Neon Tetra Problem

O

omordn

AC Members
Feb 18, 2008
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Hi Everyone,

I just created a thread the other day asking for people's opinion on the type of fish I should buy to put in my tank. I decided on neon tetras and didn't regret on my decision. Although, I have been having problems ever since. :angryfire:

Here's the problem:

I got 10 neon tetras on Thursday. I was excited. They looked awesome in my tank. The following day I saw that one of them was missing. I couldn't find him so I moved my lava rocks and my decorative log only to find it stuck under the decorative log and dead (it drowned itself). So, I took the fish back to petsmart so that they can exchange it for a LIVE one. So they did just that.

So I wake up saturday morning only to find another dead neon tetra. This time, the tetra was on top of my power head stuck. How did it get stuck? I have no idea. So I got back to petsmart to get a new one and I did.

Again today, Saturday, a couple of hours after I had gotten back from Petsmart I realized that two more tetras are dead! This time, one of them was sucked by my filter and the other one was dead in between my two live plants on the gravel. I have no idea how it ****ing died. I'm stressed out. I don't know what to do.

Do you guys think that perhaps my power head and/or my filter is too strong for the neons?

I have a Penguin Biowheel 150 and a Koralia 1 power head that pumps I believe 400 gph. Please guys, I need your input ASAP. I want to know whether to return all my fish back or no.

Thanks.

28 gallon bowfront tank
pH 7.6
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate between 0 - 5
temp 80 F degrees
 
How long has the tank been set up? How did you acclimate them? Neon tetras nowadays are harder to keep than a few years ago, and they would die for no reason. Yours may have been those weak types that didn't adapt to your tank well.
 
My tank has been set up for over a year now. I know it's healthy. I acclimated them the way I have acclimated other fish... I placed the bag on top of the tank and let it float for a half an hour so that it can match the fish's temp to the temp my tank is in.
 
omordn said:
My tank has been set up for over a year now. I know it's healthy. I acclimated them the way I have acclimated other fish... I placed the bag on top of the tank and let it float for a half an hour so that it can match the fish's temp to the temp my tank is in.
Click to expand...

Thats probably the issue right there, they need to be acclimated slowly, by putting them into another vessel and slow additions of your tank water added over a period of time, so they get used to your tank and/or tap water. Plus are we talking about them dying in a quarantine tank or is this the actual main tank?
 
after you let the bag float slowy add tank water to the bag, a cup a time for example with a drop of prime. After you double he volume of water net the neons out. Like David said though neons are very weak from the LFS. The powerhead is not what's killing them but I would turn the current down or turn it off. 400phm seems high to me. You do need to upgrade your filter from that penguin 150.
 
It is the actual main tank. Alright, when I go return the dead ones for live ones I'll do just that. I do it with my partner's saltwater aquarium but didn't think it was necessary with these tetras since they're known to be hardy. I didn't have to do that with my mollies either.

One question though, why do I need to upgrade my filter? Is there a specific reason? My filter has been good to me.
 
Could just be weak stock. You could try acclimating new fish by gradually adding tank water to the bag water while it is floating so as to prepare the fish for your water parameters. Ideally you want to net the fish out of the bag and into the tank rather than pouring the bag in. That way you avoid introducing any nasty pathogens from the LFS water.
 
Oh, I want to make something clear... I do not dump the fish in there. I do use a net to place it into my tank.
 
You can keep your current filter and just add a second, maybe another 150. The one you have is just adequate.
 
well what else do you have in the tank mollies?? Adding 10 neon tetras at 1/1.5 inches is good size bioload for a filter rated for 10-30 gallons. Just think of how much your fish wastes and extra food is going into the tank now that you've added 10 more fish. I'm sure the filter has been good to you, they are good filters but you might be pushing the filtration system and I just wanted to recommend a filter upgrade.

sorry to see that you're stressing, it's always hard to handle uncontrolled fish losses. Also are you running your heater?? just wondering 80degrees might be high for the neons.
 
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