Dead neon panic

[the_elvish_misfit]

Everything's been going great for a few weeks now. The water conditions in my 10g are perfect (I check every other day for temp, ammonia, pH, nitrates, etc) I even do partial water changes with only store bought spring water.

All my fish are shiny and active, I count them twice a day cause I'm that worried lol. And then today I found one of my neons wedged under one of my plastic plants against the gravel. He was alive at 11am this morning (I count them when I take my boyfriend to class) and now it's almost 8pm (I count them before I go to work) and he was dead.

Now I'm completely freaking out that somethings wrong with the tank and it's going to kill off my other fish like before. I understand that he may have been just a bad neon, but he was completely fine 9 hours ago. He's not even that old my lfs owner bred him like 2 months ago.

All the water tests came back normal... I don't have time to change the water now, or any spring water to change it with (only around a half gallon).

Is it a bad idea to go to work without doing anything with the tank? I'm quite attached to my fish and I don't want to be negligent.

 

[SWerner13]

Neon's can be finicky fellows. If there is no signs of anything wrong that you can see than I would just keep an eye on things.

My other question would be, how big are your angels? One angel is too much fish for your 10g tank. If you have 2 males then you are in for even bigger trouble. Also, every cichlid is different, but your angels could very well be stressing your neons. If you want all of your fish to do well you will need an upgrade or have to get rid of both of your angels. They need a lot of space full grown.

 

[the_elvish_misfit]

Ah alright.

My angels bodies are about the size of an American nickel. I know how big they can get but for now their tiny. As a matter of fact it's just the opposite, everything else in the tank scares the angels away and the mollies chase them. (maybe thats why angels are so aggressive lol they get picked on when young!) I watch them often, they don't even notice the neons, they stay to the upper left near the heater and the neons stay to the lower right under the plants. I plan on getting a much larger tank (50g) in a few months anyway... I just wanted to start off with a 10g to make sure I wasn't completely fish retarded. My dad used to keep angels and he freaked when he saw I got some (he said he used to have to net them and shake them for tearing up the other fish). But after seeing mine he asked if I was sure they were real angels and not some mutated silver dollars with huge fins. I could even take a video if anyone wanted proof as to how docile they are. I have pics in my user page gallery thing as to their size.

 

[SWerner13]

I believe you, wanted to make sure you knew. And I don't think the "net and shake" technique would be recommended on this site lol. Like I mentioned above, I have had neon's drop off for no apparent reason so I would just monitor everything. And get a bigger tank as soon as possible of course will increase your stocking limits and will make things easier for you.

 

[krap101]

Without knowing what is wrong, you can't do anything, and it might even be reckless to try to. As stated before, neons can be very finicky, and can die at random times. (mainly right after shipment) I'd say just continue as normal, but if another neon dies, you should start getting worried.

 

[richiestang_78]

Yeah agreed, Neons have a tendency to just die for no cause. I have tried with them a few times over the years and never had any luck. Have kept much harder fish with no probs but Neons just want to die in your tank.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

I LOVE neons but man... they just keep dying on me as well. I try not to get to attached to them... i have had 7 die on me in the last 3 months and yet every other fish in my tank is perfectly healthy (to small to eat the neons I thought of that, and all fins were fine) I think they just are not hardy at all which is to bad because they are by FAR one of the most beautiful fish I think

 

[darkmule27]

You said he was wedged under a plant? He may have gotten stuck there. I had an oto die recently because he got himself stuck under a rock
Other than that, neons tend to be less hardy. Of the two fish we've lost in our 20G, one was a neon. Alive one day, half eaten the next. He seemed to have suffered a similar fate as the oto based on what my mom said (wedged under an ornament...the ghost shrimp probably did the eating since they live in said ornament).

 

[kamo87]

I think the only reason for your loss is that your tank is overstocked. 10g tank is enough for 5 neons but if you have nothing else in it. So I suggest to either buy a bigger tank or donate half of your fish to your lfs because I believe otherwise your fish will become more stressed and eventually infected.