and by that I of course mean fish. Okay, I am slowly building up my 20g community tank. First I had 3 guppies which are doing great. I was going to add two dwarf gouramies next. But when I went to the LFS, the guy said I should do neon tetras instead (which I was planning on having as well). So I bring 7 home, acclimate them over a couple of hours, and release them. Immediately one dies. Then every time I look in there it seems there's another dead one. I have had 3 left since last night, hopefully they all make it. I tested the water last night and everything was at zero. I am thinking that maybe I stressed them too much. I have heard tht they are very sensitive to water changes, and that some people acclimate them over like 24 hours with a drip method. Are there other reasons they might have died so quickly? Is there anything I can do to increase the survival of the other 3? Should I get some more or wait?
Death in the family
- Thread starter MissMeow
- Start date
How long has this tank been set up? It's hard to believe that "everything" is at zero... you will at least have nitrates if the tank is cycled fully, or nitrites and/or ammonia if it has not. If it has zeros across the board, it's just an empty tank of water because fish are constantly producing waste, and bacteria converting it to less toxic forms, but the water is never without SOMETHING in it....
Neons are a horrible fish for beginners, as delicate as they are. In a 20 gallon tank, the gouramis would be a better choice. Your neons most likely died as a result of a combination of things; stress, unhealthy in the first place, minor differences in the water at the LFS and the water in your home, an uncycled tank (if this is the case)... without more information regarding the specifics of your tank, I really can't pinpoint one specific reason.
The more specific you are with your information, the better responses you will get from us
Neons are a horrible fish for beginners, as delicate as they are. In a 20 gallon tank, the gouramis would be a better choice. Your neons most likely died as a result of a combination of things; stress, unhealthy in the first place, minor differences in the water at the LFS and the water in your home, an uncycled tank (if this is the case)... without more information regarding the specifics of your tank, I really can't pinpoint one specific reason.
The more specific you are with your information, the better responses you will get from us
well, my tank is sort of complicated. It's been set up about 3 weeks, and the guppies have been in there this whole time doing well. I am working on building up my population of fishies. I never had an ammonia increase at all yet, and it perhaps may be because I added plants from an established tank, or because the 3 guppies were not enough. Either way, I figured (and it was suggested by a couple of people more knowledgeable than I) that I add a few more fish and see what happens. So that's what I have done with horrible results. I was too hasty when i said the levels were "zero." I meant that they didn't seem to be the culprit. I just tested the water now, and ammonia was at 0, nitrite was at 0 and nitrate was at 20ppm. and since my first post, another one died, so now I have 2. should I very carefully try the gouramies? and on the very off chance that one or both of the remaining tetras lives, will it be okay for a few weeks by itself before I can add more after the gouramies? they look so lonely just the two of them and I shudder at the though of one being alone in there.
and does anyone have any suggestions for really great beginner fish, just in case I scrap the whole gouramie/tetra idea all together 
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?Neon’s are very poorly breed, so most of the time they don’t do well. I would not use them in any tank, if it was me.
Depending on the fish load v/s the plant’s using up the ammonia before it can build up and show on the test kits I don’t think his tank is cycled. But you should be fine as long as he dose not overload the tank with fish 2 fast. I would test the tank every 3 days and watch for anything to spike.
You have posted that your nirAtes are at 20ppm; this is fine and with your tank being planted (or not planted for the rest of you). I would watch for the nirAtes to climb. If they do start to climb this means that the ammonia is being broken into nirItes and the nirItes are going into nirAtes witch is fine to happen. Even if your nirAtes are at 0 you still need to do a water change. I would try to find some harder fish to add to the tank instead of the Neon’s at this point.
You do know if you plant your tank you need to plant it on the heavy side to help keep the algae down.
Just don’t get to many fish too fast or you will have a mini cycle in your tank if the fish load v/s plants is to far out of whack.
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Ahh if it was my tank I would go with some more female guppies. All of the swordtails and the mollies will do well. Just watch the size they will grow to. I would also get more plants in the tank (you haven’t said what types of plants or how many plants you have).
