Food

[Gabby]

I got my Tetras on Sunday (its now Wednesday) and they haven't eaten anything yet!! I'm feeding them tropical fish flake food, someone advised breaking it up because they're only tiny, so I did, but they still aren't eating...

Any suggestions?!?!

 

[shishun]

maybe crush it into smaller bits or something.. I feed my tetras tropical fish food pellets which are crushed powdery..

 

[COBettaCouple]

What temp is the tank at? What's your ammonia, nitrites & nitrates? What did you use for treating the tap water?

Part of their not eating could've been stress and I hope the small bits work. Those tiny pellets sound like a good idea too.

 

[Butterfly]

Are they acting sick? They may be pecking bits out of the substrate and off the decor if their tiny.
Carol

 

[bbfeckawitts]

My brothers tetras (around 2 inches) eat huge pellets, they are about this big: ....

Its funny to watch them because their mouths get so big.

 

[Gabby]

My waters all fine, they checked it at the shop when I went in. The temperature is fine and everything. They ate a bit when it was in little bits, but a couple of them are really feint red, which I know isn't good. They're not acting funny, I'm just not sure what to do?!?!

 

[Luniyn]

My waters all fine, they checked it at the shop when I went in. The temperature is fine and everything. They ate a bit when it was in little bits, but a couple of them are really feint red, which I know isn't good. They're not acting funny, I'm just not sure what to do?!?!

Not to be a nag, but what is the temperature actually reading out as? Also did the pet store use test strips or did they pour your water into little vials and add drops of a colored chemical to the vials? If they used test strips then chances are... they have no idea if your water is good or not. And depending on the morals of the people working at the pet store, they could have said anything they had to in order to get you to just buy some fish. Your best bet is to and do it yourself if you really want to know what's going on in your tank. If we know the levels of Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate, and the Ph of your tank, plus an actual reading of your temperature, then we will be able to help you out so much better then with only vague information. Otherwise we will only be guessing and that might not get the help your fish need to them quick enough.

Oh yes... and which tetras did you buy?

 

[COBettaCouple]

Luniyn is right - that is a great testing kit, we use it ourselves, and we NEVER take our water to the pet store here because the staff is very ignorant about the fish & anything aquarium-related, even in front of customers, they show no regard for the fish at all and on several occasions they've lied thru their teeth to us, including overcharging, etc. Probably why we don't care much for Petco.. anyways, the best way to know how your water is, is to test yourself because you really care for your fish and can count on yourself being honest.

If you want to try them with powdered food, you can put flakes in a sandwich bag and crush them with a rolling pin.. Then drop a pinch in & see if they eat it, but I think the problem isn't the food size, but the stress the tetras seem to be in.

The red might indicate a chemistry problem, particularly ammonia but I'm guessing here so I could be wrong. Now for my questions:
How long was the tank running before you added your Tetras?
What did you treat your tap water with?
What size tank do you have and are the Tetras the only fish in it?
How many Tetras did you get?
Did you float them in the tank for at least half an hour before introducing them to the tank water?
What do you have in the tank for decor, particularly any live plants?
Do you have any AmQuel+, Prime or NovAqua+?

 

[Luniyn]

My biggest question is the one I added in my edit... what type of Tetra's are they. Would hate to troubleshoot the red color problem only to hear that they are Serpae Tetra ;D. (in case you don't get the joke... it's because Serpae tetras are red ).

 

[Neville]

My waters all fine, they checked it at the shop when I went in. The temperature is fine and everything. They ate a bit when it was in little bits, but a couple of them are really feint red, which I know isn't good. They're not acting funny, I'm just not sure what to do?!?!

hI gabby, welcome to fishlore, actually tetras r schooling fish; u have to keep at least 6 of them in a tank. how many do u have? what is your tank size? do u have any bigger fish in that tank?

 

[Gabby]

My temperature is 24-25 degrees 'c. the fish store used the little bottle of liquid and did it right infront of me. he even waited 10 minutes incase anything changed. then they said I could only buy 3-4 to start with as the tank is new. I'm not gonna go out and spend a load of money on a test kit when I can take it to the shop and they do it perfectly well for free. They're really helpful staff, and as for your problem with over charging, he actually gave me about 20 pounds off of my tank etc.

