Is It Just Me Or Does Everyone Have Trouble With...

[IlliniGuy18]

keeping god dang neon tetras alive? I swear every other day I have another one dying in there. I don't get it. I'm not putting any more in there. Does anyone have any suggestions? I think I'm going to try cardinal tetras... it's just that they are more expensive and I thought if I could get the neons to live, they would be like a "poor man's cardinal tetra"

Thanks!

 

[Chri$]

I have had the same problems with Neons in the past, but i've had similar problems with Cardinals.

My LFS doesn't even stock Neons or Cardinals anymore due to fact of them dying. He even set up a couple of tanks to meet both's exact requirments, but the majority still died.

 

[n3ont3tra]

Neons are the first fish I've ever had, and one of the hardiest fish I've ever kept. 5 of ine lasted through a whoole cycle, in which ammonia went above 6 for a day. Not one died. I think the reason many people have problems with neons is where they get them from.

 

[RadaR]

Never had problems with Neons. Havnt kept cardinals but will soon. Most cardinals come from the wild still. Neons are bred in captivity.
Not sure why you are having problems.

 

[excaliborg]

I have had great success with Neon Tetras also, and even for my first tank when I was around 14, 4 neons were present whilst the tank cycled, and went on to live 6 months or so. Currently have 5 neons in my community tank, which are around a year old and all doing fine except for one which mysteriously dissapeared a month ago.

The hardyest fish i've had so far is a Yellow Tetra. Had four of them for years and were originally kept in a really small tank with infrequent water changes.

 

[Donkster]

I've got neons in my community tank (sterbai and albino corries, synodontis petricola, otto and amano and cherry shrimps) with no problems. Though I was worried when i first saw how they rested at night - floating nearly vertical. I thought they'd all popped their clogs

 

[starrynightxxi]

i have never had a problem keeping neons and cycled with them without problems HOWEVER there are many reports of neon tetras being very delicate due to overbreeding. If your tetras are dying it may simply be a bad abtch, however you should also (if you haven't) test your water for ammonia or nitrites. Also you may want to look into something called Neon Tetra Disease. It's a pretty nasty disease.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

When i kept neon tetras, the only problems i had with them was an outbreak of whitespot a couple of years ago, and then an outbreak of ntd (neon tetra desease) a couple of years later (which happened to wipe out the majority of them). I would like to get some more at some point, but all the neon tetra's i have seen so far in my lfs's recently have been sick or deseased so i have avoided getting any so far.

I think the problems with neon tetra's though mostly lie with;
a. Many are inbred from being mass produced in fish farms where there is little or no control over issues like inbreeding, and as a result many tend to be quite weak and fragile. There were neever amazingly hardy fish to begin with or anything like that, so inbreeding has taken a large toll on things like their imune systems, life expectancys and general hardyness etc.
b. They are small shoaling fish which all look the same, and have quite dazzling colouration- the problem with this is that it can be very difficult to spot a single slightly ill neon amoungst a whole shoal of 24 healthy and identical ones. Thus when people notice things like whitespot or finrot in neons, its often only when a whole heap of them have got it.
c. Too many people put them in cycling or newly set up tanks where the water quality conditions are unstable and stressful for the fish. Neon tetras do not make good beginner fish nor good new tank set up fish either. New tank+Newbie owner+neon tetras= disaster all too often.

 

[summerdragon]

I was leery of neons at 1st, as I was told they are prone to being short lived and illness.... In my experience however (I have 10 had them 4+ months) they are thieving and seem as hardy as all my other tetras....and I happily didn't loose any when I had to treat my tank for ick last month (was worried about that)..But I have a heavily planted tank and have noticed that my friends with planted tanks seem to have far more success with neons..... An other thing I've noticed is neons don't seem as happy in overly bright tanks, without cover/shelter, they tend to hide and waste away... I love my neons and wish you all lots of luck at keeping them happy/alive....

 

[NEONCORY]

This maybe a common sense but...
1) try to get the healthy fish(no dead body in the tank, not too skinny, no fish in the tank have icky white spot, etc.)
2) try to get from the reputable store with knowledgeable stuff( sometime big chain fish store may not be good)
3) ask questions before you get(TIME like how long they are in store so you know when they were in the stressful shipping, and probably better at least week after that. so they had some time to recover.) (the LOCATION of origin. I don't hear much good thing about Asian origin, now florida is getting iffy. So I prefer to buy Neons which were bred and raised by other hobbiest if you can find. If you are living in big city, check the local aquarium society.) (parameter of WATER they were kept, temperature, ph, gh etc,. Try to much as much as possible or acclimate slowly but no sudden change please) (GURANTEE some store offer the gurantee for the fish purchase so ask how long and what)
4) try to get the younger fish so you have more control of their health. You can grow them healthy stronger fish.

I think all the things I mentioned above is good to remember when you are getting new fish not only the Neon tetra but all the fish.
And I didn't have any problem with my Neons. I bought from small local store. They were about 1/2". Not long after they colored neon. And I grew them. I believe they were from Oregon which maybe originally from Florida. Anyway, after few months they are now adult size. I'm about to set the breeding tank. And when I get the extra frys, I will offer to my local aquarium society. Of course, I will keep as many as I can keep since they are my favorite fish.
And younger fish(small) are usually cheaper also. And you have longer time to enjoy also.
Anyway, I hope you al enjoy the Neon that they are pretty little peaceful fish which is hardy once they settle down. And I think also that they prefer heavyly planted tank with some open swimming tank. Place the opening space in front so you can see them often.

 

[connorsbala]

I had the same problem when i had my first lil tank.I think it didnt help by the LFS saying its okay to add as many fish as you want,all in one go(which i now never advise!) I added approx 8 fish to a newly setup tank. I had 5 neons in there,one kept himself to hisself for some reason! Anywya i had a rainbow shark in there and he had a nip at all there tails! SO i took him back.
I suppose that didint do them any justice,so 4 died and one survived,still to this day!
I would suggest testing your ammonia,those little dudes will suffer if it rockets up,so ive been told!

 

[daspricey]

the bottom line is although they are very popular...

neons and cardinals are NOT hardy.