Neons are dying

Needeles

Needeles

AC Members
Jun 5, 2006
552
3
0
46
Wisconsin
Hello, I can't understand why my neons are dying. The first one I figured might because it didn't have the normal color of the other tetras. Now another has just pasted on right in front of my eyes. It started by swiming at the very top of the tank like it was trying to get air. Then it just floated down to the bottom. Then it swam back up to the top and just sat there for a bit. Next it fiped over, belly up. It started floating down but would twitch alittle and try to flip back over. It also was swimming in circles like it was stuck in one position. It did this for about 5 minutes then just floated down to the bottom. It twitched allit bit more then it just stopped. The color on this one seems fine. I had 8 then one dyed 2 days ago in the night and now this one. There are six left but one of them just seems to stay by itself. It color is fine but it just sits on the corner of the tank about halfway up also it's stomach seems to be inward, almost like it is being sucked in unlike the other tetras which have more rounded bellies. The other five swim around together withou a problem. Now the first 4 I bought was at Petco and the tank they were in was clean and no dead fish in it. The other 4 I bought at my local Wal-Mart and it was the same there no dead fish and it was a clean tank they were in, The tank there though was alittle crowded. Iknow the first one that dyed was from Petco but am not sure were the other one was from as they have been together for 2 days. Now all my other fish in the tank are fine. Nothing seems wrong about them. The one thing I have heard is that the water levels for neons are alittle more touchy and am wondering if this might be the problem. Below are my water levels...

Nitrate - 0
Nitrute - 0
Hardness - 300
Alakalinity - 300
PH - 7.8-8.4

Now I know that the levels are higher then advised but I can't seem to get them down. I do water changes of 25-50% every week. I have tried to add additives. I have added a couple live plants and nothing seems to work. I have checked the levels out of the tap and they are were they should be except for the hardness as I live in the country. Any ideas about the above problems would be great. Thanks.
 
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Do you know your ammonia level?

I've had some bad experiences with neons, they are very fragile fishes and I've had some die even in the best conditions.
 
Hello, no I am not sure what the level is. The other tetras are active except for the one that mainly sits in the corner of the tank as stated above.
 
The one that sits in the corner may be the next to go. Aloneness is not a good thing in schooling fish like tetras. It's a pattern I have seen in my own tank.

They probably came from the store sick. The water is hard, as you've said; that may have stressed the weak tetras when they first arrived, preferring soft water. You could try an anti-bacterial food to protect the ones left.

The surviving tetras may adapt to the hardness. But when you go for more fish, you might look for species that prefer hard water since your water source is hard naturally.
 
Hello and thanks for the info. Is there anyway to lower the levels in my water and keep them there without the up and downs. The levels in my tanks seem to be high for all my fish even though they seem to be doing good except for the neons. I have read that driftwood and peet help but only for alittle bit. I would like to at least get the alkalinity(300ppm if not higher at the moment) to go down alittle as I have read this will help lower the PH also. Thanks
 
hello there..

is this a relatively "new" tank? i mean is ur water cycled already? m just wondering why ur nitrates are 0..

try to get some ammonia readings and pls tell us ur levels :look:
 
Hello, I will try to get the ammonia levels by the end of this week. As for the tank being new, I started out with a 10g tank about 3 months ago and then changed over to a 20g tank about 5 days ago. I took all the gravel, water, rocks, ect from the 10g and put it into the 20g tank (I did rinse all the gravel). I then just added the additional water to top off the tank. The Nitrate level is between the 0-25 ppm. I use the Jungle Quick Dip test strips found at my local Wal-Mart. They test ph, Nitrate, Nitrite, Hardness & Alkalinity levels. I also use the Tetra EasyBalance & Jungle Ammonia Chlorine Eliminator. I use Tetra EasyBalance every other cleaning or every 2 weeks and the Jungle ACE every week.
 
It sounds like the tank is not cycled. That means that the good bacteria that convert fish waist to a less toxic form have not had the chance to build up in your filter yet. The first thing you need to do is a huge water change 50-100%. Then you will have to keep up with 50% changes once or twice a day until the tank is cycled.

The cycle ca take weeks, but it will happen in three stages. First ammonia (what is most likely poising your fish right now) will build up. The as ammonia converting bacteria build up Nitrite will form (Nitrite is also bad for fish). Then the nitrate bacteria will build. When you finally see Nitrate in your tank you will know you gotten to the end of the cycle. Then you will be able to go to weekly water changes. Nitrate is only bad I high doses of 20ppm or more for most fish.

This is just brief over view the process can take weeks or even months (it has probably started in your tank). Look at this article for more info.


http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64301

My best guess
 
Did you bring over the old filter? Or at least stick the filter media in the new tank? You don't mention either.

I bet your tank needs to cycle. Which explains the 0 nitrate, assuming that is accurate.

Bringing all the old stuff over will help, but since you rinsed the gravel, and if you started with a brand new filter, your bacteria will need time to catch up. That's another log on the fire for sensitive neons.

An ammonia test will tell you if started the cycle over.
 
Hello again, yes I did move the filter over. I have a 10-20g Power filter that sits on the back of the tank. It has a carbon filter and a bio filter in it. I didn't change the filter as I was told to wait for the reason you said above. As for the Nitrate levels I use a color coded test strip and off white means 0 and a slight pink means 20 and it was a real light pink so it is between the 0-20ppm mark just not sure the excact level but a rough estimate. The stick says 0-80 is safe. It is closer to the 20 mark though.

I just wanted to also add that all my other fish seem to be fine. I checked my tank this morning and the one tetra mentioned above that was by itself has now pasted on but the other 5 seem to be doing fine. The are swimming around in there little group. My pepper cories are alittle crazy though. They, I have heard, are pretty active though and will settle down in time.
 
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