Neon Tetras Hiding / Not Eating

[Snake42490]

hey guys i am a new member here which i will be posting on the newbie side soon haha anyway. 3 weeks ago i moved my aquarium to my new room. move went well. but after a week my african cichlids died of ich. heater went out plus they were still stressed from move. after that i let my tank run for two weeks at 92 degrees with 7 cups of salt in my 55 gallon aquarium to make sure all ich was gone. last night i added 6 neon tetras. they looked pretty stressed from when i got them. the pet store had the water at 65. i literally have no idea how they were alive. i got them in and sure enough this morning they had there bright colors but they seem to be hiding a lot. i also see one or two that seem to be secluded from the school. is this normal. should i just see if time helps out? water is in balance. tank has been going for year and a half. saved all the water when moved the tank. the tetras are all alone as of right now. i tried feeding them wardley total color flakes. they would only eat if i droped the flake on there head. im hoping all this will go away over time. also my water is fine. ive never had any water problems. i do water changes every two - three weeks. only 25 - 30 percent water change.

Tank = 55 Gallon

Temp. 81

Description = well planted with lots of rocks

Filter = Aquael uni max pro 250 with uv unit.

 

[AndreaC]

Hi. Can I ask if you did a part water change after adding salt and before adding fish?? The salt levels could be pretty high for them, also a good idea to do a water change after treating a tank for ich and before adding new fish.

I did this, I lost a tank of comets and a common plec to ich, did same as you, raised the temp real high, added salt and also ich treatment, left it to stand empty like that for a week, then did a 50% water change and added another dose of ich treatment (no more salt) Left it a further 3 days and started adding tropical fish, I sarted with 2 mollies.

Maybe they need settling in, Neons are known to be hard to settle in and very sensitive, and with yours being bought in a bad way may need a little more time. Try offering daphinia, my neons go crazy of that lol.

I had 10 noeon and ive only lost one, that and a cory but they were killed by a rampant mollie. Now have 9 and they have settled in well, infact better than I imagined, I was worried about them as ppl say you lose alot in the 1st few days, well Ive had mine about 2 weeks now. Great to see them playing aswell.

Good luck with them.

Sorry ETA- Reduce the temp a bit, thats a little high for neons. My temp is set at 78.

 

[Snake42490]

im working the temp down slowly. its now at 79. all the fish are still living but still hiding. there is one that just likes to hang at the top. they all seem healthy. the colors are very bright.. i did a two series water change for two days. first i did a 25 added water without salt. then next day did a 50 percent water change. salt levels should be fine.

 

[AndreaC]

Hmmm all sounds fine. Just give them more time to settle.

When I wake in the morning and look in the tank I never see 1 neon Then slowly 1 by 1 they emerge slowly and shly lol. I try to watch where they come out from but never seem to see. Infact this morning I thought 1 was dead, it was floating against driftwood slightly on its side, looked lifel less. I got net and as I opened the hood the fish jolted into right position, looked dazed and swam off. He was in a deep sleep and I startled him awake lol. All on his tod he was at that wood, still cant suss where others hide and sleep at night. Only time mine come right to glass front is when I sytick my face right up to glass to look in, they seem to like that as do the Rams lol.

cant think of anything else to suggest, sorry.

 

[Snake42490]

im a little worried about the one loner fish. he has been at the top right of the aquarium and hasnt moved. i open the lid and he just stays there. any ideas? the other fish are at least staying by eachother at the bottom of the tank. he hasnt grouped up with them yet? any ideas?

 

[WILDER]

Have they lost the red stripe like it bleached out.
Any black linning around the tail, or lumps on the tummy that go to a point.

 

[Snake42490]

all the fish in the tank have bright colors. all the reds are showing. fins are staying out. normal breathing. the one loner fish looks bloated. all the other fish have smaller stomachs and his looks like he ate a ton. but when i fed them last night i saw them eat but it was only a very small amount. could it be air? or a bacteria? if it was air would that explain why he is stuck at the top?

no black linning either.. the one def has a larger stomach though

 

[WILDER]

If he bloated constipation, swim bladder, dropsy.
Try some shelled peas and a epson salt bath to help draw the fluids out.
What do you feed your fish.

 

[Snake42490]

well i just got the fish. this is there second day of being in. they had a rough go from the start they didnt look the best when i got them but all but this one guy seems to be coming out of it besides the fact all the other ones are hiding a lot. but they are staying together at least. im feeding them wardley total color flake blend

can it be a normal aquarium salt dip ? how long should i put him in for?

 

[WILDER]

Need to feed some peas.
http/www.hv3.7h.com/Swim%20Bladder%20Disease.html
Epson salt is better, get a jug of tank water add a teaspoon of household salt stir till it disolves.
Ten minutes but keep the temp the same, if he acts weird for a few seconds don't panic let him settle, but if he carry on acting weird remove him from the bath.

 

[Snake42490]

i will do that right now and get back to you. so should i not feed any of the fish then for a couple days?

 

[WILDER]

Feed the peas but leave out the other foods for aday.

http/ukdiscus.com/ken_thomson_salt.htm

 

[Snake42490]

wow... i dont know if you have ever heard of this. i took a cup and put him in the cup while i was finishing mixing up the salt. i think it had a heart attack. this is my normal aquarium cup so i know there was nothing in it... im not sure if the little guy is still alive....

 

[WILDER]

Shock and weak to tolerate it, is he still moving his gills.
Put him in the tank fast.

 

[Snake42490]

i think i had extremely bad timing on him. i put him up to a light while in the cup. hes not breathing. he didnt even make it to the salt... this is really weird..