Dead neons

[the barb]

Hey! About 2 weeks ago, my 3 neons died. 2 died within 1 hour and 1 died within 3 days?

 

[Mbuna12]

Sorry about that. So do you want to know why they died or what

 

[the barb]

I want to know why.

 

[Coursair]

What did your water read ???

What size tank ?
How long was it set up ?
Temps ?
Other tankmates ?
Maintenance schedule ?

We aren't clairvoyant. We need as much background info as possible to answer your question.

 

[the barb]

10 gallons
1 week
74 degrees F
No other tank mates

 

[GNarnian]

Did you do a water change at all? It was probably bad water that caused them to die

 

[the barb]

I had done 1 water change

 

[Rodeo one]

Sorry about your fish. I set up my first tank at Christmas, thank goodness I found this site. I didn t know anything about cycling a tank or proper stocking. I had 7 fish die, had to rehome some and finally have a happy and peaceful tank. Read all you can about cycling, you can do a search or click on the stickies in Freshwater Beginners. I ll help all I can.

 

[Coursair]

10 gallons
1 week
74 degrees F
No other tank mates

1 week means your tank was still cycling. Did you test your water at all ??

74 is a little low, but not bad. Neons are normally kept about 76 so 2 degrees isn't what killed them.

I'm thinking you had an ammonia spike.

Read up on cycling your tank.
You need to have a test kit. The API one is good.

Fish In Cycling can be done, but Neons are a bit sensitive for starter fish.

 

[the barb]

Thanks

 

[Amethyst]

I agree with Coursair. Before you get any more fish, make sure your tank is fully cycled - which means no ammonia, no nitrites, and nitrates below 40ppm. Neon tetras are particularly sensitive to water parameters, and are therefore susceptible to the high ammonia and/or nitirite levels in a new tank. If you don't have a test kit, get one. It's the only reliable way to know if your tank is cycled and ready for fish. I prefer the API Master Test Kit for freshwater. Seems a bit pricey at first, but considering you get more accurate readings than with dip-stick tests and you can perform the tests for a couple of years without running out of any of the solutions it is actually lower priced per test than the dip sticks.

Also, neon tetras are schooling fish and will do better with a school of at least 5 - 6 fish. You could house more than that in a 10g tank as long as you are careful with water parameters, but I wouldn't add more than that at once. Let your first 5 or 6 get acclimated, then add another 3-5 if you want to. I've found that neons are more active and hide less the bigger the school, even if the tank is "overstocked" according to the "1 inch of fish per gallon" guideline. I had 15 in a 14g tank, along with a couple of otocinclus, and they were just fine and more active than when I had fewer in the tank.