Massive Loss Of Neon Tetras

[Thechad]

hi guys , my first post
iam a newbie to aquariums but have done a little research before i started , im pretty sure my neons are completely riddled with neon tetra disease but any help would be awesome

Request Help

Tank size:185 lts
pH:7.6
ammonia:1.0 ppm
nitrite:0.0
nitrate:0.0
kH:?
gH:?
tank temp:26 deg c

Fish Symptoms (include full description including lesion, color, location, fish behavior):neon tetra disease, seperating themself from the school, whitening in colour, lumps , fin rot and mass death (lost 35 in 2 weeks)

Volume and Frequency of water changes:approx 1.5 -2 weeks (just carried out a 30% change)

Chemical Additives or Media in your tank:? (sorry im a newbie)

Tank inhabitants:now- 10 neon tetras, 6 rummy nose tetras, 3 small clown loaches

Recent additions to your tank (living or decoration):new planted setup including large peice of drift wood

Exposure to chemicals: only flourish plant fertilizers

Digital photo (include if possible):


soon as i see symtoms i remove them into a quarantine tank then within hours ,at most over night they die.

cheers
chad

 

[ZoddyZod]

you have a 1.0ppm reading of ammonia.....that is most likely the reason your fish died. ANY ammonia is toxic to fish.

Have a good read of the beignners section, particularly the threads regarding 'cycling' and then post back here with any further questions you have.

 

[Thechad]

ok, but why only the neons , the rummy noses and loaches are very healthy and happy?

the owner of my LFS said that the ammonia level was ok , not to much of a drama!, i know 0 would be better but because its a new aquarium it hasnt quiet got there yet.

 

[ZoddyZod]

1 is NOT ok at all I'm afraid, so you haven't been given great advice there.

Neons are fairly fragile fish and they are actually not recommended for new tanks because of this. It MAY be neone disease, but I am much more inclined to think that the ammonia has finished them off and that the other fish have been able to survive the poisoning.

now that you have 1.0ppm ammonia you will want to do LARGE water changes to bring that level to 0.

Also, what size tank is it?

Did you read the 'cycling' threads in the beginners section? You are now in a 'fish-in' cycle, so you really need to understand the subject so that you can prevent any more harm or deaths to the remaining fish.

 

[willowstwin]

0.5ppm of ammonia is toxic, so do the math and slap your lfs.

neons are very fragile and bad for new tanks. I have had experience with rummys in bad tanks (Ive rescued some) and know they can be quite hardy, but just because they havent died doesn't mean they aren't suffering, and you're causing damage that will last long term and severly shorten their life span.

May I ask what size tank you have? Dimensions and capacity please.

Adding that amount of fish to a new uncycled tank is extremely bad. You can do a fish in cycle, but it takes a few fish at a time and a LOT of hard work water changing, not once a fortnight!

People here may sound harsh, but we're more angry at your lfs than you for giving you really bad advice. So please listen, we're really trying to help.

BIG water change, use a dechlorinator, NOW.

 

[balajake]

90% water change will get your ammonia down to 0.10ppm ? which is still not ideal. do like others said BIG water change straight away, don't wait. dechlorinate your new water before you put it in and give your filter pads a quick swish in the old tank water as they may be dirty.

 

[Thechad]

the tank is a aqua one aquastyle 850 ( 185lts ), i have done water changes very day for the last 3 days , and only did one 3-4hrs ago .
so doing water changes how long do you wait inbetween changes 6hrs ,12hrs ,24hrs???

ive been changing 30% of the water and using instructed amounts of Prime , do i keep doing this until ammonia levels are 0?

and yes i just read the cycling thread , but it says on there (very recent post ) that the beginners cycling thread tells you the wrong thing!

 

[the_lock_man]

ok, but why only the neons , the rummy noses and loaches are very healthy and happy?

the owner of my LFS said that the ammonia level was ok , not to much of a drama!, i know 0 would be better but because its a new aquarium it hasnt quiet got there yet.

I agree with Zoddy, 1ppm ammonia is very bad news indeed. Have a click on the link in my signature area, hopefully this will help you save the other fish.

