Newbie here, needing words of wisdom!

[Latin Mama]

Hi. Thanks for the add. I went from a 1 gallon Beta tank to a 5 gallon, then 2-10 gallon tanks. I have now gotten a 20 gallon tank, and am using live plants. I have about 4 Platys, 1 Neon tetra and
4 Day Glo tetras. The tank has been up about a week. The water has been tested again and again. Its fine. BUT when I got 6 Neon Tetras in they ALL DIED within 24 hours. The Day Glo's are fine as are the Platys. Only 1 additional Neon has survived. What is going on? The Neon is Not schooling with the others.

I still have a 10 gallon tank if I need to move the Platys. Any advice?

 

[Myrkk]

Someone with more knowledge than me will no doubt be along but I would consider
Could it be there was an issue with the neon's that you bought? Did you quarantine them first or were they straight in to the tank?
Also, did you take water from the old tank to put into the new tank? Were the ornaments from the old tank or new? If new, were they cleaned before putting in the tank?
I'm not sure why the neon would school with the other fish, they're different species.
From my calculations you could get around 6 neon tetras and 2 - 3 platys in a 20 gallon tank, so could it perhaps be that you have put too many fish in there
I did once have a tank that could not sustain anything other than killifish or guppies... everything else died, never got to the bottom of why, cleaned the tank and gave it to someone else.

 

[outofwater]

The stock might be pushing it a little, but I don't think it's excessive for the fish you currently have or by trying to add a few more neons.
The lone neon will not shoal with the others, they're not the same species.
From personal experience, neon tetras seem to just be weak (poor breeding/living conditions)and easily stressed in transit to stores and then to people's tanks. If you haven't, you should definitely go back to the store and ask for a refund, and take a look at their current stock, see how the fish look. My local chain stores (only ones around me with neons, unfortunately) have a few already gasping or just plain dead every single time I go visit. My tank has been established for over 4 months now, and the last time I tried to get a half dozen (to complete a dozen) all of them died within 24 hours. Wish I could give you more insights on this, but that's all I have. Assuming your water parameters are good, I'd say try to find a locally owned fish store rather than a chain, or a reputable online seller, perhaps you'd have better luck that way with this specific fish.

 

[Latin Mama]

Someone with more knowledge than me will no doubt be along but I would consider
Could it be there was an issue with the neon's that you bought? Did you quarantine them first or were they straight in to the tank?
Also, did you take water from the old tank to put into the new tank? Were the ornaments from the old tank or new? If new, were they cleaned before putting in the tank?
I'm not sure why the neon would school with the other fish, they're different species.
From my calculations you could get around 6 neon tetras and 2 - 3 platys in a 20 gallon tank, so could it perhaps be that you have put too many fish in there
I did once have a tank that could not sustain anything other than killifish or guppies... everything else died, never got to the bottom of why, cleaned the tank and gave it to someone else.

Thanks so much. I assumed since they were both Tetras they would school Together. Now I have the one Neon and the 4 Day glos. The neon seems to be a survivor. And yes, I did mix the water so I would have the healthy bacteria in the tank. Everything was super cleaned. No soap of course
Just struck me as odd only the Neons died.

 

[emeraldking]

Hi & welcome to TFF...
Sorry to read about the neons that have died. But it could've been just a bad batch. And what's already been mentioned overhere is that transport and swimming in other water before they went to your place may have weaken them already.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to TFF

What kind of test kit are you using? Were the previous tanks cycled prior to setting up the 20G?

 

[Latin Mama]

Welcome to TFF

What kind of test kit are you using? Were the previous tanks cycled prior to setting up the 20G?

A friend used a fancy professional type kit. I also used my 7 things to test kit. And 2 different Petsmarts checked the water too. All turned out great. No issues. I waited a week and 1/2 before adding any fish. The only places near me that have fish are Petsmart and Petco.

 

[Back in the fold]

Don't despair. Don't think you've failed in some way. Neon Tetras can be tricky. If you get them past the two week point you're probably OK , but most times you won't . There's just something about getting new ones established that's different every time.

 

[itiwhetu]

Exactly what are your great water parameters?

 

[Slaphppy7]

A friend used a fancy professional type kit. I also used my 7 things to test kit. And 2 different Petsmarts checked the water too. All turned out great. No issues. I waited a week and 1/2 before adding any fish. The only places near me that have fish are Petsmart and Petco.

"my 7 things to test kit".....which one, exactly?

Waiting to add fish does nothing to cycle a tank...I suspect you are in the midst of a fish-in cycle...see more on that here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/

Never trust the box stores with advice or testing...they are there to make $, not give good advice

 

[GaryE]

I would suggest you not worry about the test kits - you did what needed to be done there.

Neons used to be the toughest fish out there, but like guppies, they can be very fragile when you buy them now. You can probably find a hundred threads on here where people lost neons in the first few days after introduction. They often carry diseases with them, and the stress of moving through the supply chain kills them off.

It's a shame, because they are beautiful fish, and the experience can be discouraging for new aquarists. But when you are stuck with only the large chains to buy from, you kind of have to expect a certain percentage of unexplained deaths. They've driven the prices paid to the fishfarms/breeders down so low with their buying power that we get what they pay for.

 

[hansgruber7]

How were you able to cycle the tank in a week? Did you add filter media from an established tank or something? In my experience, Neon tetras tend to be weaker because they are so overbred. It could be that if there was a problem, they would be less resilient. You could also have got a bad batch I suppose. But it's also possible there is a problem. We might be able to help more if you told us what testing kit exactly you used and what exactly were the readings.

 

[Dasmms45]

"my 7 things to test kit".....which one, exactly?

Waiting to add fish does nothing to cycle a tank...I suspect you are in the midst of a fish-in cycle...see more on that here: https://www.fishforums.net/threads/cycle-your-tank-a-complete-guide-for-beginners.475055/

Never trust the box stores with advice or testing...they are there to make $, not give good advice

Do I take it theres some inaccurate testing kits about from the question?
I'm dubious about some results in my tests, what kit would you recommend I get?
Sorry if this is off topic, very new!

 

[Slaphppy7]

Do I take it theres some inaccurate testing kits about from the question?
I'm dubious about some results in my tests, what kit would you recommend I get?
Sorry if this is off topic, very new!

Many of us use this one: https://apifishcare.com/product/freshwater-master-test-kit

It's the only one I've ever used, with good results

 

[Dasmms45]

Many of us use this one: https://apifishcare.com/product/freshwater-master-test-kit

It's the only one I've ever used, with good results

Perfect thank you