Dead Tetra

[acula]

Dead tetra, apart from sounding like a death metal band.....

i woke up today to find one of my new tetras dead.

i have a water test kit and everything appears to be fine

all i can think is that he got caught up in one of my plants..... is this a common problem with these lil guys?

the other guys look ok, theyre active n all.. no backstroke

 

[stang1]

If you could fill out the following, it may help people determine how your Neon Tetra died.

Tank size:
pH:
ammonia:
nitrite:
nitrate:
kH:
gH:
tank temp:

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):

Volume and Frequency of water changes:

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:

Tank inhabitants:

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):

Exposure to chemicals:

Digital photo (include if possible):

 

[acula]

Tank size: 28l (5 gallon ish i think)
pH: 6.5 - 7
ammonia: higher than it should be i think but my other ones seem fine
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
kH: 80
gH: 150
tank temp: 28 or 80

these reading are from using API 5 in 1 test strips

i didnt see any symptoms due to it dying during the night

Im pretty sure now from advise in another thread (thx ms wiggle) that it died from ammonia poisoning due to my tank being in early stages. the only thing that makes me think different is that the other guys are fine. I will however update this if another one shows any signs. fingers grossed i wont have to

 

[fshchk]

What is the hardness of the water there? In San Diego we can't keep tetras haelthy without using RO water, because our hardness is about 800ppm. Tetras do like soft water. . .

 

[Lateral Line]

Blackwater species are very sensitive to Nitrogen pollution. It is why you often see advice along the lines of "don't add Neons to a tank until it has be estblished for 3 months" or similar. Newly established tanks can often throw small nitrite and ammonia spikes which are tolerated very badly by these fish. With ammonia in the tank, your cycle is not complete, and in a tank that small, (to small for tetras really), may swing about between tests.