new neon tetras dying

[bettasnsnails]

I think nano fish are better here, less likely to eat the shrimp. Hyphessobrycon amandae (Ember Tetra) is one, its temp range is 24-28C/75-82F. The bright red dwarf rasboras in the genus Boraras, like B. brigittae (chili rasbora), temp range 25-28C/77-82F. A group of 12-15 minimum of either or both, there is plenty of room in a 20g long.

You could have hatchetfish at the surface, species in Carnegiella are best as they are smaller and much less active at the surface. A group of 10-12 minimum.

I think nano fish are better here, less likely to eat the shrimp. Hyphessobrycon amandae (Ember Tetra) is one, its temp range is 24-28C/75-82F. The bright red dwarf rasboras in the genus Boraras, like B. brigittae (chili rasbora), temp range 25-28C/77-82F. A group of 12-15 minimum of either or both, there is plenty of room in a 20g long.

You could have hatchetfish at the surface, species in Carnegiella are best as they are smaller and much less active at the surface. A group of 10-12 minimum.

funny you say that, i was contemplating between neons and embers, and then i also wanted a type of rasbora and i loved the chilis- it's just that nowhere near me has them. i went the easy & cheap route, which wasn't smart. i think i'll save up to order them from somewhere reputable. if i can get healthy fish i'm pretty confident they'll live a while, which would be worth the money, i've never experienced deaths like this with any of my fish and i have 5 tanks.

 

[Colin_T]

hi everyone, i just got 7 new neon tetras for my 20 gallon long planted tank yesterday evening, and this morning i have two left.
parameters:
ph: 7
ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 5
heated to 79°F, has an air stone and filter rated for 30g. tankmates are 2 mystery snails and 20+ ghost shrimp.
the first one died last night, i assumed it was just stress or an already weak fish. tested the water and it was fine. but then this morning, i woke up and could only see 3 swimming. i tested the water again, absolutely perfect, everything else in the tank is thriving. so i sat and watched the tank all morning, the 3 were swimming fine, and all of a sudden one started to swim sideways for about 30 seconds. then it stuck itself into a plant, layed there for a minute, shot to the surface and started twirling like crazy for about 45 seconds, then twirled face down to the bottom, where he layed and took his last breaths. i have no idea what is causing this. i need help, there are only 2 left.

Can you post some pictures of the dead fish?

The Aquarium water seems fine and the fact there are shrimp and snails that are ok would suggest the tank is suitable. You also had a female Betta in the tank and she had been there for 3 months so we can assume the aquarium is safe for fish.

The symptoms you describe (swimming normally, then rolling onto their side, spinning and dying) is either an infection in the brain or shock. The infection could be bacterial, viral or protozoan and if the fish have this, they came in with it. However, my guess is the problem is shock. The fish were probably new at the shop and already stressed. Then they were caught, bagged up and transferred to your tank. If the water chemistry (pH, GH & KH) in your tank is different to the shop tank, then this is the most likely cause of death.

Turn the tank lights off or down for a week. Don't do any water changes on the tank for a couple of weeks. Try not to startle the fish during the next few weeks. If it is shock, this should stop the remaining fish from dying. They still might die but this should reduce the risk of that happening.

Contact the shop and let them know the fish have died and you have checked the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, and the results are good. You can send them pictures of the dead fish or take the dead fish into the shop (taking them back to the shop is preferred but it depends on you being able to get there). Ask the shop when the neons came in and when they do water changes. If the fish are new and only been at the shop for a few days, that is a probable cause of stress death. If the shop did a water change on the day you got the fish or the day before, that is also a contributing factor. As a general rule, you don't want to get fish if they have only come into the shop in the last few days and I prefer to get fish after they have been at the shop for a week or more. And try to avoid buying fish if they have had a water change in the last couple of days.

You can also ask the shop what the pH, GH & KH of their tank water is. And you should find out what the GH & KH of your water supply is. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

As the others have mentioned, don't get any new fish for a month. Let things settle down just in case this is a disease (I don't think it is). If the shop offers you replacement fish, accept them but don't take any yet. Get a store credit for the fish and come back in a month to pick up the new fish.

 

[bettasnsnails]

Can you post some pictures of the dead fish?

The Aquarium water seems fine and the fact there are shrimp and snails that are ok would suggest the tank is suitable. You also had a female Betta in the tank and she had been there for 3 months so we can assume the aquarium is safe for fish.

