mcdonald.kk

I just added a small school of neons to my tank. I floated them for about fifteen minutes (maybe a little less). I turned my light on to check on them and they seem to be breathing rapidly. Some of them even seem to twitch a little. I'm really worried. They are dispersed throughout the tank and not huddling together (which I thought meant they felt safe). What can I do to help them? Does anyone know what is going on?

Shawnie

skip that last question..I didnt read your tank info...sowwwwy...

KittieKat

every fish is going to act wierd when u first get them... give them a week or two and im sure theyll be comin to the top of the tank every time they see u

if u have Stresscoat u could put a couple of drops in the tank..

mcdonald.kk

ok. thanks. Yeah, I doubt its a water problem because I have a yo yo and a ghost shrimp and they are acting fine. Who makes stresscoat? API? Should I wait until tomorrow to feed everyone?

Shawnie

Ya I didnt read your aquarium stats when I mentioned cycleing..and api does make stress coat...as far as feeding, it wont hurt cause I know if im in a new place, the first thing i wanna do is try the food

sirdarksol

You say you floated them for 15min. I'm guessing this means you didn't adjust them to the water parameters in your tank. There might be a huge pH, hardness, or waste difference between your tank and the pet store's tanks. The sudden change in water quality could have sent them into shock.
It's best to start them out in another container (I use the water change bucket) and periodically introduce water from the tank into the bucket (Drs Foster and Smith sell an acclimation kit that starts a very slow siphon that helps this process immensely).
Not sure about what you can do to help them, unfortunately, other than maintain good water quality.
Good luck with your fish.

mcdonald.kk

Thanks for the feed-back Sirdarksol and Shawnie.

SereneReyn

i'd also suggest leaving it fairly dim for several hours... and when you do light up the tank, introduce light as gradually as possible (ie, light up the room fairly brightly first).

sir is also absolutely right as well, btw... there are many considerations other than temperature that the fish need to be acclimated to. i leave the fish in the bag, just open it and hook it to the tank rim and periodically add a small amount of tank water. a turkey baster or the like works well. if the bag gets full, i dump excess into a nearby container and continue. the process should take about an hour at least. then i net them rather than dump them into the tank... i want as little pet store ickiness in my tank as possible.

one other thing to add, is that neons like lots of plants. and it's not a bad idea to have a mid-water fish or two to lure them out by showing them how safe it is.

mcdonald.kk

Cool. Thanks for the tips. They look like they are feeling better today. They are out and about the tank. I have several kinds of plants in the tank for them and they do seem to enjoy hanging out in the thickets.

susitna-flower

Bad advice here. Neons are notoriously touchy fish. They need to be acclimated for an hour or TWO, floating the bag is one way, but what I do is get a plastic container (deep), put the fish and bag water in it and float that in your tank, adding a little (1/4 cup) every 15 minutes. After floating for two hours, and most water is now YOUR tank water, dip them out and put in your tank, lights OUT, and NO food for 12- 24 hours. You will have much better success if you use this method.



The very best way to do all of this is into a cycled hospital tank, that you know is clean of any disease or parasite, as new fish are very susceptible to stress and that lowers their resistance to infections. You also don't want to introduce any new problems to your community tank. Good Luck, and I hope those neons make it.....

mcdonald.kk

Wow. I thought it was just cardinals that were touchy. Thank you for the info Susitna! I definitely plan on upgrading to a larger tank this summer and now I know to be super slow with them =) They do seem to be active which I hope is a good sign. I have noticed that someone has been nipping at their fins =( I think it's my yo yo loach. It's weird, when I've watched the most Malcolm (my yo yo) does is rush at them. There are one or two neons that go after the others with gusto. Who is the most likely culprit?

mcdonald.kk

I have some driftwood that I've been soaking. Would adding more wood help cut down on fin nipping by providing hiding places? Should I get more plants?

Lucy

I don't know about loaches, it very well could be the neons are nipping. Mine did when i added more.

mcdonald.kk

I know that yo yos can be semi-aggressive but its only the neons that I've actually seen nipping at each other. Thanks for the input. That may explain what I've been observing. I was getting confused because I saw them going after each other but I was like "they're schooling fish. They shouldn't be going after each other!"

SereneReyn

even among schooling fish, there tends to be a 'pecking order'. adding driftwood and plants can only help!

mcdonald.kk

Cool. I will add some more for them then! =)

sirdarksol

Serene's got it.
As the fish develop their pecking order, if the losers have places to hide, they'll be able to do so, more quickly ending the "beating" they're receiving. The pecking order is still established, just not as violently.