neon tetras dieing

[1MileCrash]

i don't know what is goin on in there.

i started out with 8 and i'm down to 2! yeah a couple had a sickness or disease or something...but it didn't appear to transfer to any other fish...no big deal. they died and the tank is clean.

a few days go by and suddenly my 6 fish are down to 5. kinda think he got eaten by the crayfish...whatever.

suddenly today i wake up and one of the neons is stuck to the filter inlet...oh for cryin out loud. so that should make my tally 4 left...but i can only find 3!

and so i go to the g/f's house to try and see if i left a cd at her place...which i didn't...and i come back and ANOTHER neon tetra is doin the belly up twitch/swim/sink/float thing.

so now i'm down to 2 neon tetras.

let me also make the note that the 6 rummynose tetras are doing excellent. they are eating heartily and are growing. they are schooling and thriving.

i don't get what the heck is up with the neon tetras though. i'll never buy any more of them again that's for sure.

[MeganL3985]

Sorry about your neons, can't help you though....i've got a sickie of my own. Mine have all been fine since I got them in June, up until the one now. I think they're just delicate fish.....have they had any symptoms when they died or just keal over (sorry for the bluntness there)?

[jessie]

Is your tank fully cycled? Neon tetras are especially sensitive to water quality and if there is ammonia or nitrites present in the water, this may do it. From my experience, however, I seem to have neons die without any apparent reason. I simply cannot keep them alive, even in a fully cycled tank and after acclimating them properly. They are a fairly delicate species to have in the initial period. I have a few that died off after doing a water change and mistakenly adding water that was about 2 degrees warmer....I made the prediction that I would find a neon tetra stuck to the filter later that night because of my mistake, and surely that is what happened. I've just never had much luck with these guys.

[1MileCrash]

now i'm down to 1! it's like they've turned into lung fish and are sneaking around behind the tv stand or something!

oh well.

tank has been cycled for a good while now. i was waiting to find another fish i liked to put in it. i guess now i've got room for my school of tiger barbs.

[MeganL3985]

Oiy...your not having any luck with those guys are ya? Sorry :(

[Kuli_Loach]

Huh, has to be NTD or w/e that only gets them.

[Lady Hobbs]

Sorry you're losing your tetras. Since you are losing all of them, they may be ill. How long since you've done a big water change?

[tropfish]

sorry to hear it.

i have trouble keeping neons also, so i stopped buying them too.

[1MileCrash]

i don't usually do water changes so much as i add water as it evaporates away. i added water a few days back. noticed that the temperature was pretty high so over the course of 3 days i have turned the temp down two notches on my heater. it's been in the course of those three days that i have lost the 4 tetras. i'm thinking it may have something to do with that.

[MeganL3985]

Since you dont do many water changes, have you checked your water parameters? Neons are very sensitive to ammonia and poor water conditions. And the amount of water evaporation is usually not enough to equal a true water change. Its just strange to see them dying off so fast without an explanation such as NTD or something similar.

Ps. My 5 gal has no heater but with the summer weather stays around 80 degree's. They have all been fine. By chance what is your heater set at? And also, do you have a thermometer in there to monitor the actual water temp? Just making sure, sorry if these are tedious questions.

[1MileCrash]

ammonia levels are stable at zero. i don't have and can't find any other types of test kits in my area...nitrates or nitrides.

at least i know what a few of the neons died from based on the articles section at left...

Neon Tetra disease:

Neon Tetras are susceptible to the Neon Tetra disease. There is still no available cure for this disease and it will often kill the fish. Neon Tetra disease is caused by a sporozoan named Pleistophora hyphessobryconis. The disease is therefore also known as “Pleistophora”.

During the initial stage of Neon Tetra disease, parasite spores enter the Neon tetra. Common symptoms include restlessness and dull colouration. As the disease proceeds, cyst will develop and the fish body can become lumpy. The Neon Tetra will often have trouble swimming and towards the final stages of the disease the spine can become curved. The weakened fish is also susceptible to secondary infections.

As mentioned above, these is still no cure for Neon Tetra disease and trying to prevent the parasite from entering your aquarium in the first place is therefore the best course of action. The parasite is typically introduced via live food or newly purchased fish. By cultivating your own live food you will gain a greater control over what you put in your aquarium. Brine shrimp is for instance very easy and hassle-free to cultivate at home. When you purchase new fish, you should ideally keep them quarantined in a separate aquarium and look out for signs of illness. In the aquarium, fish often catch the disease when they eat dead fish. Removing sick and dead fish as soon as possible is therefore important. Some aquarists report that using a diatom filter decreases the risk of Neon Tetra disease, but it is only a supplement, not a substitute for the precautions described above. A diatom filter can reduce the amount of free parasites in the water.

