My neon tetras keep dying and i dont know why

[IJC]

So recently I upgraded my fish tank from a 10 Gal. to a 29 Gal and transferred the fish I had (3 guppies, 4 Neons, and 2 Corydoras). they had just recently gotten big so i knew it was time to transfer, after putting everything in and acclimating my neon tetras all died, but the guppies and corys lived without an issue. I then went out to the store after waiting some time and letting chemicals/bacteria to do its work and got 10 more neon's. Now two have died within a couple hours, one has swim bladder infection (seems to have had it before) and another is gasping at the top. All my other fish are great and I've measured all tank levels which are within the parameters the fishes needs. What is happening with my tank, or am i doing something incorrectly?

 

[kiko]

what are water parameters?
chemicals?
test kit? yes/no?
did you cycle the 29gal when you upgraded?

 

[IJC]

what are water parameters?
chemicals?
test kit? yes/no?
did you cycle the 29gal when you upgraded?

parameters as in ph levels, temp, etc
Yes i used a test kit and i did cycle the 29 i had also put old substrate and filter to help with the cycling.

Although it seem that it might’ve been my bubbler that was the problem as no more have died since.

Also by chemicals i meant stress coat, ammonia remover etc.

 

[kiko]

I meant those as questions...what are the water parameters and what do you use in the tank chemical wise...
how often you change the water and how much...
neons are sensitive to big water changes and they also tend to like softer water
with guppies and cories being on the harder side...
to keep these together you'd have to balance your ph at neutral (7) not to stress either fish
since both cories and guppies did fine I would assume you have harder water so the neons didn't fare so well and died
but water stats would be nice to confirm this..
you can use soften your water with indian almond leaves...drift wood and (cholla wood if you have shrimps)...
you can also premix RO/distilled water and remineralize it for the hardness/ph you want

 

[IJC]

I meant those as questions...what are the water parameters and what do you use in the tank chemical wise...
how often you change the water and how much...
neons are sensitive to big water changes and they also tend to like softer water
with guppies and cories being on the harder side...
to keep these together you'd have to balance your ph at neutral (7) not to stress either fish
since both cories and guppies did fine I would assume you have harder water so the neons didn't fare so well and died
but water stats would be nice to confirm this..
you can use soften your water with indian almond leaves...drift wood and (cholla wood if you have shrimps)...
you can also premix RO/distilled water and remineralize it for the hardness/ph you want

Api Stress Coat, Ammo Lock, and Stress Zyme.
Also i can see the hardness being the issue but i don’t currently have any extra tests on me to confirm. I appreciate the help and will get some more tests with some driftwood soon!

 

[IJC]

Api Stress Coat, Ammo Lock, and Stress Zyme.
Also i can see the hardness being the issue but i don’t currently have any extra tests on me to confirm. I appreciate the help and will get some more tests with some driftwood soon!

Also i change about 50% water every 2-3 weeks

 

[Fishmanic]

I have tried keeping neon tetras but over time they all died. I attribute it to my GH of 175 and PH of 7.6. I have one surviving neon survivor that is doing great..he has lived through ick, a broken thermometer, hard water, and a tank change. My guess is your water is too hard to keep neons successfully.
Get your water hardness level from your water suppier's site and report it here. Also, is your tank cycled?

Also add some oak leaves or India Almond leaves to help decrease PH.

I recommend 50% water changes every week.

________________________________
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[IJC]

I have tried keeping neon tetras but over time they all died. I attribute it to my GH of 175 and PH of 7.6. I have one surviving neon survivor that is doing great..he has lived through ick, a broken thermometer, hard water, and a tank change. My guess is your water is too hard to keep neons successfully.
Get your water hardness level from your water suppier's site and report it here. Also, is your tank cycled?

Also add some oak leaves or India Almond leaves to help decrease PH.

I recommend 50% water changes every week.

________________________________
please vote in our Tank of the Year Tournament

Says 140 and abt 8.2 per gallon. Sorry if i sound unknowing i’m relatively new to this hobby and i’m only now starting to truly begin to take it more seriously

 

[jaylach]

I've never kept neons since I was like 13-14 years old (54-55 years ago). Nothing against neons, I just could not keep them alive. At that time I knew pretty much nothing about aquariums so it was probably my own fault.

I suggest that you quit using Stress Coat as it has aloe which will build up in the gills shortening the life span of your fish. As for myself I use Prime. You want a product that just removes chlorine and chloramines and does nothing else. I used to swear by Stress Coat because of the free aloe. It was not until I joined these forums that I learned about the gill issue.