My tank was running for a week before I put my fish in it. I started off with tetras, and they only let me have about 4.
I treated my water with Aqua one water conditioner as per the instructions.
I have a 28 litre tank and those four are the only ones in at at the moment.
I put them is as per what the staff at the store told me, and what id read up about.
I don't have live plants, but have plenty of places for them to hide (including fake plants) and they like the fake one, they hide in it.
And I have no idea what AmQuel+, Prime or NovAqua+!?!

I've read that they loose they're colour when unhappy, stressed, or poorly.
So there we are, temperature is fine, water is fine, I'm doing everything as I should!!! I don't understand!!!

Could it be the type of food??

 

[tb19]

This is what I feed my tetras and barbs. You should let them adapt to the tank. My tiger barbs took awhile...about 4 days for them to actually eat something. Amquel reduces ammonia, nitrates, etc. and Novaqua conditions the water and reduces stress on fish. Prime pretty much does the same.

 

[AnnaEA]

Gabby,


It really sounds like your fish are experiencing stress from being in a cycling tank - tetra's aren't exactly the most hardy fish for the rigors of the cycling process. If the fish shop tested water from your tank before any fish were added, and you didn't do any cycling procedure, the water could have tested fine at the shop, and still not be fine now.

Try doing a water change, and see the fish seem happier afterwards. And getting a test kit really is a necessity -- I can't imagine you want to be take a container of water to the fish shop every time something in your tank seems iffy --- the API test kit is a great kit -- but you can use the cheapo container of test strips too, and as long as you err on the "I guess I'd better change the water since that seems high" side, they'll work well enough. Certainly better then not testing at all.

At the very least, do get another test done at the fish shop, and let us know the results -- it will be much easier to help figure out what's going on if we know the actual water parameters.

 

[wolfman21]

This is what I feed my tetras and barbs.  You should let them adapt to the tank.  My tiger barbs took awhile...about 4 days for them to actually eat something. Amquel reduces ammonia, nitrates, etc. and Novaqua conditions the water and reduces stress on fish.  Prime pretty much does the same.

I feed my tetras the same thing and they love them, not to mention they are good for them too. Make sure the water is good quality and the temps are good, and they will eat, may take time.

 

[Gabby]

I think I'll go out and buy those little pellets.

Thanks for your help!!!!!

 

[Butterfly]

A water change is always a good idea when you think you have a problem. If your fish are small they won't eat much, their stomachs are the size of one eye after all Cycling with fish is faster than fishless but you usually lose a few fish in the process. Everyone has given you good advice- you need a test of your own and you need to test daily until the cycle is done.
Carol

 

[Luniyn]

Wow, what a great pet store you have there! Count your blessings as that is a rare commodity (at least here in the US). If they are near you then great, most definitely save money and have them test your water. Just note that as you get further along in the cycle, you will need to do more and more 10%-20% water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrites from getting to high. Which means more trips to them to test your water to be sure your levels aren't too high. I am currently testing my water every night to determine if I just do a 20% water change or as much as a 50% water change depending on my results. So it pays for me to have the test kit at home compared to having to travel to the pet store every night. But everyone's cycling experience is different, and my goal is zero deaths during the cycle.

As to the tetra's being not all that hardy of a fish, I would again say it depends on the type of tetra. Neon tetras are known to be picky about water quality, so they wouldn't hold up as well if used to cycle a tank. However, I've been cycling with Red-Eyed Tetras and they are holding up like champs, so it depends on the fish. Any chance you remember which specific one's you bought? And that food is great, as is pretty much all of the products made by Hikari, so you can't go wrong there. Good Luck!

 

[Gabby]

All sorted, I did a small water change, and gave them some new food, and their all happy and red and pretty. going to get them some new little friends this week hopefully. oh, and they are Neon Tetras, sorry, I thought I had said.

Thankyou all for your help!!