need help!!

K33NAN

AC Members
Jan 25, 2009
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I just set up my 29 gallon freshwater tank again and some neons i recently bought have been slowly dying. I had the tank set up a long time ago and then became bored with it and just let it go. About 2 weeks ago i cleaned it out and took all but about 10% of the water out....it was EXTREMELY dirty. I got some neons about 4 days ago and everyday i find 1 or 2 more are dead. Today I did a nitrate, nitrite, and ph test. The nitrate and nitrite tests showed nothing at all but the ph showed between an 8.5 and 9.5. The tests were kinda old though. I also noticed last night that i had completely forgot to plug my heater back in so the water was at about 71 degrees. :o All i really want is to figure out what is wrong so i can get a green spotted puffer....i dont care much for the neons. I also want to get a freshwater lionfish. Could the 2 of these live togther in a 29 gallon tank? The lionfish will only be 2-4 inches on arrival....i'd really appreciate any help...thanks!
 
Well first take your neons back to the store if you dont care about them.. And they died because your ph is way to high and your temp was low the two combined equals death. And I wouldnt buy anymore fish because they are cute or cuddly you need to want to provide them with a home that is not neglected. Its about the fish not you.
 
Also if you removed the media from your filter that would have caused amm spike or something.. that could have killed them aswell.
 
If you have 0 nitrite and 0 nitrate and a high pH I wouldn't be surprised to see detrimental levels of ammonia. Even though this tank had been set up before doesn't mean that there are still beneficial bacteria -- especially if like Robert said, you removed the media from the filter when you cleaned. How did you test your water and did you test for ammonia?
 
I wouldnt consider myself neglecting the tank if I am trying to figure what is wrong. My parents were actually the ones that bought the neons for me. I don't want them to die they just arent what I want for long-term. I cleaned out the filter but im not sure what you mean by media. I didn't take anything out of it....thanks for the help.
 
What type of filter do you have?
 
My filter is an AquaClear 200...it doesnt have the replaceable cartridges or w/e they are called.
 
OK, you do need to get an ammonia test at some time - ammonia is the most toxic chemical that is naturally produced in an aquarium and you need to be able to measure the level. Nitrite ions come in at a close second. When you cleaned your tank did you use any detergents?
 
For the aqua clear 200 your media is the foam pad, the biomax filler and possibly charcoal -- do you have all of this inside your filter?
 
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