The symptoms you describe (swimming normally, then rolling onto their side, spinning and dying) is either an infection in the brain or shock. The infection could be bacterial, viral or protozoan and if the fish have this, they came in with it. However, my guess is the problem is shock. The fish were probably new at the shop and already stressed. Then they were caught, bagged up and transferred to your tank. If the water chemistry (pH, GH & KH) in your tank is different to the shop tank, then this is the most likely cause of death.

Turn the tank lights off or down for a week. Don't do any water changes on the tank for a couple of weeks. Try not to startle the fish during the next few weeks. If it is shock, this should stop the remaining fish from dying. They still might die but this should reduce the risk of that happening.

Contact the shop and let them know the fish have died and you have checked the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, and the results are good. You can send them pictures of the dead fish or take the dead fish into the shop (taking them back to the shop is preferred but it depends on you being able to get there). Ask the shop when the neons came in and when they do water changes. If the fish are new and only been at the shop for a few days, that is a probable cause of stress death. If the shop did a water change on the day you got the fish or the day before, that is also a contributing factor. As a general rule, you don't want to get fish if they have only come into the shop in the last few days and I prefer to get fish after they have been at the shop for a week or more. And try to avoid buying fish if they have had a water change in the last couple of days.

You can also ask the shop what the pH, GH & KH of their tank water is. And you should find out what the GH & KH of your water supply is. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

As the others have mentioned, don't get any new fish for a month. Let things settle down just in case this is a disease (I don't think it is). If the shop offers you replacement fish, accept them but don't take any yet. Get a store credit for the fish and come back in a month to pick up the new fish.

i would think the shock would happen quicker though? there's now one left, died last night around 10, so all but 1 died in about 30 hours, took 2 hours for any to die. the remaining one is swimming through the tank but refusing food. also from my understanding a stressed/shocked neon will lose its color. these guys didn't until they were super dead

one died last night around 10, i did take a picture of it but it's pretty dirty & i feel like you couldn't make a proper diagnosis, if any, due to the gravel and poop i accidentally scooped up. none of the black on the fins was there. if the last one dies i'll get a better picture. (i was tired and frustrated, that's why i didn't take a better one). also included one from after they were added to the tank, and the remaining one today. (the little white spot on its gill is just reflection).

 

[Naughts]

stressed/shocked neon will lose its color. these guys didn't

That's a good point but you would equally expect a diseased neon to lose it's colour/vibrancy, maybe more so.

 

[bettasnsnails]

That's a good point but you would equally expect a diseased neon to lose it's colour/vibrancy, maybe more so.

yeah i guess. really wish i knew what happened, i don't want to get other fish or my inverts sick. so what would be your best guess? there's still one alive, but he's super darty & glass surfing. i don't know if it's because he's alone or sick.

 

[Byron]

yeah i guess. really wish i knew what happened, i don't want to get other fish or my inverts sick. so what would be your best guess? there's still one alive, but he's super darty & glass surfing. i don't know if it's because he's alone or sick.

I gave you a very good suggestion which I assume you did not follow up on, and that is...see if the store tank still has neons, or if they have "disappeared." If the latter, ask what happened. You have a right to know, if they want you as a customer going forward.

 

[bettasnsnails]

I gave you a very good suggestion which I assume you did not follow up on, and that is...see if the store tank still has neons, or if they have "disappeared." If the latter, ask what happened. You have a right to know, if they want you as a customer going forward.

i did go there this morning, they still have neons, they said they lost a few but it's expected. i'm sure they're lying, every time i go in there they have neons though. they said "i don't know what to tell you, they were probably stressed". i really don't think it was stress. i'm just trying to figure out what happened, like if it's contagious so i know if my tanks are safe. store won't fess up to anything if something is going on, which i figured would happen, which is why i didn't even wanna mess with it. the fish in the store look healthy just like mine did, so if they're dying the same way as mine i think it would be pretty easy to hide . so yeah i don't really care about the store just trying to see if anyone recognizes the symptoms and can help out w dx

 

[AlexT]

Problem with most LFS is you are dealing with salesman. Obviously it's their business, but they are not objective and they are biased. They would rather sell one lone corydoras than no corydoras etc.

