sings4life said:erin, I like that you suggested the turkey baster, i knew what i was thinking i still needed to buy but couldnt think what it was called! How long do you suggest waiting to suck up the extras?
Also, because i am down to one neon tetra, ill ask you guys and the store tomorrow, in a week (or however long it takes to solve the problem) do you think i should get it two new companions? It seems happy with the two danios so i think i might be okay but im not sure. I definetly want to focus on the problems first but just thought id ask for when i am ready.
A turkey baster is much easier for a wee tank. It lets you get the poop and the left over food really easily. What is your substrate like? (gravel?) You can use the baster to stir up the substrate before you change the water. This will often send a bunch of debris (like food and poop) up into the water so you can see it. Then you can suck it out more easily. Oh, and the usual guideline is to suck out anything they haven't eaten after 2 mins.
A neon would really like to be in a group of it's own kind. Now, we know this not because we can apply human judgements about boredom, loneliness, etc, but because tetras kept in large groups of the same species of tetra often live longer and are healthier. This suggests that their wee bodies are less stressed.
If you don't want to rehome the fish that you have, please consider not adding more. Although they would be happier in larger numbers, that just isn't a good idea for such a little tank. If you do want to rehome them and are looking for something more suited to your tank size, have a think about shrimp. They are actually really cool and there are some awesome shrimp tanks on this site. You could also look on YouTube for some shrimp tanks to see what they look like.
If you haven't gone to the fish shop yet, when you go, please ask them to give you the exact readings on your tank. You would like to know the numbers for your ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and pH, if possible. My guess is that you will have high ammonia and 0 for both nitrites and nitrates. But, if you do have some of these, then it could mean that your tank is cycling. If the ammonia is high and there are no nitrites or nitrates, then I believe that means cycling is not happening yet. Also, if possible, ask them to do the tests with the drops rather than the test strips. The strips are notoriously less accurate.
High ammonia, by the way, is really any ammonia (ammonia is toxic), but most people that I have seen on here get concerned when it is above 0.25 parts per million (someone please correct me if I am wrong!). So, if your reading is 0.3, for instance, you would want to do a 50% water change right away. If your reading was 1.0, then a 50% water change will bring you to 0.5 and a second water change will bring you to 0.25. A lot of people seem to suggest to multiple partial water changes rather than one big 100% change. I think this has to do with the beneficial bacteria, but I am not certain. Hopefully someone more knowledgeable will chime in on this.