Really dumb newbie here...I lost my fish

[sciencegirl]

Oh man
I am getting so discouraged with my tank. I believe I have lost tetra #3, leaving me with 3 neons, 3 glolights, and 3 otos in my 10gal planted. My ammonia is 0, Nitrate around 12 or so. The only thing is that my temp has been fluctuating within the upper 70's to low 80's - my heater is a nightmare. Anyways, the previous 3 fish died...now one is missing!!!

I know, it's not as though you can come over and look for him for me, but really, is it possible that the other tetras ate him? I stopped feeding them for about 3 days after they wolfed down the algae puck I left out for the otos. Their bellies looked fairly full after that, so I thought it was ok to put them on a diet.

I can't find him! Why are my fish dying??

 

[Billsgate]

Neon tetra's are actually quite sensitive to water conditions and not the most hardy of fish. I wouldn't be too discouraged by the fact that you lost some neons. If you want hardy small fish, get some danios. Zebra danio or chinese danio are good fish to start with. I started with a school of 9 chinese danios about 6 months ago and now have 7 left. It is inevitable that some fish die, don't be too worried about it.

I would not leave your fish without food for 3 days! Feed your algae puck after the lights on your tank go out. Even 'sleeping' otos will smell it and go for the puck, whilst the neons will have a much harder time finding it.

Good luck!

 

[smallfry]

Be careful of the bio-load in your tank.... 9 fish in a 10g tank will be tricky. I wouldn't add any more fish. (or at the very least, wait until your tank is "stable" and no fish are dying)

HTH! Feed your fish once a day what they can eat in 3 minutes or so. Follow Billsgate's advice re: the algae puck when lights are off.

 

[sciencegirl]

Yeah
I think that you're right about the bio load - I monitored ammonia and it didn't go up (I fishless cycled first) BUT I want the fish to live in utopia, not just "tolerable" conditions. I think what I'll do is stick with who I have, and if I lose any more tetras, I'll just keep a small school of one type so they feel like they've got their "peeps" around.
Billsgate - I honestly had no idea that I was supposed to feed daily. How awful...I've been starving them. I guess I was so afraid of the dreaded "overfeeding" that I under did it? Once and for all I need to know...

In addition to feeding my tetras once a day, every day...do I also feed my algae eaters once a day? They seem to be nibbling on some algae right now...will they be ok if I just supplement when it's needed?

Thanks for the advice.

 

[Billsgate]

What I do is feed my two tanks small amounts (something in the range of 1 flake per inch of flake eating fish) daily. It is okey to feed once every day, but I wouldn't wait any longer.
As for algae wafers: I give them once every 3-4 days. I see that my SAE and Albino plecos still produce waste if I don't feed them, but I'm not sure they're finding all the right nutrients in algae. That's why I feed them the wafers as an extra, and as a reassurance for myself to know they are eating something that is good.

Don't worry, you are not the only one who's striving for fish utopia I try as well......I change water 2-3 times per week 20-30% most of the time. If I'm very busy, I change water just once a week. I also have 4 different kinds of flakes and freezedried foods to give my fish a healthy diet!

Again, good luck!

 

[sciencegirl]

Speaking of dinner...
What foods do you serve your guys? So far I give them flakes and frozen bloodworms as a treat.
Thanks!

 

[Billsgate]

I give them freeze dried daphnia, freeze dried bloodworms, some 'normal' flakes, and flakes that are especially for colour enhancement. Apart from that I feed frozen foods from a multipack with different kinds of critters once or twice a week.
I mix up a combination of dry flakes for them, so for example one day I give them freeze dried bloodworms with colour enhancing flakes, the next day I give them freeze dried daphnia with colour enchancing flakes............

HTH!

 

[BrianNY]

Well fish can go quite a long time without eating so you weren't starving your fish. I'm more concerned about the "crappy" heater. Neons especially have a low tolerance to drastic temp changes and prefer cooler water. It might be a good idea to invest in a quality heater before you buy anymore fish.

 

[chrism]

i would invest in a new heater, get a good make. My heater keeps a stable water temp of between 25.9 - 26.1ºC generally...

I only feed evey other day, a small amount of flakes all gone within a min or two, some catfish pellets, there is normally a piece of cucumber or zuchini (sp?!) for the ottos and i'll toss in about 1/4 of a algae disk ( 15mm diamater ) every now and again. When i feed blood worms or brine shrimp ( the type that comes in the jelly like substance ) i dont feed anything else on that day.

you've got a planted tank so you will probably find the ottos are getting enough to eat either from algae or the microorganisms that live within your tank. Obviously you will need to feed them, but they wont starve if you skip a day.

Cardinal tetras are hardier than neons so you might like to switch to them...?

 

[Menagerie]

Billsgate - I honestly had no idea that I was supposed to feed daily. How awful...I've been starving them. I guess I was so afraid of the dreaded "overfeeding" that I under did it? Once and for all I need to know...

You did not starve your fish. I feed my fish every other day. They get an alternating diet of foods including flake, pellets, frozen and veggies.

I also agree, you need a better heat. Ebo Jagers are good--pricey due to the name recognition, but if you buy on-line (ebay is a good place) you will save some $$.

 

[Billsgate]

Billsgate - I honestly had no idea that I was supposed to feed daily. How awful...I've been starving them. I guess I was so afraid of the dreaded "overfeeding" that I under did it? Once and for all I need to know...

You did not starve your fish. I feed my fish every other day. They get an alternating diet of foods including flake, pellets, frozen and veggies.

I didn't exactly state that you were starving your fish, I just said that I personally would not let my (nor any other) fish go without food for 3 days.
Sorry if I gave you the impression that you were!

 

[sciencegirl]

I didn't exactly state that you were starving your fish, I just said that I personally would not let my (nor any other) fish go without food for 3 days.
Sorry if I gave you the impression that you were!

Billsgate
You never said that I was starving them...I did (I'm a bit of a drama queen)! Please don't apologize, you gave me some great advice and hints. I'm going to invest in a better heater first chance I get. I'm also going to get some fun treats for my fishes. I'm so sensitive since I've had these fish deaths - I know I'm responsible, and I feel bad for them.
Unfortunately, I'm going to read up on ick now...I think one of my neons has it.

 

[Menagerie]

Check the article in the Articles section first and treat with heat and salt. Your fish will be better off with the natural treatment than with mads.

 

[sciencegirl]

I checked out the article, and I also found a post by BrianNY with an ich treatment recipe using salt and heat. My only concern - will my otos and tetras be able to handle the salt?