neons dropping like flies

[mumrah]

I introduced a 6th neon tetra to my 10g ~1 week ago. It died shortly thereafter. I then replaced it with another from a different lfs, and it followed suit.

Now today, 2 days after adding the most recent neon, 4 are dead. No signs of disease (bodies look normal, no discoloration, disfiguration). My only concern is they are missing eyeballs, and one is missing a stomach. My guess is that the zebra danios ate them.

What could possibly be killing my poor fish!?

Also, should i worry about my zebras?

-David

Oh, and 1 neon tetra remains.

 

[mumrah]

btw. water params are :

pH: 7.8 (what they're used to)
NH3: ~0ppm
NO3: ~5.0ppm
temp: 78*F

all of these are very regular for this tank. the pH from my tap water is ~7.6 and the piece of limestone bufferes it even further. however, 3 of these tetras are ~5 months old in this tank.

-David

 

[An t-iasg]

I'm sorry to hear this

Sometimes, you just get a bad batch from the lfs. Neons are very sensitive, and some just don't make it with all the shipping that they have to endure.

When you got yours, did you QT them or just add them to the tank? How long did you acclimate them? Your pH is a little on the high side for neons, but if acclimated slowly they should be ok. Why do you have a piece of limestone in the tank? Tetras (some of them) like driftwood, which would naturally lower your pH a little.

I would watch out for the danios -- since they may have eaten the neons. I wouldn't give any meds at this point, just watch. I don't have neons (yet!) but I'm just wondering if they died from stress, and not something like a bacterial infection, since nothing was visible on them.

 

[mumrah]

the thing is, 5 of the tetras have been in the tank for months. I only added one - which died. Then i added another - which died. And then 4 more died.

So i suspect disease. :\

 

[An t-iasg]

Oh, I see -- yes, that does sound like disease. Nothing was visible on them, like red streaks, white patches? I know they are so little and it might be hard to see something like that on them, especially after the danios got done with them. Just keep watching for any more signs.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I've had horrible luck with neons, between the Congo's and the pleco that may slurp them up at night, I can't keep them.. (21 vanished without a trace in less then a week)

The stomache and eyes are normal for dead fish, the stomach contains something the other fish want, and the eyes are easy to get at.. (for fish with little to no teeth)

Neons also get stressed quite easily from what I've seen, are the other fish in the tank very active? since neons are so small they see most fish as a potential predator. Do you have a lot of decorations?

Also, driftwood is a better choice with tetras, since most prefer Neutral to 6.5PH, but that isn't what killed them, but it will add to thier stress..

Look into blackwater extract by tetra, it stains the water with tannis, but ti helps thier natural defence against disease and will help soften the water a bit, you could also filter peat into the water (add it to the filter) which tetras love (and in lower PH water, it can induce breeding habits)

Also, Mopani wood, if you can find some, contains some tannis, and it also allows the fish to have some very excellent hiding spots.. (besides it looking very nice , I have three pieces stacked at the front of my tank to provide some tunnels, tied on a piece of java fern, you can have a fair amount of fun with it, just soak it for a couple hours in very hot water beforehand.

 

[mumrah]

thanks for the advice. I think i'm giving up on tetras for the time being. The other one is dead now too.

As far as lowering pH, will that tannis trick work for my 55g? It's at ~7.8pH now, and i need it to be much lower for my cichlids.

thanks,
David

P.S. what would be a good addition to my 10g now? There are 3 zebra danios and one otto catfish.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

10 Gals are suited to tetras, mainly due to amounts of waste they produce (very little) and physical size, but you could go with pristella tetras (x-ray) or head&tailight which are said to be indestructable fish.. (very hardy), perhaps a 3 pack of kuhli Loaches or a small shoal of cories.. Not sure how big otto's get, but I'm sure you will use your best judgement on how many..

Tannis, is an acid, it will naturally lower the PH of any tank it's in, my tank sits at a constant PH of 7.4 and I've only had it to 7.1 once, then a PWC and it was back up

Adding peat to the filter will soften the water and introduce tannis acid as well as a lot of natural chems into the water (which actually make the tetras stronger, esp immune systems).. the mopani wood just looks very nice, and yes, anything that works on a 10Gal will work on a 1000Gal, it's just a matter of quantity..

Also, the warmer your tank, the more tannis will leach out, so if you have your tank at 82F, it will quickly change the colour of your water, carbon will remove the colour, but I'm unsure of the effects being removed aswell, and I find mixed answers when googling the net..