Depending on the fish load v/s the plant’s using up the ammonia before it can build up and show on the test kits I don’t think his tank is cycled. But you should be fine as long as he dose not overload the tank with fish 2 fast. I would test the tank every 3 days and watch for anything to spike.
You have posted that your nirAtes are at 20ppm; this is fine and with your tank being planted (or not planted for the rest of you). I would watch for the nirAtes to climb. If they do start to climb this means that the ammonia is being broken into nirItes and the nirItes are going into nirAtes witch is fine to happen. Even if your nirAtes are at 0 you still need to do a water change. I would try to find some harder fish to add to the tank instead of the Neon’s at this point.
You do know if you plant your tank you need to plant it on the heavy side to help keep the algae down.
Just don’t get to many fish too fast or you will have a mini cycle in your tank if the fish load v/s plants is to far out of whack.
edit
Ahh if it was my tank I would go with some more female guppies. All of the swordtails and the mollies will do well. Just watch the size they will grow to. I would also get more plants in the tank (you haven’t said what types of plants or how many plants you have).
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thanks, that's a good idea about watching the nitrate level to see if it climbs anymore. about the plants... I have a couple of small java ferns, a clump of java moss, hornwort, a swordtail, and a banana plant. I would say it is definitely not heavily planted. this is what I put in to start with, and I asked the lfs guy about when to add more, and he said to wait until the tank had completely cycled. At this point, I agree, because I don't want to mess with it anymore than I have to right now, so I can get a handle on what exactly is happening in there.
If you are having problems with the quality of neons at your LFS I'd say skip on them. One alternative for you would be cardinal tetra of course. Very similar fish that you can usually find in better quality then neons. Another fish you may want to consider are harlequin raspborra. Most the time in LFS they don't look all that interesting. Get them into a decent aquarium with typical lighting and they usually look better and act wonderfully. One question is will your LFS give you a refund? If they do I'd say take back the dead ones and get it. If you keep the three survivors I'd say give your tank two weeks before you add more. When you do add some only add three more and see how they do. Essentially speaking build your bio-mass slowly.
I think the Neon’s suck and died like most of them do. But this is a whole new post that we should go to.
The plants are using up your ammonia before it shows up on the test. Your plants will work as a biological filter and keep everything in check as long as you don’t do a lot of major changes at one time. Your filter will work as a mechanical filter and will store some biological mater but not near as much as if the plants were not there. I would watch you numbers and add 2 more guppies or what ever you want in your tank. Just try to keep with some of the harder fish for now.
The plants will use up the ammonia before the bacteria will. So unless you have more ammonia then your plants can use you won’t build up much of a biological filter in your tank. If you do get to much of a bio mass growing it will put you at risk for a green tank from algae.
The plants are using up your ammonia before it shows up on the test. Your plants will work as a biological filter and keep everything in check as long as you don’t do a lot of major changes at one time. Your filter will work as a mechanical filter and will store some biological mater but not near as much as if the plants were not there. I would watch you numbers and add 2 more guppies or what ever you want in your tank. Just try to keep with some of the harder fish for now.
The plants will use up the ammonia before the bacteria will. So unless you have more ammonia then your plants can use you won’t build up much of a biological filter in your tank. If you do get to much of a bio mass growing it will put you at risk for a green tank from algae.
the store will give a refund within 48 hours w/a water sample. but i said i wanted 5, and paid for 5, but when i got home there were actually 7 in there. So, the first couple that died I disposed of immediately. Plus, I don't really like the idea of keeping dead fish around, and then bringing them back-it seems morbid, even though I know I am just being silly. I will check out those raspborras though, I don't remember seeing them (but I wasn't looking for them either).
I can't remember if any asked how you acclimated them. With fish like neons, rummy nose tetras etc... that are more delicate it is very important to slowly acclimate your new fish to a tank. This should take around 2 hours or so. Take a little bag water out and add a little tank water. Do this every 10 minutes or so with 1 cup of water.
Another alternative if you like tetras is the glowlight tetra. It is like a neon in size but with a different colour. Much hardier as well. And there is always the black neon tetra.
Another alternative if you like tetras is the glowlight tetra. It is like a neon in size but with a different colour. Much hardier as well. And there is always the black neon tetra.