 

[IJC]

I have tried keeping neon tetras but over time they all died. I attribute it to my GH of 175 and PH of 7.6. I have one surviving neon survivor that is doing great..he has lived through ick, a broken thermometer, hard water, and a tank change. My guess is your water is too hard to keep neons successfully.
Get your water hardness level from your water suppier's site and report it here. Also, is your tank cycled?

Also add some oak leaves or India Almond leaves to help decrease PH.

I recommend 50% water changes every week.

________________________________
please vote in our Tank of the Year Tournament

I've never kept neons since I was like 13-14 years old (54-55 years ago). Nothing against neons, I just could not keep them alive. At that time I knew pretty much nothing about aquariums so it was probably my own fault.

I suggest that you quit using Stress Coat as it has aloe which will build up in the gills shortening the life span of your fish. As for myself I use Prime. You want a product that just removes chlorine and chloramines and does nothing else. I used to swear by Stress Coat because of the free aloe. It was not until I joined these forums that I learned about the gill issue.

okay thank you for the advice!

 

[kiko]

Also i change about 50% water every 2-3 weeks

try changing 20% every week instead of 50% every 2...you will stress the fish less
and unless you have a controller or something to keep your water the way you want..
you should look for fish that will do fine in the water you have
because that will just be a cat and mouse game...
many people that don't have controllers have RO systems
and literally do percentage based water changes...
let's say 40% RO water...60% tap to achieve that balance they look for
I have different species in my tank including neons but my ph for eg is fixed at 7.05...if it goes up..ph controller brings it back down
but these things can cost some money and is not for everyone
also in the future...don't go adding chemicals because the store guy said so
they're there to make money...the more fish you kill..more money the store makes xD
you're fine with just dechlorinating the water...some root tabs in the substrate for plants and 20% water changes weekly

 

[IJC]

try changing 20% every week instead of 50% every 2...you will stress the fish less
and unless you have a controller or something to keep your water the way you want..
you should look for fish that will do fine in the water you have
because that will just be a cat and mouse game...
many people that don't have controllers have RO systems
and literally do percentage based water changes...
let's say 40% RO water...60% tap to achieve that balance they look for
I have different species in my tank including neons but my ph for eg is fixed at 7.05...if it goes up..ph controller brings it back down
but these things can cost some money and is not for everyone
also in the future...don't go adding chemicals because the store guy said so
they're there to make money...the more fish you kill..more money the store makes xD
you're fine with just dechlorinating the water...some root tabs in the substrate for plants and 20% water changes weekly

ahhh okay thank you!

 

[Hammerpgh]

I have been having a similar problem to this in that I had six Neon Tetra’s for just over a week but Sunday morning I woke to find three of them dead. Not sure how long they had been dead but they were alive at 4am when I went to bed and floating at the top of the tank when I checked at 9:30am. Nitrate levels were high which I assume is as a result of the dead Tetra’s so I did a water change to reduce it but later that night another died.

The other two which ironically are the smaller ones have survived up to now and aren’t exhibiting any struggles but then neither had the others.

Having read above about their susceptibility to hard water I have checked my water supplier web site and the harness is as follows

Degrees German (DH):

15.4

From what I have read Neon Tetra’s need it at between 2-10.

The other reading is at 280ppm which is pretty hard by the looks of it.

Is this the likely cause of my problem?

 

[kiko]

I have been having a similar problem to this in that I had six Neon Tetra’s for just over a week but Sunday morning I woke to find three of them dead. Not sure how long they had been dead but they were alive at 4am when I went to bed and floating at the top of the tank when I checked at 9:30am. Nitrate levels were high which I assume is as a result of the dead Tetra’s so I did a water change to reduce it but later that night another died.

The other two which ironically are the smaller ones have survived up to now and aren’t exhibiting any struggles but then neither had the others.

Having read above about their susceptibility to hard water I have checked my water supplier web site and the harness is as follows

Degrees German (DH):

15.4

From what I have read Neon Tetra’s need it at between 2-10.

The other reading is at 280ppm which is pretty hard by the looks of it.

Is this the likely cause of my problem?

many "soft" water fish require a lower ph not necessarily softer water...we do softer water because it's cheaper...
england is notorious for having hard water or so everyone complains about the same and with harder water comes a higher ph
you can either get a ph/tds controller or an RO system to mix in with your tap water to soften it
whichever one you decide to get will increase your survival rate for sure
but at 15.4 I'm sure you're getting build up in your pipes...in your hair..skin etc...
I would look into getting a magnetic water softener for your actual pipes
---> https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01FXUB8H0/?tag=

 

[Hammerpgh]

Many thanks for the swift response. I did actually a product to reduce the ph level and it’s lowered it some but maybe I need to look at this as well.