unexplained fish deaths

more "stuff happens"

Fished yet another dead neon out of the tank late last night...

Earlier, I did see one of the neons hiding by himself in a bottom corner, breathing rapidly while all the other fish were breathing normally. I guess I didn't really expect anything else. :( I've convinced myself that we just got a bad batch, but it's still very frustrating, especially for a 9 year old who was patiently going through a fishless cycle to avoid unnecessary deaths.

Once we've gone for a week or two without deaths, should we try neons again? Or are cardinals a better choice? And can cardinals and neons be mixed or does each species need their own group?

Thank you all so much for your continuing input - I'd be lost without you...
 
janderson said:
This is how it went:

1. buy fish

2. put fish bag in small cooler for transport home (20 min)

3. float fish bag in tank for about 20 min to adjust temperature.

4. open bag, add 1/2 cup water, clip to edge of tank, wait 20 minutes

5. open bag, add 3/4 cup water, clip to edge of tank, wait 20 minutes

6. repeat step 5 (effectively doubling initial amount of water in bag)

7. net fish out of bag and put in tank, discard water in bag.

Did I miss something?
Click to expand...

This likely is not be your problem because the fish last about 3 days, but it is something to look into. The fish are spending an hour in the bag. Check out these 2 sites:

http://www.bestfish.com/floatdip.html and
http://www.csupomona.edu/~jskoga/Aq...cclimation.html
 
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LongTime, I read both articles

and what struck my mind as noteworthy was the hint that clipping a bag to the top of the tank reduces the surface area of the bag water and in turn reducing oxygen uptake. I'll be sure to remedy this possible problem the next time we're introducing fish.

Also, I do like the drip line idea, but to be quite honest, there's a limit on how many gadgets I'm willing to have sitting around in order to take care of a 20G tank.

A number of the other theories struck me as a bit odd. Now, I'm the first to admit to my noob status, but in all the reading I've done previously I've never come across the theory that floating isn't a good thing. Also, I've never heard adding LFS water to your own tank being advocated. :confused:

But thanks for the info, I'm always willing to read & learn.

(BTW the link you posted to the second aticle was incomplete, here is the whole thing in case anyone else is interested: http://www.csupomona.edu/~jskoga/Aquariums/Acclimation.html ;) )
 
Thanks for the fix on the link.
I'm not one for adding water from the LFS to my tanks either and I understand how you feel about the "number of gadgets." :)

One thing about this hobby...Just about everyone has an idea that works for them. You find what works best for you and go from there!
 
I don't think your acclimation caused any problems. What I usually do is float the bag for 20 or so minutes, then cut open bag and dump into large pitcher, then add tank water over the next hour (every 10-15 minutes), then net the fish and put them into the tank (into a QT tank even better)!!

You'll get mixed opinions on neons, alot of people seem to have problems with them, and most seem to think cardinals are hardier. I also think neons and cardinals will school, but I'm not 100% sure. I've had some sort of odd problem going on with my neons (I've given up trying to fix it) and I've lost 4 or 5 since about January, which doesn't sound bad, but there is no reason for the deaths, my tank is well maintained and all the other fish are thriving. Its frustrating.

I may have asked this already, can you try a different store?
 
I guess it's like every other hobby

there are a myriad way of doing things...

I'm sure with time I'll aquire my fair share of gadgets, but right now it seems that the gadgets already take up more space then the tank! I just bought a 25' python because the 20G sits in a carpeted room and refilling causes way to much splatter - and that thing is HUGE!

PS: What I don't understand about the link, the one I posted looks exactly like yours, but one works and one doesn't :confused:
 
janderson said:
there are a myriad way of doing things...

I'm sure with time I'll aquire my fair share of gadgets, but right now it seems that the gadgets already take up more space then the tank! I just bought a 25' python because the 20G sits in a carpeted room and refilling causes way to much splatter - and that thing is HUGE!

PS: What I don't understand about the link, the one I posted looks exactly like yours, but one works and one doesn't :confused:
Click to expand...

I didn't understand the link thing either...

I got a storage case from K-mart that holds all of my stuff. It keeps it neater and everything stays in one place.
 
Holly - you must have posted while I was responding

Yes, I can certainly try a different store. I actually had planned to get my fish from one particular LFS that I picked a few weeks ago because all their tanks seemed clean, well maintained and I didn't see any dead fish. But when we got there to get our fish last week there were cloudy tanks, lots of fin rot and a few dead fish. Strange... Anyway, at that point I had two kids in the car bound and determined to buy fish so I needed to quickly find a different store and from what I could tell the Petsmart fish looked fine.

In town we have three each of Petsmart and Petco, two of the Walmarts carry fish - and at least one of them seems to have a very dedicated fish person - I've never seen a dead fish there! - and then we have a number of small LFS. But some of those look absolutely dreadful...
 
It doesn't take long does it. Imagine what I have with a 125, 55, & 40. Then add in all the stuff I've managed to accumulate down through the years...
 
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