Tropical Fish Forums

[dphood]

Hi there

I have recently setup a new tank which is about 24" x 14" x 15". I have left the tank running for a week and a half to build up the bacteria. I have bought 6 neon tetra's which have been living in there for about a week now but one neon tetra dosen't seem to functioning with the other group, when its feeding it quite happily joins the group in feeding and now and again joins the group when there swimming around. The pH level is at 7.2, the ammonia is below 0.25ppm near to 0. The Nitrite and Nitrate levels are low. I have been reading about neon tetra disease which I'm suspicious that it might have because it is the smallest out of the group I can't really tell the discolouration of the skin mind you and majority of the time it spends behind the filter. But when I turn the light out in the tank out it rapidly swims about up to the surface of the tank and against the glass for a few seconds and then calms down. I find that in the morning when I turn on the light that all the neon tetra's are just floating just above the gravel and take time to become active. Is this normal? Is there any specific way that I can tell whether that single neon tetra has the disease? It seems to be eating well. I feed them a little in the morning and a little at night.

Thankyou

[Bob]

To cycle a tank (Make it safe for fish) you would have needed to run it for nearer a month, and you would have needed to have been adding Ammonia.

This would be called a fishless cycle.

By running it for a week, all you have really done is given the equipment a good test, and you are now doing a cycle with fish.

Unfortunatly Neons are not the best fish to have in a cycling tank. They really don't get on with Ammonia or Nitrite poisoning.

The only safe levels of Ammonia and Nitrite in a tank with fish in is 0.

To get your fish through the next several weeks (Cycling with fish often takes longer than a fishless cycle). You will need to do at least weekly water changes of about 20%. I would do twice weekly.

Have a read of some of these articles:

http://www.aquahobby.com/e_articles.php

Neons aren't the best shoaling fish, but the stress of a cycling tank, coupled with the move etc, are more likely factors in the fishes behaviour than NTD.

Bob

[dphood]

Hi Bob

Thanks for your reply. I was told to keep the running of the tank for a week and a half to 2 weeks by numerous fish keepers, and I started off by adding the bacteria to the water at the beginning. I also had snails when I first bought the plants that I believe that was helping towards this cycle phase. The ammonia levels is set to be at 0 ppm now I think it was the type of lighting in my room that was making me decide that it was either yellow (0ppm) or a very light green (0.25ppm). The neon's seem to be quite happy darting about after one another. Could it just be a problem with the colouration of the skin as I've seen there is no white bits but just a stop in the blue strip and got told that all neon's don't have the outstanding colours just like when breed dogs, is this true?

[msta]

I have had 6 cardinal tetras for a week now.

at night they float just above the gravel, and in the morning their colours are all faded. I'm assuming this is because of the lack of light at night - as their colours return.

the last day or 2 their blue has become a really awesum deep blue, so I guess the colourations just take time to return after the stress of moving.

I will be adding 6 neon tetras in a weeks time, so will have more direct experience soon, but I imagine the cardinals and neons will behave in similar ways anyway.
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[msta]

also your tank size is pretty much the same size as mine, so for the neons there is not too much need for them to school. my cardinals tend to do stay together most of the time, but split up often, sometimes into smaller groups, or one leaves the group.

I guess because they can proably see each other easily, and have no other tank mates/threats, they are comfortable to split up and cruise alone for a little bit.

good luck
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15G: Community around a Bolivian Ram

[dphood]

Thankyou msta

That's been a great deal of help, I also noticed this morning when I woke up and turned the light on and noticed that there colours where also faded as they were hovering above the floor bed and all of a sudden the colour came back. Do you think this common for them to do that, I thought they would of felt less threatened with the light off. I have also got 2 clown loaches in mine as well, just added them recently as the water conditions started stabalised constantly, they are very very active always playing around, do you think the tetra's are being stressed with these being in the tank as I did some homework and all my resources stated that they go well together.

Thankyou

[Bob]

Please, can you take these Clown Loaches back to the shop ASAP.

They can reach 16 inches long, and will easily reach over a foot.

They would really need a tank well over 100 gallons (I would go for 200).

Have a read of this:

http://www.loaches.com/species-index/clown-loach-chromobotia-macracanthus

Bob