Neons are dying off

[sharkweek178]

I got 13 neon tetras on Thursday. On Saturday morning, I found one dead. Last night, I only counted 11. This morning, I found another one dead.

Water parameters are
pH 7.4
Ammonia 0.25 ppm
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5.0

 

[Slaphppy7]

Are you doing WC's?

ANY amount of ammonia = not good

Was the tank cycled previously?

EDIT: Just saw on your other thread, you added fish while ammonia was present (??)

 

[sharkweek178]

Are you doing WC's?

ANY amount of ammonia = not good

Was the tank cycled previously?

EDIT: Just saw on your other thread, you added fish while ammonia was present (??)

Ammonia was at 0 when I added them. I did a silent cycle with fast growing floating plants.
And I did a 50% water change on Saturday.

 

[Slaphppy7]

What was the ammonia reading 24H after the WC?

 

[sharkweek178]

What was the ammonia reading 24H after the WC?

I didn't check it then. I checked it this morning after I found the 2nd one dead.

 

[Alice B]

this morning could be from the bodies. Do not use nets from this tank on your other tanks, siphons etc should be at least rinsed in hot water and maybe let dry before using on other tanks, wash hands and arms. Neon tetra disease isn't common but it is lethal and affects more than neons. Did you quarantine fish before adding?

 

[sharkweek178]

this morning could be from the bodies. Do not use nets from this tank on your other tanks, siphons etc should be at least rinsed in hot water and maybe let dry before using on other tanks, wash hands and arms. Neon tetra disease isn't common but it is lethal and affects more than neons. Did you quarantine fish before adding?

FWIW, I always wash my hands before and after putting them in the tank.
This is the quarantine tank.

 

[sharkweek178]

this morning could be from the bodies. Do not use nets from this tank on your other tanks, siphons etc should be at least rinsed in hot water and maybe let dry before using on other tanks, wash hands and arms. Neon tetra disease isn't common but it is lethal and affects more than neons. Did you quarantine fish before adding?

And regarding neon tetra disease. I'm not seeing an unusual amount of darting or restless swimming. No side surfing. The neons haven't been hiding. Except possibly last night when I noticed one missing from the school. I haven't seen any cysts or bumps or noticed any having any difficulty swimming. Haven't seen bloating or loss of color either (except for an initial color loss when I first added them that I attributed to the stress of moving into a new tank. But their color came right back then.

 

[sharkweek178]

Just took two more out of the tank. And now one is not swimming with the others, which is not a good sign.

 

[sharkweek178]

Lost another one. I can see 6 of them swimming around. That's 6 confirmed alive. 5 confirmed dead and 2 I don't know.
Make that seven visible. But one is not swimming with the others.

 

[Byron]

Are the pygmy cories OK? In this same tank? You say here it is the quarantine tank, is it planted like the one in the other thread, or different?

This may have little or nothing to do with the ammonia. Do they add chloramine to your tap water?

 

[Alice B]

And regarding neon tetra disease. I'm not seeing an unusual amount of darting or restless swimming. No side surfing. The neons haven't been hiding. Except possibly last night when I noticed one missing from the school. I haven't seen any cysts or bumps or noticed any having any difficulty swimming. Haven't seen bloating or loss of color either (except for an initial color loss when I first added them that I attributed to the stress of moving into a new tank. But their color came right back then.

I did not see a lot of darting or restless swimming, I saw slow down, seems like swim in circles maybe, it's been a couple of years. I tore the tanks down and bleached everything in May 2020, I'd never seen it before, I put the 2 remaining diamond tetras in a clean 10 gallon and experimented with meds and within about 4 weeks they had died too, they just kind of failed, tried to hide from light it seems like. I tried meds most people couldn't get. My pharmaceutical wholesale guy told me it was incurable but I had so many affected fish I just wasn't quitting until I had to. guppies and bristlenose are immune to it.

 

[sharkweek178]

Are the pygmy cories OK? In this same tank? You say here it is the quarantine tank, is it planted like the one in the other thread, or different?

This may have little or nothing to do with the ammonia. Do they add chloramine to your tap water?

The pygmys appear to be fine. They hide so I can't say for sure. But I haven't found a dead one.
This is the same tank as my journal thread. These are the first fish and they all came from the same shop so this is acting as the quarantine tank.

And my water company does use chloramine. I use Seachem Prime for dechlorinator, which says that it removes that too.

 

[Byron]

The pygmys appear to be fine. They hide so I can't say for sure. But I haven't found a dead one.
This is the same tank as my journal thread. These are the first fish and they all came from the same shop so this is acting as the quarantine tank.

And my water company does use chloramine. I use Seachem Prime for dechlorinator, which says that it removes that too.

OK, this clears some things up. First, on the ammonia...this is most likely due to the chloramine. And since this tank is thick with plants and some fast growing among them, don't worry over the minimal ammonia. The plants will easily handle this. Chloramine is a chlorine/ammonia bonded substance, and the conditioner breaks the bond but the ammonia remains, it is not removed by conditioners. This is the job of the plants and nitrifying bacteria, and they should bee able to handle this. Do an ammonia test a day after the water change, and a day after that, and see if it registers. i suspect it won't. Problem solved.

Second issue, the neon deaths...I don't know. This fish is very frequently in rough shape these days. Provided the cories remain apparently unaffected, I would just monitor things and see where it goes. It might be advisable to get a different fish if the neons do not do well.

On the Prime, I would not myself use this conditioner. It has chemicals in it that do things that really are best left alone. I won't get into all that, and not everyone will agree, but facts are facts. The API Tap Water Conditioner is safer and all you need here. I am not saying the Prime is the issue behind the neon deaths, but I will absolutely say it may be a debilitating influence. Characins are especially sensitive to all chemicals. Pure water with as few "additives" is better.

 

[sharkweek178]

OK, this clears some things up. First, on the ammonia...this is most likely due to the chloramine. And since this tank is thick with plants and some fast growing among them, don't worry over the minimal ammonia. The plants will easily handle this. Chloramine is a chlorine/ammonia bonded substance, and the conditioner breaks the bond but the ammonia remains, it is not removed by conditioners. This is the job of the plants and nitrifying bacteria, and they should bee able to handle this. Do an ammonia test a day after the water change, and a day after that, and see if it registers. i suspect it won't. Problem solved.

Second issue, the neon deaths...I don't know. This fish is very frequently in rough shape these days. Provided the cories remain apparently unaffected, I would just monitor things and see where it goes. It might be advisable to get a different fish if the neons do not do well.

On the Prime, I would not myself use this conditioner. It has chemicals in it that do things that really are best left alone. I won't get into all that, and not everyone will agree, but facts are facts. The API Tap Water Conditioner is safer and all you need here. I am not saying the Prime is the issue behind the neon deaths, but I will absolutely say it may be a debilitating influence. Characins are especially sensitive to all chemicals. Pure water with as few "additives" is better.

Would a water change be a good idea today? I'm a little concerned about adding stress to the remaining neons.