# Help! My neons are dying!



## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

I bought 8 neon tetras last friday and I have alreday lost 3 of them, with a 4th one I am sure will not make it thru today. Water parameters are 0 amonia, 0 nitrite, 20ppm nitrate and PH is 6.6. There is no visible sign of illness on their bodies and no sign of distress either. Today is the first time I've been able to identify one with abnormal behaviour, it's been almost at a standstill, and close to the surface. The rest of the fish in the tank look perfectly well. Any help would be greatly appreciated.


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## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

From what you've written, it's very hard to determine what is wrong with your fish.
Gasping at the top is usually associated with too much CO2 in the water and a pH of 6.6 might be indicative of CO2 present.
Without knowing more, I'd suggest adding an airstone, checking the temperature (and that it stays stable).
It would be good to know how you acclimated them, and if you added them all at once - maybe sending the tank on a mini-cycle.
You could enter your fish into aquadvisor.com to figure out what the ideal parameters for that mix of fish is.
cb


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## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

Thanks. I am adding CO2, but the fish isn't gasping, just swiming closer to the surface than the other neons are, and the fact that both amonia and nitrites are both at 0 would discard the mini cycle. I live in the Caribbean, so I don't use a heater.


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## jbrown5217 (Nov 9, 2011)

Neons are a super delicate fish and it is very possible that the 4/8 that haven't died and and/or are doing well were healthy and the other 4 were not. It is the unfortunate nature of neons and cardinals due to their popularity in the aquarium hobby (a lot of interbreeding from breeders and such). A lot of people have difficulty taking care of them. I have been lucky enough to keep the 4 I have alive and they seem to be doing very well.

So unfortunately I sincerely just think that 4 out of the 8 you got were probably not doing so well to begin with.


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## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

if you have an o2 test; I would check to make sure your not oversaturated with co2? I would also change water X%(whatever you usually do), just as a free precaution.Have you seen them eat? your denisons are large and fast(possibly scaring little neons).


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## clep.berry (Mar 4, 2012)

If you turn the lights off and aerate, you should have your answer pretty quick.
cb


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

The answer is in your first post. You bought them friday, and it's tuesday.
Neons are really tough fish, but they are badly treated due to their cheapness. Odds are, they travelled in an overcrowded bag, to a store that put them in a bare, stressful tank. It's not uncommon for half a neon shipment to die from shipping stress and ammonia in transit, and it's not uncommon for stores to put them right on sale without quaranting them for a few days first. 

I'll wager you bought damaged fish, and the damage is simply catching up to them.

BTW - almost all, if not all, cardinals in the hobby are wild caught. It is cheaper and easier to bring them from the wild than to breed such a difficult fish. Neons are extensively farmed, but not cardinals.


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

Here in the NW I usually buy Neons and Cardinals at a Big Box store at least 3 days after they come in. This gives them time to stabalize and adjust from the strain of travel. When you buy them, Neons and Cardinals should be very bright and very active. If they aren't, they are sick and don't buy them.


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## navigator black (Jan 3, 2012)

Here's my rant: we can mess up and kill our fish with poor maintenance and such, but very often, it is not the new hobbyists fault. I hate to see people blaming themselves or tearing their set-ups apart when poor industry practices are more often to blame.
Neons should be tough little fish - highly adaptable and hardy - and yet people are reporting them to be as delicate as cardinals. There are some very questionable fish-farm practices involving overuse of antibiotics, use of hormones and overcrowding, but they sure reduce the cost of fish. That isn't passed on to the consumer but it is very profitable to buy from such farms for the chains. And so, they do, and we get the results.


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## jaguayo (Oct 26, 2011)

I'm pretty sure this was the situation with my fish as I bought them the day after they arrived at the store. I really appreciate everyone's input. Thanks!


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I've experienced the same. Bought five cardinals from an LFS, had been in a planted tank for a month with independent filtration and were healthy, happy, and disease free, but were $6.50 each. Thought I'd save some money and buy the remaining five from PetsMart since theirs were on sale for $3.00. 4 days later six were dead and the remaining four had Ich. Bought six from the LFS and have been dealing with the Ich for over a month.

First mistake: Buying brand-new from PetsMart.
Second mistake: Buying additional fish to round out the school *after* my tank was infected with Ich.

Hopefully, the Ich has been eradicated though *fingers crossed*...

Either way, LESSON LEARNED! *old dude


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## HFGGHG (Aug 28, 2011)

I bought 7 neon tetras from Petsmart in July of 2011 for my 29 gallon tank. Believe it or not,
they all made it to their one year anniversary in July 2012. They look huge compared to when I bought them.
Funny thing, 2 weeks ago one neon disappeared. Totally disappeared, like Harry Houdini.
I looked, I vacuumed, I looked again, I counted and counted. Only 6.

Short story long, I think it is a crap shoot buying from Petsmart/Petco.

One thing I have found out, if the water is good, the fish can be good.


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