Glow Light Tetra's And Neons

[Araxen]

I have one neon atm(had 5 die last week) and I saw some Glowlight Tetra's that looked really nice. Could I do 3 Glowlight's and 3 Neons? Will they school or will they hang out in their own cliques? Or am I just better off getting 5 Neon's?

 

[three-fingers]

Most people will tell you its 100% neccesary to have 6 neons and 6 glowlights. I would personally get the 4 glowlights and 3 neons, depending on the other fish in the tank getting 3 of each species should be ok. If you have a tank with not many other small fish, or boisterous fish, or the tank is in a busy place, get s6 neons. If your fish are usually relaxed and they feel safe, then 3 of each will be fine.
BTW, before you think about getting more fish, you may want to find out what killed those neons ....

 

[Rafael Dilone]

I have one neon atm(had 5 die last week) and I saw some Glowlight Tetra's that looked really nice. Could I do 3 Glowlight's and 3 Neons? Will they school or will they hang out in their own cliques? Or am I just better off getting 5 Neon's?

Well let me just say tetra have to be in a school of 6+ if you want them to be happy and healthie. Also you cant have 3 glowlights and 3 neons. You should have 6+ for each type of tetra. Even though both types of tetra might school.

 

[MasterP]

i had one neon and six glowlight's in my tank at one time and the only time the neoen would school with the glowlight would be when the fish were frightened.

 

[basia]

I have 4 glowlights and 5 neons, survivors of my original 6 of each. My tetras rarely school at all, they are in a 4 ft tank and they swim in ones and twos but neons hang out with glowlights just as much as each other, the glowlights seem to stick to each other more. I also have x-ray tetras who don't school either but join the other tetras when they feel like it. The only tetras I have which do school are the congos.
I do sometimes wonder who decides that 6 is the magic number!

 

[jonny-5]

i used to have 2 neons with 5 zebra danios,when i first started and i still have them now!!! 2 years on,just that now there is a lot more of them i upgraded tanks in novemeber last year,so i guess the 2 neons and 5 zebras were in a 10 gallon for 18 months

 

[Araxen]

Just wanted to add a little update. I decided to go with Six Harlequin Rasbora's to replace my Neon's that died. My lone neon tetra has been schooling with them about 90% of the time so he seems to be pretty happy! I didn't expect him to school with them at all but he likes them as friends.

As for why my neon's died...I made a boneheaded move when my polka dot loach got inside my whisper internal filter. When I tried to get him out I poored the water and all the junk in the filter back into my tank(something that will never happen again). My 2 Otto's and 5 of my six neons bit it as they aren't the hardiest of fish.

 

[nmonks]

That doesn't sound right to me. Even if all the solid waste in the filter is dumped back in the aquarium, it doesn't cause any chemical changes to the water. Whether it is in the aquarium or the filter, it is still in contact with the water. Solid waste is, basically, harmless, just unsightly.

What harms fish is the invisible waste, ammonium and nitrite. So I'd have a think about any other problems you might have caused. Have you done a nitrite test recently? Is the tank overheating because it is summer? Any signs of neon tetra disease? Otocinclus in particular are sensitive to poor water quality and low oxygen levels, though once settled in and feeding well, I find them to be quite hardy.

Cheers,

Neale

As for why my neon's died...I made a boneheaded move when my polka dot loach got inside my whisper internal filter. When I tried to get him out I poored the water and all the junk in the filter back into my tank(something that will never happen again). My 2 Otto's and 5 of my six neons bit it as they aren't the hardiest of fish.

 

[Chri$]

How are you liking your harlequin rasboras?

 

[Araxen]

I'm positive that's why they died. It really, really clouded the tank and there was a ton of garbage because of it. They died overnight because of it. My water tests have been fine.

I really like the Rasbora's they complement my tank well as they hang out towards the top/middle of the tank.

 

[nmonks]

Fair enough, but I can't for the life of me understand what the mechanism would be. Certainly not toxicity: the muck is in the water whether trapped in the filter or floating about, so it isn't producing more "nasties" simply because the much got out the filter. Likewise, it can't be sudden drop in oxygenation, because the much would be decaying in the filter just as if it was in the main part of the tank.

Possibly there was enough muck in the filter that the fish had their gills irritated beyond their tolerance. I'm not sure about this, because I've added sand to tanks and made them extremely silty, and never once lost a fish, including tanks with cardinal tetras and puffers. In fact, fish normally come from silty water, and some fish, like my glassfish, really seem to like it (I guess because they are more invisible!).

Whatever the cause, doesn't sound like something you'll be repeating in the near future!

Cheers,

Neale

I'm positive that's why they died. It really, really clouded the tank and there was a ton of garbage because of it. They died overnight because of it. My water tests have been fine.

 

[starrynightxxi]

perhaps they overate? my neons have never been terribly picky about their of foodstuffs.