New additions dying/not thriving.

[StellaStars]

Having a frustrating fishkeeping day.

I have the Penn Plax Radius 5g kit. It's got a Cascade 300 internal filter. The tank has been set up about 6 weeks now.

When my cycle was complete and the LFS checked my water (to confirm my own testing) I added 4 neon green rasboras. A couple weeks later, I added some orange shrimp.

Last week, when all was going well, I added two more green rasboras to complete the school. I floated the bag and drip acclimated over an hour.

At first the fish were schooling together and seemed really happy.

Today, I woke up and one was missing (finally found it had become a shrimp meal) and the other is hiding in the back of the tank. Saw it get bullied a little when it tried to join the group.

I test my water every 2-3 days and the parameters are always good. Ammonia and Nitrite at 0 and Nitrate less than 20. I have soft water and a Ph usually around 6.8

I do roughly 25% water changes about twice a week. I condition the water with Prime.

I feed (small amounts) of high quality tropical fish pellets.

The tank is heated to a steady 78 degrees.

The original four rasboras, as well as the shrimp (at least the ones out in the open) appear to be in great shape.

Was this just a bad batch of fish from the LFS or could something else be going on?

I was going to clean the filter and the glass of the tank today, but now I feel like I should hold off on anything stressful.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[Chels10117]

I'm going to say it was a bad batch. Watch the fish that's hiding in the corner. I have neon tetras. I got a school of 10 and ended up having to take one back after losing it and finally found it dead stuck to the filter. I think it's common in smaller fish for them to be very sensitive and prone to stress. Monitor your tank closely. Check the water daily. Do a water change especially if one has not been done after the fish died. If a fish dies in my tank I always do a water change right away. Who knows how long it was sitting in there. Im thinking it was a fluke. Like I said that happened to me.

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[StellaStars]

Thank you for the reply.

The second newcomer died overnight.

Today I did a big water change and gravel vaccume and cleaned out the filter. Also added a bit of Stability.

Hopefully it was a bad batch. Everyone else still looks good. I'll text the water again tomorrow.

 

[Chels10117]

No problem. I hope everything works out in your tank. If another one dies it might be a bigger problem then just a bad batch of fish. You could try adding some safe start. It adds some extra BB to your tank. Or aquarium salt.

 

[StellaStars]

Thank you. I added Stability which is beneficial bacteria, and of course added Prime along with the water change.

So far the original fish all look good, but I'll keep a close eye on them.

Should I leave well enough alone or should I try adding to the school again in a week or two. I feel like they're better off in a group of 6 - ideally - but maybe just leaving the 4 as they are is better than chancing it again.

 

[Chels10117]

Sorry I forgot stability had the BB. I was thinking it was just a water conditioner for some reason. I would wait 2ish weeks just to be safe. Ask your LFS when they get their fish in. For example if they get new ones in on Tuesday wait until Thursday to buy your fish. If you buy one on the same day they get delivered they are already stressed and have a higher chance of dying. I'd still buy 2 more because like you said a group of 6 is ideal. Try to pick healthy active ones and hopefully this won't happen again.

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[thing fish]

It sounded to me like your water quality was good...I would not go overboard with the cleaning, especially cleaning the filter, and I usually do gravel vacs a portion at a time. I rarely ever do any cleaning of the filter media. That could end up causing problems as you are removing established bacteria.

I agree it was probably a bad batch of fish. Asking them when the fish arrived and waiting a few days before buying is good advice. In my brief stint at a LFS, I saw many fish die off within a day or two of being delivered. It is definitely stressful for them to be shipped.

 

[StellaStars]

My tank is heavily planted, and has rocks and driftwood, so when I do clean the gravel I only have access to 15-20% at most. I try not to disturb things too much.

And by "clean the filter" I just mean giving it a little shake off in tank water to get some of the crud off. I'm pretty gentle with it.

But yes, I guess I'll assume it was the fish for now - at least as long as the rest of the inhabitants look happy.

I really appreciate the feedback from everyone!!

 

[thing fish]

it sounds like you have a good handle on everything. i hope any new additions adjust quickly and thrive. good luck.

 

[Matt68005]

Nah your doing everything right by the book.
If fish die, they were just too weak from the pet store and journey in the first place. You should take them back and get them replaced, this is your money and their "bad product" that they need to fix for you.