Neon tetras won't eat

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1LTEv63tHBJmxADmfalvBKkXdJ6qjFMU7 Better yet, here's a video i took this morning. The lights are really dim in the morning and they seem to appreicate that more than the regular lights. But to me they seem to be acting normal? The ones that look the most concerning just look like they're starving rather than sick.

But who knows, maybe you'll see something i don't?
 
I agree, not NTD, just some are pretty thin. You're right to be worried.

It doesn't seem like only a few degrees of temp would matter enough, but all your fish will be ok at low 70F. I don't use heaters much & my tanks stay at ~73 or 74, higher in summer. The lights & filters do add heat, we only heat to 68F in winter, 63 at night (in case you're thinking I live in sunny CA, lol).

Are they from the same lfs as your earlier 1s that died? Are you sure your dragon is tank safe? Could it have a place where "crud" accumulates?

What is in your food mix? I've had fish spit out small pellets like NLS if they were only used to flake; daphnia, color bits & "lesser, thicker" flakes too. I think it might be the hard texture that doesn't soften up fast in the tank. Have you offered flake food like Omega Super Color?

But to go from eating in QT & not later sounds like either a disease or parasites...or something in your tank. I just don't know what to suggest next. The cory & platy fry are eating well & look healthy, right? Not losing weight or spitting out food?

What about plant ferts? pH, GH or KH differences? Substrate? I don't recall, did you medicate? I'm thinking not, just water changes...
 
fishorama said:
I agree, not NTD, just some are pretty thin. You're right to be worried.

It doesn't seem like only a few degrees of temp would matter enough, but all your fish will be ok at low 70F. I don't use heaters much & my tanks stay at ~73 or 74, higher in summer. The lights & filters do add heat, we only heat to 68F in winter, 63 at night (in case you're thinking I live in sunny CA, lol).

Are they from the same lfs as your earlier 1s that died? Are you sure your dragon is tank safe? Could it have a place where "crud" accumulates?

What is in your food mix? I've had fish spit out small pellets like NLS if they were only used to flake; daphnia, color bits & "lesser, thicker" flakes too. I think it might be the hard texture that doesn't soften up fast in the tank. Have you offered flake food like Omega Super Color?

But to go from eating in QT & not later sounds like either a disease or parasites...or something in your tank. I just don't know what to suggest next. The cory & platy fry are eating well & look healthy, right? Not losing weight or spitting out food?

What about plant ferts? pH, GH or KH differences? Substrate? I don't recall, did you medicate? I'm thinking not, just water changes...
Click to expand...

I think i may have figured out what happened. It might have been the sand. This all happened a week after i switched out the old sand with this new stuff. I thought that that caused an ammonia spike because i ruined the balance of the cycle by taking all that established substrate out.

But i just went and looked up reviews for the sand i bought and several other people are having sudden and mysterious deaths when their tanks were all fine beforehand. It can't just be a coincidence if other people are experiencing this too, and that this happened right after i put it in. My sister also lost two bettas who were in tanks with this same sand.

The sand is caribsea super naturals black sand if you wanted to see for yourself. Even if it isn't the cause i'm getting rid of it, moving everyone back into quarantine and starting completely from scratch soon and disinfecting everything.
Do you happen to know of a good way to do that without using bleach or chemicals?
 
Oh my! at least you figured out what might be the problem. I have Eco Complete in 2 tanks; never an issue...it's quite old. But I'm not sure of your "Super Naturals Black"...I wonder if its like "Tahitian Moon Sand"...maybe a bad batch? Some say they come with "cycling bacteria" , but I'm skeptical of just how that works sitting on a shelf for a long time.

Since we don't know what is possibly wrong...well, I'm a bleacher & Prime user...nuke everything & start over from the ammonia cycling to 0-0-20. It will take a few weeks...but at least maybe your neons will eat...& survive.

I'm sorry you've had such a hard time. Hopefully you've found the answer. It can sometimes be like tank CSI trying to figure what the heck is (or might) be going on.

