So to replace the 5 or so neons that the comet ate, I went to Petsmart (stupid decision number 1) and bought 6 more neons to bring the number up to 12. I didn't quarantine them (stupid decision number 2) as the comet is in the other tank we have. The suckers have been dying off ONE by ONE by ONE. My water parameters are a pH 7.6
kH 10
gH 17
nitrite 0 ppm
nitrate 5 ppm
I was at 12, I'm down to 8. At first I thought maybe it the CO2, but that was started before the tetras arrived, and no one was gasping at all. So I crossed that off the list. Then I realized that the temperature of my tank was WAY lower then it should've been, because I forgot to plug back in my heater when the filter went two weeks ago. So the tank was sitting at 70, I let the heater bring the temperature back up to 78-where it now sits. Everyday there seems to be a new neon separating itself from the group and hiding all the way on the right side of the tank away from everyone. The rest of the tank is acting fine, except for one of the danios. I thought with the temperature raised up that they would start doing better, which as a group they definitely are, have been zipping around the tank together like normal, but woke up this morning to what sounded like something trying to dig its way into the house. Went over to the fish tank, it was the filter, so I checked both of the intakes, and the mid level one on the intake tube had plant leaves on it, which again is somewhat normal, but it's never made a sound like that. I reached my hand to clear the leaves, and out pops another neon tetra. It had been 3 days so I thought maybe they were done with that, but nope.
It's just so odd that every time after a neon dies, another seems to remove itself from the group and go sit by itself on the side of the tank. They are eating, and will come up to the side of the tank when I walk over, but the one that seperates itself only will half of the time. I just don't get it. I've never had such bad luck with neons. It doesn't look like ich at all, and everyone else is still acting like themselves. The last few dead tetras did look like they got picked at a bit when I've been pulling them out come morning, so I don't know if whatever it is, is spreading like that or what. They looked fairly healthy when we bought them, though I didn't notice until they were swimming along the ones we bought at the LFS that there coloration wasn't as vibrant, though I didn't think anything of it. They were all acting fairly normal, until one seperated itself from the group and died, and now it's been a mix of both the LFS ones and the petsmart tetras. I do notice the ones that hide on the side of the tank tend to be somewhat bloated, and there color fades FAST too, and as the color starts to go more, they stop eating, etc. That and they start to get a slight white coloration to them, but it isn't ich.
Some people say you can't put them in a new tank, but this tank has been running for as long as I can remember, and the Rainbow Shark and CAE have been in the tank for almost 1.5 years alone. Same with the Zebras. And previous to me moving in, the tank has been running upwards of almost 6 year straight.
The other fish in the tank:
Rainbow Shark
Chinese Algae Eater
4 GLOtetras/Black Skirts
3 Zebras, still haven't replaced the ones the Comet ate
An Amano and a few Bamboo Shrimp
Nerite snails
I think there's about 8 or 9 neons left, fairly certain there's 8.
Any ideas?
kH 10
gH 17
nitrite 0 ppm
nitrate 5 ppm
I was at 12, I'm down to 8. At first I thought maybe it the CO2, but that was started before the tetras arrived, and no one was gasping at all. So I crossed that off the list. Then I realized that the temperature of my tank was WAY lower then it should've been, because I forgot to plug back in my heater when the filter went two weeks ago. So the tank was sitting at 70, I let the heater bring the temperature back up to 78-where it now sits. Everyday there seems to be a new neon separating itself from the group and hiding all the way on the right side of the tank away from everyone. The rest of the tank is acting fine, except for one of the danios. I thought with the temperature raised up that they would start doing better, which as a group they definitely are, have been zipping around the tank together like normal, but woke up this morning to what sounded like something trying to dig its way into the house. Went over to the fish tank, it was the filter, so I checked both of the intakes, and the mid level one on the intake tube had plant leaves on it, which again is somewhat normal, but it's never made a sound like that. I reached my hand to clear the leaves, and out pops another neon tetra. It had been 3 days so I thought maybe they were done with that, but nope.
It's just so odd that every time after a neon dies, another seems to remove itself from the group and go sit by itself on the side of the tank. They are eating, and will come up to the side of the tank when I walk over, but the one that seperates itself only will half of the time. I just don't get it. I've never had such bad luck with neons. It doesn't look like ich at all, and everyone else is still acting like themselves. The last few dead tetras did look like they got picked at a bit when I've been pulling them out come morning, so I don't know if whatever it is, is spreading like that or what. They looked fairly healthy when we bought them, though I didn't notice until they were swimming along the ones we bought at the LFS that there coloration wasn't as vibrant, though I didn't think anything of it. They were all acting fairly normal, until one seperated itself from the group and died, and now it's been a mix of both the LFS ones and the petsmart tetras. I do notice the ones that hide on the side of the tank tend to be somewhat bloated, and there color fades FAST too, and as the color starts to go more, they stop eating, etc. That and they start to get a slight white coloration to them, but it isn't ich.
Some people say you can't put them in a new tank, but this tank has been running for as long as I can remember, and the Rainbow Shark and CAE have been in the tank for almost 1.5 years alone. Same with the Zebras. And previous to me moving in, the tank has been running upwards of almost 6 year straight.
The other fish in the tank:
Rainbow Shark
Chinese Algae Eater
4 GLOtetras/Black Skirts
3 Zebras, still haven't replaced the ones the Comet ate
An Amano and a few Bamboo Shrimp
Nerite snails
I think there's about 8 or 9 neons left, fairly certain there's 8.
Any ideas?
. Especially neon tetras. Ponds are so much easier lol.