 

[Iiriva]

Too much ammonia, do a a big water change. Also, you pH is way too high to any of your fish. And, the most important thing for me is, that if your tank really is only 185 liters, you should give your clown loaches away! they need at least 500 liters of water and 200 cm tank. Yep, they might be small now, but they grow to be big, and if kept in a tank too small, they will become dwarfs and suffer and won't live as long as they could (up to 15-20 years!) Probably you didn't know that, in my opinion, people should never trust pet shop keepers, because it's only money they want...

You should also do something about your pH, or give your fish away, and take only fish that feel home in such pH and tank size.

 

[Thechad]

90% water change will get your ammonia down to 0.10ppm ? which is still not ideal. do like others said BIG water change straight away, don't wait. dechlorinate your new water before you put it in and give your filter pads a quick swish in the old tank water as they may be dirty.

90% do i leave the fish in,or have to scope all the little beggers out?

 

[balajake]

the tank is a aqua one aquastyle 850 ( 185lts ), i have done water changes very day for the last 3 days , and only did one 3-4hrs ago .
so doing water changes how long do you wait inbetween changes 6hrs ,12hrs ,24hrs???

ive been changing 30% of the water and using instructed amounts of Prime , do i keep doing this until ammonia levels are 0?

and yes i just read the cycling thread , but it says on there (very recent post ) that the beginners cycling thread tells you the wrong thing!

30% is not enough even if your doing it every day. your fish will keep weeing and pooing in that time adding more toxins to your tank. everytime you feed them you add even more. Do a 90% water change straight away


you dont have to take the fish out, just leave enough water in the tank that they can swim upright. after the 90% you will probably have to do another 50%

 

[ZoddyZod]

leave enough water so that the fish can swim.

be sure to temperature match the water to the tank water - use your hand to see if they are similar, it doesn't have to be spot on but you dont want a big difference as that will shock the fish.

after a 90% change you will still have ammonia present, so wait a couple of hours then do another large one.

I assume you have decholorinator to treat the water?

 

[the_lock_man]

the tank is a aqua one aquastyle 850 ( 185lts ), i have done water changes very day for the last 3 days , and only did one 3-4hrs ago .
so doing water changes how long do you wait inbetween changes 6hrs ,12hrs ,24hrs???

ive been changing 30% of the water and using instructed amounts of Prime , do i keep doing this until ammonia levels are 0?

and yes i just read the cycling thread , but it says on there (very recent post ) that the beginners cycling thread tells you the wrong thing!

If you have 1ppm ammonia, and do a 30% change, you are left with 0.7ppm. Do the same again, and you are left with 0.49ppm. Do another, and you are left with 0.34. On the other hand, if you have 1ppm ammonia and do a 90% water change, you are left with 0.1ppm. That is the same number of bucketfuls, but one is more effective than the other.

In practical terms, you need to set yourself a ceiling of 0.25ppm ammonia and nitrite. Whilst any ammonia and nitrite is damaging to fish, 0.25ppm is the recommended maximum. You need to test daily, and if you see anything over 0.25ppm, you need to do the maths to tell you how much to change.

 

[ZoddyZod]

You should also do something about your pH, or give your fish away, and take only fish that feel home in such pH and tank size.

there is nothing wrong with a 7.6ph and the fish he has. Although the tetras would be found in more acidic water in the wild, these are mainly farmed species now and will happily live in more alkaline conditions.

 

[Thechad]

Too much ammonia, do a a big water change. Also, you pH is way too high to any of your fish. And, the most important thing for me is, that if your tank really is only 185 liters, you should give your clown loaches away! they need at least 500 liters of water and 200 cm tank. Yep, they might be small now, but they grow to be big, and if kept in a tank too small, they will become dwarfs and suffer and won't live as long as they could (up to 15-20 years!) Probably you didn't know that, in my opinion, people should never trust pet shop keepers, because it's only money they want...

You should also do something about your pH, or give your fish away, and take only fish that feel home in such pH and tank size.

ph is to high?, isnt it only 2 points higher than neutral? (alot of other web site say that is perfect level, dont shoot the messanger)

yes i do know the loaches will grow to big for my tank and that was the plan when they get to big ill give them away!

and yeh it wasnt a "pet shop" it was a purpose aquarium shop , just tropical and marine fish