New Fish Owner Fish Dying :(

[Lauren22487]

*I have a 20Gal Top Fin Aquarium Kit...It has led lights, came with heater, tropical flakes, net, etc
*We bought black gravel
*We replaced the filter with a Marineland Penguin Power Filter 200gph
*Marina Floating Thermometer with Suction Cup
*Bought 3 Zebra Danios 3 Glo Purple Danios 4 ghost shrimp 14 neon tetras and a friend gave us 1 Siamese Algae Eater
*We have several live plants I have no idea what they are but one we bought is a Moneywort
**My friend Amanda has several tanks and has been caring for fish for years. She gave us her bio wheel and said by doing that the bacteria would be ready and we could instantly add fish.
**We purchased our tank 1-22-13 brought it home rinsed the rocks and plants filled the tank and let it run. I added 2 droppers to the 1.25ml line of prime. Amanda said to add food once a day to go ahead and get bacteria starting. We were using the filter that came with the tank kit until thursday when the Penguin arrived and we switched them. I added food twice and on the third day noticed the water was cloudy and she said dont add anymore. Today 1-27-13 she came over about 3pm and added her bio wheel and her algae eater. We went to the pet store and purchased the fish came home about 7pm. We emptied the tank except for a few inched of water and added new primed water about 3 5gal buckets worth each containing prime. Next we added her live plants from her tank and a few fake ones. She then opened the fish poured the "nasty store water almost completely out and poured the fish into the tank. Next she did the same with the neons and the ghost shrimp. We added a little food and everyone started eating. Within a few minutes one neon died but he wasnt acting right from the beginning. We scooped him out and put him in the freezer. Not long after she left about 930pm we noticed another dead neon. Scooped him and put in freezer. About 130am I woke up and checked on them and the neons were pale and there were 2 more dead in the tank. i left the light on and checked again about 30min later and they seem to have color again. I am a first time fish owner (minus a betta at 16yrs)

[Lauren22487]

I forgot to add I do not have a water testing kit i was told it wasnt really necessary. What would be a good kit to buy?

[molliwopp]

A testing kit is the most nessesary piece of equipment you need especially with a new tank!

Neon tetra are notoriously inbred, weak and will die quite easily, it could be a bad batch which is common these days.
Moving to a new tank with possibly a different type water can be stressful and even deadly. This is one of the reasons you need a test kit. You want to see how your water differs from the shop you bought them from. When the fish settle and become comfortable their colour will come back.

Adding all those fish at once could cause ammonia spikes, another reason why you need a test kit... The filter that she gave you was obviously used(which is good) but what wasbit used for? If she only had afew fish in the tank it was in then it wont be able to handle the bioload of 20+ fish and ammonia will spike.

[molliwopp]

API master liquid testing kit. Its accurate and a tried and test brand.

Rather cheap too.

[Lauren22487]

The bio wheel was used in a 55 gal with several fish several species and allso live plants

[Lauren22487]

What are some fish that won't die so easily? I really wanted neons and glo danios but if the neons will keep dying id rather not get them it makes me sad to see them die... or to think they are suffering

[molliwopp]

Well it depends what you want? You might of just been unlucky with the neons. But most other tetra are easy to keep if your tanks cycled properly.

Pristella.
Lemon.
Silver tip.
Rosy - when settled their colour is just fab and these are one of my fav.
Rummy nose. Another fav.
Phantom.
Penguin.
Ember.

To name afew, theres loads.

[Wiggles24]

Red eyes are very hardy

[Wiggles24]

Haven't had luck with neons either

[Lauren22487]

So far only 4 of 14 neons have died.. fingers crossed that's all I lost... I only paid for 12 of them.. the put in extra

[molliwopp]

Originally Posted by Lauren22487

So far only 4 of 14 neons have died.. fingers crossed that's all I lost... I only paid for 12 of them.. the put in extra

Im glad there are no more casulties. Keep us posted.

[Hholly]

You should look up fish acclimation on YouTube. When you add new fish you need to slowly acclimate them to your water. In a new tank you should never add several fish at once. Gradual stocking is the way to go. Even though you got the used biowheel, you still don't have a mature tank that can handle so many fish. Ditto on the API master test kit. Good luck!

[Crawdaddy]

Watch that Chinese algae eater. They can be aggressive, especially when they get older.

[Lauren22487]

Thanks... I'm only borrowing him for a short time then my friend will put him back in her tank

[Lauren22487]

Originally Posted by molliwopp

Im glad there are no more casulties. Keep us posted.

So I turned off the lights a few min ago and I looked in the tank with a blue lighted twilight turtle toy (puts stars on my sons ceiling) anyway I can see all the tetra are low to the rocks now barely moving... do fish sleep? They don't look dead they are just belly on the rocks type floating... This is how they were when I woke up and saw them colorless this morning... then after having the lights on a few mins color came back... just wanna make sure its normal.. when I wake up and turn the lughts on again I will try to remember to take a pic to show what they are doing... I'm going to bed so i'll post back when I wake up

[Hholly]

Yes they sleep and fade out during it.

[Lauren22487]

How long do they sleep... how long should the tank lights be on and off? When the tank is off my sons room light is still on til we go to bed at various times (tonight early but usually later) And how often should I feed them? One big meal or several small meals?

[Hholly]

A few small meals would probably be better than one large. You want to only feed what they will consume in 3 minutes, with no leftovers. Leftovers end up polluting the tank. They should probably have at least 12 hours with the lights out, or more if you have ant algae issues. Too much light leads to algea.

[DjBootleg]

Originally Posted by Crawdaddy

Watch that Chinese algae eater. They can be aggressive, especially when they get older.

+1 lmao mine harasses my bigger body fish (platys, pleco etc.) they get so annoyed with him.

[DjBootleg]

Lol "do fish sleep" not so much. They just kind of stay in one spot. And like just chill. They actually "close their eyes". Like when we just lay down and watch some tv. Your resting you know.

Neons. Idk why ppl have problems with neons. I have mine (5) for months. 100% health. Anyway FYI they do better in ODD numbers. (I.e.) 5,7,9,11 etc.

And the light keep on for no more than 8-10 hours. Algae does grow of you leave on longer (I love the algae personally) but not only that but your fish and plants need resting time as well..

Good luck.