getting ready to add 20-30 neon tetras

[mikemou]

my daily sadly report - 2 more deaths... i'm down to 22.

yeah i'd like to keep cardinals, too. but 1) they need even softer water than neon, my water is too hard, and 2) my trusted LFS don't sell cardinals... or maybe they do but they're hot items i never get to see them.

 

[pkremer]

Just remember though about the percentages. So far, you have lost 27% of your neons. My LFS owner, who I would describe as very conscientious, can lose anywhere from 30-40% even in established tanks. Believe me, I am not saying that you shouldn't care about the poor little guys, because I feel bad for them too, but they are pretty sensitive little fish and I don't know anyone who on his first try (or second or third or fourth) with neons has kept them all alive. Don't beat yourself up, I'm sure you are doing everything in your power to help these little guys.

Paul

 

[Bearfan]

Bet the barbs are the culprits...

 

[mikemou]

barbs were long gone.... they co-existed with the neons for about 1 day and were sent back to LFS.

i added a pack of black gravel yesterday, maybe that shocked and killed those two???

 

[Bearfan]

Or they were just neons, known to be a little more fragile.

 

[madasafish]

Well, I've gotta admit that I bought a school of 15 neons way back when for my fully-cycled 55, and lost every single one of them over 2-3 weeks.

These guys are really sensitive, and shipped from SA very poorly. We need a lobby to try and improve shipment conditions for tropical fish! As I've said before, I'd be happy to pay a little more for most of the fish I buy (excepting the really $$$ ones), as $1 or $2 is really not very much to pay for a tiny miracle of nature.

 

[Mr Burns]

i don't mean to hijack this, but toss onto that lobby something about banning/boycotting the process of dyeing fish. now THAT is animal cruelty...


i'm going to keep at least a dozen cardinals in my 85, but only after it is set up for a month or two. after seeing cardinals and neons side by side, there is just no comparison.

 

[mikemou]

my daily happily report: no death yesterday!!!

and now with the black gravels, i have to say they are showing much better colors now.

oh i always thought these neons are farm-raised?! how do they get here from SA(which i assume is south america)? by airplane or by boat???

maybe i'll try ordering from dr. foster and smith for some cardinals next time they seem to be a responsible and caring pet business.

 

[Orca]

Hang in there mikemou. It sounds like it's not going too badly so far.

I added a school of 19 Neons to a new (but fully cycled) 75 gal tank, and lost 15 of them in about five days. I was really bummed out about it.

After waiting abou a month to make sure the remain 4 were really going to survive, I decided to try and build up the school again. My QT tank is only 6 gal, so I could only add 5 to 6 new ones at a time over several weeks. It's taking a long time, but I now have a school of 14 and things are going much better. (Only 1 death so far during the rebuilding phase).

I'd eventually like to build up to around 30. I've always loved Neons!

 

[docrak]

I think it depends on the pet store and their supplier. My local pet store, a very reputable dealer, has a lot of trouble with neons and cardinals. He usually looses about 30 to 50% within the first week. The last shipment of cardinals he got he lost 70%. They arrive with sunken stomachs. They guy at my local fish store told me that most fish suppliers only feed their stock once a week, that’s pretty sad. The first set of neons I bought was a recent arrival and I lost half. My second set was in the store for a while and looked much better. I didn’t loose any of those. So far I have about 15 neons and they are doing fine. They buddy up with my glow lite tetras.

 

[mikemou]

my sadly daily report: lost one more last Saturday... down to 21.

good news is, i can see that most of the survivors are getting used to the environment and would rush to the surface for food at feeding time.

i also noticed that 2 of the 3 angels've been hanging around near the surface longer than before these past few days... maybe i should do a water change...

this just ocurred to me that if the suppliers feed their fish only once a week maybe when we first buy the fish we should not feed them daily or 6 days/wk but slowly increase the feedings to give them some time to get used to frequent feedings? well i don't really know what i'm talking about but just a thought that came up....

 

[webmoose]

how are the neons?

 

[kenor33]

Don't give up, It seems if you can get them past a couple weeks then they'll be fine. I have a school of 12 in my 55 and love em. of course it took a few trips to the LFS to build up my school. think in all I had bought about 20 or 24 before they finely decided to quite dying and enjoy life in the 55