 

[Colin_T]

The fish look fine from an external disease perspective so I'm staying with stress and shock. Shock doesn't necessarily kill fish quickly. We used to have issues with rummynose tetras. For a few months each year they would come in and get put into nice clean established tanks but die for no reason. It turned out to be shock and was often from the light coming on above the tank or people walking past the tank. The fish were just really stressed out due to being shipped around the world and getting put into different water, then caught, bagged up and shipped somewhere else. When this happened we turned the tank light off for a couple of weeks and didn't do any water changes during that time. After that we started letting small amounts of light into the tank (from above) and did small 10% water changes. Over a few weeks we let more light in and started doing bigger water changes. After a month or so the fish would be fine.

The shop has admitted they lost a few to stress and that is probably true. However, if fish are in good shape and not stressed or carrying a disease, they should not lose any. So stress and shock is probably why they died.

The following link is about the stress that aquarium fish go through to get from the farm to the pet shop. Fish go through a lot in a short space of time to get from A to B and if there are major changes in water chemistry, or someone chased them around a tank while trying to catch them, the stress levels go right up.

Fish Importing, from the farm to the home

If any of you have wondered how aquarium fish get to the local pet shop, the following will give you some insight as to what they have to go through to get from the fish farm where they are bred and raised, to the pet shop where you can buy them. The stress they go through is quite...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Fishmanic]

You should have returned the dead neons to the store for credit/refund.

 

[bettasnsnails]

i did go there this morning, they still have neons, they said they lost a few but it's expected. i'm sure they're lying, every time i go in there they have neons though. they said "i don't know what to tell you, they were probably stressed". i really don't think it was stress. i'm just trying to figure out what happened, like if it's contagious so i know if my tanks are safe. store won't fess up to anything if something is going on, which i figured would happen, which is why i didn't even wanna mess with it. the fish in the store look healthy just like mine did, so if they're dying the same way as mine i think it would be pretty easy to hide . so yeah i don't really care about the store just trying to see if anyone recognizes the symptoms and can help out w dx

Can you post some pictures of the dead fish?

The Aquarium water seems fine and the fact there are shrimp and snails that are ok would suggest the tank is suitable. You also had a female Betta in the tank and she had been there for 3 months so we can assume the aquarium is safe for fish.

The symptoms you describe (swimming normally, then rolling onto their side, spinning and dying) is either an infection in the brain or shock. The infection could be bacterial, viral or protozoan and if the fish have this, they came in with it. However, my guess is the problem is shock. The fish were probably new at the shop and already stressed. Then they were caught, bagged up and transferred to your tank. If the water chemistry (pH, GH & KH) in your tank is different to the shop tank, then this is the most likely cause of death.

Turn the tank lights off or down for a week. Don't do any water changes on the tank for a couple of weeks. Try not to startle the fish during the next few weeks. If it is shock, this should stop the remaining fish from dying. They still might die but this should reduce the risk of that happening.

Contact the shop and let them know the fish have died and you have checked the water for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and pH, and the results are good. You can send them pictures of the dead fish or take the dead fish into the shop (taking them back to the shop is preferred but it depends on you being able to get there). Ask the shop when the neons came in and when they do water changes. If the fish are new and only been at the shop for a few days, that is a probable cause of stress death. If the shop did a water change on the day you got the fish or the day before, that is also a contributing factor. As a general rule, you don't want to get fish if they have only come into the shop in the last few days and I prefer to get fish after they have been at the shop for a week or more. And try to avoid buying fish if they have had a water change in the last couple of days.

You can also ask the shop what the pH, GH & KH of their tank water is. And you should find out what the GH & KH of your water supply is. This information can usually be obtained from your water supply company's website (Water Analysis Report) or by telephoning them. If they can't help you, take a glass full of tap water to the local pet shop and get them to test it for you. Write the results down (in numbers) when they do the tests. And ask them what the results are in (eg: ppm, dGH, or something else).

As the others have mentioned, don't get any new fish for a month. Let things settle down just in case this is a disease (I don't think it is). If the shop offers you replacement fish, accept them but don't take any yet. Get a store credit for the fish and come back in a month to pick up the new fish.

here are some pictures of the last one i just euthanized. it was swimming in circles and flipping aggressively for hours.

 

[bettasnsnails]

You should have returned the dead neons to the store for credit/refund.

no receipt

 

[Fishmanic]

Why did you not get a receipt?

 

[bettasnsnails]

Why did you not get a receipt?

no idea tbh.

 

[Fishmanic]

Did u oay cash or did u pay be credit card?