, swimming lightly, appearing pretty normal.

What can I do now to help these guys out? I'm really so attached already =(

Thank you!
 
neons are notorious for dying easily (though many people have had no problems) Make sure you are acclimating them properly to the tank very slowly. Search this forum for tips on how to acclimate. Also, if you still ahve no luck, maybe try a hardier fish that has some color like lambchop rasboras, glowlight tetras, or harlequin rasboras.
 
...first of all your neons arent going to get much bigger... and ur goldfish may be small at the moment but will get pretty big pretty fast.... goldfish and neons should not be kept in the same tank due to the fact that goldfish like colder water and lower ph.... it may seem right now that ur tank is not overstocked but that will change very quickly, and you should probably try to find another place for the goldfish due to the fact that 2.5 gallons is not sufficent. And believe it or not i am no where near as extreme as some of the people you will find on this board when it comes to stocking.

As for your neons, they may be dying due to cold temp? (what is the temperature of the water?) or it could be possible that you didnt acclimate them well enough as stated by clawlan. Neons arent terrificly hardy and you need to be careful, and stay on water params like you have. Watch the nitrites, they are very toxic to fish and will make your neons die rather quickly if you're not careful.

but overall, i would just say make sure all water conditions are fine, and find a new home for the goldfish and you should be fine.

Good luck,
-Jay
 
the fish stores always OS their tanks because the fish are only in there for less than a week. in my area, the petsmarts get their shippments every wednesday. all of the angelicus loaches, otos, convicts, severum, and most of the neons, midas, and fire mouths are gone by sunday. i think i was in thwere once when they still had one of each of those fish left, and that was a day when noone wanted to leave their houses because we were getting 5 inches of rain.
 
ahhh well if it is a glofish the tank would be ok probably, and i would say just watch water conditions and such, but if its a goldfish i would say you should try to find him a new home

-Jay
 
She did say glofish not goldfish so they should be fine togather. However, I am concerned that there may be too many fish for such a tiny tank. Really in such a confined space I would be surprised if the fish live very long in this situation. I would also consider getting some hardier fish such as the harlequin rasboras if these gys do not make it. They are very cute and should do well in that size tank.

Marinemom
 
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