Armani - tetra query

[Dagon]

So, I put a dozen small neon tetra in the tank in my boy’s bedroom. The tank is well established. Water conditions good & stable.

I acclimatised them as recommended - by the book, over 1 hr, into a dark tank.

Definitely not overstocked.

When I checked after a couple of hours one was dead, being eaten by a large Amano shrimp. V sad, but I assumed it had been shocked in some way and then taken for a snack.

Other tank mates are honey gourami & kitty tetra. Tank is well planted, with lots of cover.

All neons looked fine and frisky when they went in. Bought from LFS, with good standards of hygiene.

Today, 2 more gone.

I understand that NTs can be weak. Some literature says you may lose a few after purchase. Not at all what I want to see, but maybe I have to accept it.

All those remaining look lively. As I would expect.

Could be that those no longer with us died and were then snacked on by the shrimp.

My concern is that they are being hunted by the Armanos. there are 2 mature, 3 small in the tank.

If the NT are being predated, I could move the large shrimp to another tank, but all I read says they should be compatible.

Any thoughts?

D

 

[earhtmother]

I know my Amanos will DEFINENTLY hunt for snacks if the opportunity presents itself, usially small fry or weak/sickly smaller fish but that's only my experience

 

[shellyx]

I've kept amano in with my boraras Brigitte which are tiny and my amano shrimp never bothered them. I also think the fish probably were sick when you got them and died, the amano would just clean up like they do.

 

[Lokilow]

Amano shrimp arent aggressive so I doubt they are actively going after the tetras. They will eat the dead fish and other shrimps, they might also kill small shrimp that are sick but they wont go after a swimming fish.

The fish were either sick already or its time to go back to check water parameters. Did you quarantine these guys? With already having a setup and healthy tank, stop risking the health of everything else in the tank by not taking the time to quarantine. Very risky and when something does happen youll beat yourself up about it.

Dose some paragaurd for about 2 weeks to help prevent anymore sickness and ease stress on the fish. Its also shrimp safe.

 

[earhtmother]

Ok let me clarify, IF you read what I wrote again I DIDN'T say they were aggressive just that they would happily eat any neighbouring FRY(assuming the parents didn't eat them first) and that weak/sickly fish were considered fair game as well. Mine left my adult guppies alone but anything that didnt move out of the way when it was closely investigated was fair game

 

[Dagon]

Thanks all for your thoughts.

The good news is everyone is still fine in the tank today. So maybe there were a few weak ones.

I’m reassured that the consensus is that the AS are not actively hunting (I’d be surprised if they were- maybe instead they might be getting the jump on the NTs when they are asleep).

I recognise that quarantine would be best for new fish, but I’m afraid I haven’t the space. However The independent lfs is pretty good and I’ve never had problems in the past.

I’ll certainly check the water for any surprises l.

Thanks again for your comments.

D

 

[Lokilow]

A QT Tank can be as small as a 10gal and isnt a tank that needs to be running 24/7 so when its not needed it can be stored in the garage or elsewhere.

 

[KatyLLL]

A QT Tank can be as small as a 10gal and isnt a tank that needs to be running 24/7 so when its not needed it can be stored in the garage or elsewhere.

This is true. It can also be a plastic bucket or storage container as long as it is clean (never cleaned with soap) and has airstone or filtration and is kept at the correct temperature. I buy 5 dollar food-grade buckets at a hardware store to use for QT tanks.