4 MISSING NEON TETRAS - WHERE ARE THEY?

[MatthewShaw]

HELLO,
I'M INTO THE 12TH WEEK OF A NEW TANK. I STARTED WITH 10 NEON TETRAS AND FIVE RED EYE TETRAS TO GET THE CYCLE GOING. AFTER WEEK 6 I ONLY HAVE 6 NEON TETRAS. I HAVE SCOURED THE TANK AND FILTER FROM TOP TO BOTTOM BUT CAN FIND NO SIGN OF ANY DEAD FISH, - COULD THEY HAVE BEEN EATEN BY THE RED-EYES? THE RED EYES ARE ABOUT 1" IN LENGTH AND DON'T LOOK BIG ENOUGH TO HAVE EATEN THEM. THE SIX REMAINING FISH SEEM HAPPY ENOUGH AND I HAVE NO NOTICED ANYTHING OUT OF THE ORDINARY. THE TANK IS COVERED SO COULD NOT HAVE JUMPED OUT. SUGGESTIONS COMMENTS PLEASE....

ALSO, WHEN I COME TO ADD SOME MORE FISH (IN ABOUT 4 WEEKS) WHAT DO YOU RECOMMEND? I HAVE A 12"X12"X36" TANK. SOMETHING EASY TO KEEP AND COLOURFUL.
I LIKE ANGELS BUT WOULD HAVE TO GET RID OF THEM IN MY SHALLOW TANK BEFORE THEY GET TOO BIG.

 

[cometcattle]

Could they have been sucked into the filter?

 

[MatthewShaw]

have checked the filter and couldn't find them!

 

[cometcattle]

Dead neons are often hard to find if your tank is well planted. And they lose their colors when they die.

I wouldn't use neons as cycle fish, they're not very hardy and can be quite sensitve to water conditions.

What are your tank parameters?

 

[BigSteve]

♂ Neons are a terrible choice for cycling a tank. Over what period of time did
you lose the neons? It is possible that the redeyes (especially at night)
could have munched away on dead neons, but the redeyes did not kill them.
That would more likely be the water conditions.
♂

 

[MatthewShaw]

This is the only thing I think could have happened.
If Tetra's are not good cycling fish, what would you recommend?

 

[kent]

i used goldfish and it worked!

 

[BigSteve]

♂ Matt, if you like tetras (like I do) some good ones for cycling
are bloodfins, head and tail light (sometimes called beacon),
diamond, bleeding heart, black (also called black skirt), and your
redeyes are a good choice. I think glowlights can handle it too.
And you really should have a catfish or two, and cory cats are
hardy enough for cycling in my experience.

 

[Aqua_Princess64]

Another good cycling fish is a little school of danios. They're pretty hardy. Mine have lived through everything: being squished with the net, jumping, moving. They would be a good choice. Just go out to your pet store and get a couple of zebra or leopard danios. HTH!

~Aqua~