Neons stressed?

[FalconStorm]

Can outright stress kill a neon, without any accompanying disease? I lost a neon the other day after changing the substrate in my ten gallon tank. My water parameters are normal and the neon had been living in the tank with some others for over four weeks happily. There was no discoloration on the body and I didn't notice any odd behavior before it died.

I am wondering if the stress of the water change, and then several ornaments and plants were removed, so there was less cover for about a day until I got some new stuff in there and the substrate is a little bit brighter than it was, now. I was thinking he probably died of stress, but I wanted to make sure this was possible. As of now, I've added additional ornaments and plants to provide cover and reduce the brightness of the substrate. I also got some more neons because losing the one left me with four and they looked pretty stressed from being in a school so small, I think. Now, I have over eight neons and they seem to be pretty happy.

Have I done the right thing for them and does anyone think there might be a bigger problem that I can't seem to diagnose?

 

[WILDER]

Yes stress can cause a fish to die, neons are happy in a bigger group, was he being picked on, i would of quarantine the new neons before adding them to the tank, just keep an eye on them.

 

[FalconStorm]

I am going to keep a close eye on them. I wanted to quarantine them, but the others were looking so nervous being just the four of them that I decided to risk it. I'd hate to lose the other four to stress because I'm quarantining the new ones. Besides, the only thing I have to quarantine the new ones in is only a gallon and with no cover in it to speak of, so I can just see me stressing out the new ones too during the quarantine and losing them all.

I don't think he was being picked on, but the neons always did have a tendency to chase one another around the tank, but I never saw one being ganged up on by the others, it was always a mutual chasing, more like playing than aggression.