Good luck! & keep us updated on how you do.
 
fishorama said:
Oh my! at least you figured out what might be the problem. I have Eco Complete in 2 tanks; never an issue...it's quite old. But I'm not sure of your "Super Naturals Black"...I wonder if its like "Tahitian Moon Sand"...maybe a bad batch? Some say they come with "cycling bacteria" , but I'm skeptical of just how that works sitting on a shelf for a long time.

Since we don't know what is possibly wrong...well, I'm a bleacher & Prime user...nuke everything & start over from the ammonia cycling to 0-0-20. It will take a few weeks...but at least maybe your neons will eat...& survive.

I'm sorry you've had such a hard time. Hopefully you've found the answer. It can sometimes be like tank CSI trying to figure what the heck is (or might) be going on.

Good luck! & keep us updated on how you do.
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Tahitian moon sand seems to be another name for this same sand. I'm also thinking it's a bad batch too because this sand has good reviews as well and this stuff is in my betta tanks and they're all doing well.

People online are thinking that the sand has some kind of heavy metal in it since it's magnetic. And that could be leeching all kinds of bad stuff into the water that i couldn't test for. it makes sense to me.

I feel so bad for these little guys, they've been back and forth between tanks so much, that must be so stressful for them. And they're already so weak from not eating. I'll do my best to keep them alive and get them back to eating again. I worry because the quarantine tank is only 20 gallons and had 5 cories in there already waiting to be put in the big tank. Adding 22 more fish to that isn't ideal but it's the only option right now. I didn't take into account poison sand. I'm just going to do water changes and constant testing to make sure it's ok for them.

But yeah i'll post updates about what happens from here on out. I kind of expect to lose a couple more tetras from hunger and stress, but we'll see.

What kind of substrate would you recommend for them? Something darker that they will stand out on and feel safe with. I was thinking pea gravel would look, but would the cories be ok with that?
 
Like I said, I have Eco-Complete (not sand, the very small gravel-ish 1). I also have pool filter sand but it's almost white, not my favorite; it's inert & shows all poo etc. I hated the dust-like Flourite Black sand, way too fine for me.

If $$ is no issue, look at Carib Sea Peace River, I love the look. Tiny rounded brownish gravel, not too pale or sharp for bottom fish. It's also 1 of those that come with "BB"...hmm.

Pea gravel is a bit too big & pale for my ideal. If you have a Tractor Supply, maybe black blasting sand. I've never tried it, maybe sharp, but I've read that shouldn't be an issue if your nitrates are kept low...& it's cheap.
 
fishorama said:
Like I said, I have Eco-Complete (not sand, the very small gravel-ish 1). I also have pool filter sand but it's almost white, not my favorite; it's inert & shows all poo etc. I hated the dust-like Flourite Black sand, way too fine for me.

If $$ is no issue, look at Carib Sea Peace River, I love the look. Tiny rounded brownish gravel, not too pale or sharp for bottom fish. It's also 1 of those that come with "BB"...hmm.

Pea gravel is a bit too big & pale for my ideal. If you have a Tractor Supply, maybe black blasting sand. I've never tried it, maybe sharp, but I've read that shouldn't be an issue if your nitrates are kept low...& it's cheap.
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Ah yeah, i had eco complete under my sand layer for my plants and it was always great! Not sure i would want to use it for an actual substrate though. Might get pricey,

But thanks for the suggestion! That peace river stuff does look really nice.
 
Dunno, the fish look pretty good to me, if a bit thin.
I'd just leave it alone rather than disrupt everything.
Try feeding them some frozen or live baby brine shrimp.
 
ustabefast said:
Dunno, the fish look pretty good to me, if a bit thin.
I'd just leave it alone rather than disrupt everything.
Try feeding them some frozen or live baby brine shrimp.
Click to expand...
I already moved them all back to quarantine. They're immediately doing better. several of them are eating again or at least actually interested in food now. Might still take a couple days and i'm still concerned for the really thin ones as they are very weak. But things are already looking better!
 
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