There is also a disease known as “false Neon Tetra disease” that is often confused with true Neon Tetra disease. This disease is not caused by a sporozoan; it is caused by bacteria. The symptoms are however very similar and unless you have access to a laboratory it will be virtually impossible for you to tell the difference between the two diseases.

[freshwaterfishlover]

It is for sure your Crayfish. I have tried many fish with my Crayfish and it grabs it with in a minute. Do not put them with Frogs or Crayfish and you will be alright.

[MeganL3985]

What type of ammonia kit are you using? I was originally using test strips and they were completely wrong. I lost a few platys that way.

[1MileCrash]

What type of ammonia kit are you using? I was originally using test strips and they were completely wrong. I lost a few platys that way.

i'll have to take a look but it's one where you take a sample of water in a test tube and then add 8 drops each of 2 different chemicals, shake it up, and then wait for 4 minutes.

[1MileCrash]

It is for sure your Crayfish. I have tried many fish with my Crayfish and it grabs it with in a minute. Do not put them with Frogs or Crayfish and you will be alright.

i'm not sure on that. it's only the neon tetras that are disappearing. i started out with 8 of them and i'm down to 1. the original 6 rummynose tetras are all still there and are going strong. i woudln't imagine that the crayfish would be that selective. and i drop him a pellet every couple of hours which he gobbles right up.

[MeganL3985]

Oh okay, cool thats the test kit I use too...works really good.

[Kuli_Loach]

Same here. Nitrates are probably what is getting them. Do large water change and every 3 days do about another 35%. This lowered mine quickly. I have a frog with my glowlight tetras and they do fine.

[AquaQueen]

I will put money that the crayfish snacked on at least one or two of them because I had a crayfish in with my guppy's and he ate all my males then I put some feeder tuffies in with him one time I had no room for all of them and he went to town eating them...lol He ended up shedding his shell twice that month! I will also bet anything that once the neon's are all gone he will start to nip at the rummy nose tetras in time even if well fed. I'd find him his own tank unless you want frayed fins and scared fish that hover at the top of your tank. IMO that is what I'd do, they are your fish, so you can do what you want. Good Luck with them.

[salman]

Test your water.. I think you have a high level of ammonia.

[Darkness]

i would guess its either NTD or high nitrates. only adding water to replace evaporated water doesn't count as a water change, as the nitrates don't evaporate, and therefore they are building up. doing a water change would be good, but what you really need is a nitrite/nitrate test kit, and start doing regular water changes. also do you have plants? plants will help keep your nitrates in check.

[RobbieG]

Darkness is right - basically none of the bad things that you remove when you do a water change are removed when water evaporates.

You have to take out as much water as you would each week if the tank was completely full or else your tank will get pretty toxic

For example if you have a 10 gallon tank and would plan on 30% weekly water changes you still need to remove 3 gallons of water - no matter how much evaporates to pretty much break even on the toxins.

Personally - I do 50% by volume in each tank just to be safe

[1MileCrash]

they're messin with me i swear to god...they have it all figured out...they know i'm out here watching them...they're plotting...planning...conducting...

i'm back up to 2 tetras now...lil turd came back out of nowhere...and now one of the rummynose is gone.

WHAT DO THESE GUYS DO WHEN I'M NOT LOOKING?!?!?!

[AquaQueen]

That's the thing...lol It's up to you to TRY and figure that out! You don't think they are going to jump out and tell you what their secrets are do you? In all seriousness I think that is one of the great things about having fish...the mystery of their own little world in there. Thinking things like...do they talk to each other, why do they chase each other around , Is the woman the dominant one of the relationship , you know that kind of stuff. LMAO I am kidding with ya.

[1MileCrash]

haha...alright. so i went up to petco today to pick up some tiger barbs and i finally found nitrate and nitrite test kits...it's about time.

anyway...so here is a complete list of my findings.

ammonia - 0.00 ppm

nitrate - between 10 ppm and 20 ppm (this isn't surprising considering there is algae all over the place...hence why i bought the snail)

nitrite - 0.25 ppm

overall i'm fairly surprised. i thought things would be a lot worse than that on the nitrite and nitrate ends of things.