In desperate need of help...neons at surface gasping

Hello. I have a 5 gallon tank. 1 Betta, 1 snail, 3 neon tetras. Everything was established and running fine until i recently changed out 25% of water AND replaced the filers.

The next day...all 3 neon tetras are at the top with what look like gasping for air.

I checked the water quality (see attached)...and everything seems to be fine.

I confirmed with PetSmart that the water is fine...but the little tetras are still gasping for air at the top. I'm desperate for a solution.

I have attached 2 pics...1) what the neon tetras are doing, 2) results from the water test/strip

Can you please help?

 

Unfortunately, your nitrate and nitrite is 0 ppm. This means your ammonia, the only thing not tested by strips, is very high. Ammonia is toxic to fish, causing immediate gill damage. This is why your neon tetra are gasping at the surface. Bettas are also affected by ammonia, but are more hardy and have a labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe surface air.

When you changed your filter media, you lost your cycle. Filter media is the main place to find beneficial bacteria. These bacteria covert ammonia into nitrite, nitrosomanas, then another type of beneficial bacteria, nitrobacter, convert nitrites to nitrates. While ammonia and nitrites are extremely harmful and will kill fish, nitrates are only harmful in concentrations above 20ppm. Both nitrites and ammonia are harmful at any concentration and should be at 0 ppm. The lack of nitrites and nitrates indicate your fish are suffering from ammonia poisoning.

You should immediately do a 50% water change to manually remove some of the ammonia. You should also restart your cycle. Because you only replaced the filter there should be some beneficial bacteria in your gravel, which you can use to seed your new filter media. However, the colony will take awhile to expand, and until it does, there will be ammonia in your tank, thus killing your fish. You should dose seachem prime. It will detoxify ammonia for 48 hours, giving your tank some time to cycle without harming your fish. Redose seachem prime as needed.

I also recommend you get a larger tank. Neon tetra are schooling fish, meaning they should be kept in groups of six or more. A 5 gallon tank is only enough space for a single betta. It is too small for a school of neon tetra, nor is it large enough to accommodate for the bioload of that many fish without parameter spikes.

If neon tetras are kept in a tank too small, they will become stressed and bully each other periodically. If their group is too small, they will become stressed as they are schooling fish.

 

Do you have readings for ammonia? There is most likely a spike in ammonia, especially with that many fish in a 5 gallon.
When you change your filter cartridge, you are removing the majority of your beneficial bacteria. This causes a mini-cycle, as your bacteria have to recolonize everything again. In the future, do not change the cartridge/sponge, instead rinse in dirty tank water to remove physical contaminants
Do 50% water changes to get your spiked ammonia levels down to under 1ppm immediately. For now, monitor your ammonia and nitrite levels, and dose Seachem Prime (removes chlorine and makes ammonia and nitrite fish safe while cycling) every 24 hours to detoxify your water.

I also recommend you get a bigger tank or rehome your neon tetras, as they need 10 (preferably 20 gallons) to form a proper school and feel comfortable.

EDIT: Oops, looks like Crimson_687 beat me to it Sorry for the repeat post

 

I agree with what was previously stated. Also in terms of establishing bacteria, buying bacteria in a bottle (perhaps Tetra Safe Start) can help you establish your bacteria colony faster. But definitely everything that was said above^^^

 

Ok. THANK YOU so much for you help. New at this and learning.

I'll work on #1 and #2 now...and purchase a larger tank asap.

re: In the future, do not change the cartridge/sponge, instead rinse in dirty tank water to remove physical contaminants

... I was told to change the filters every month because they are carbon. The tank was doing great before I did.

1. Do 50% water changes to get your spiked ammonia levels down to under 1ppm immediately
2. dose Seachem Prime (removes chlorine and makes ammonia and nitrite fish safe while cycling) every 24 hours to detoxify your water
3. get a bigger tank or rehome your neon tetras, as they need 10 (preferably 20 gallons) to form a proper school and feel comfortable

 

Ok. THANK YOU so much for you help. New at this and learning.

I'll work on #1 and #2 now...and purchase a larger tank asap.

re: In the future, do not change the cartridge/sponge, instead rinse in dirty tank water to remove physical contaminants

... I was told to change the filters every month because they are carbon. The tank was doing great before I did.

1. Do 50% water changes to get your spiked ammonia levels down to under 1ppm immediately
2. dose Seachem Prime (removes chlorine and makes ammonia and nitrite fish safe while cycling) every 24 hours to detoxify your water
3. get a bigger tank or rehome your neon tetras, as they need 10 (preferably 20 gallons) to form a proper school and feel comfortable

Regarding carbon:

It is not necessary to have carbon in a filter unless used to remove medication. Carbon is actually a liability since it releases everything it absorbs once it expires and has no positive impact on water quality. The beneficial bacteria are what do the work. If you buy filter bags that have carbon, you should remove the carbon. The filter floss (what the bag is likely made of) provide a space for bacteria to grow and eat ammonia as your water is filtered.

As for tank upgrade, petco has a dollar per gallon sale that could help you out. As for supplies, Petsmart and petsupermarket both price match with chewy. On top of that, Petsmart also has an app that allows you to win coupons. The treat trail game, available on their app, is a fun and easy game that allows you to win a 15%, 20%, and 25% off single item coupons.

You should also get a liquid test kit. Strips tend to be inaccurate and won’t test ammonia

 

Ok. THANK YOU so much for you help. New at this and learning.

I'll work on #1 and #2 now...and purchase a larger tank asap.

re: In the future, do not change the cartridge/sponge, instead rinse in dirty tank water to remove physical contaminants

... I was told to change the filters every month because they are carbon. The tank was doing great before I did.

1. Do 50% water changes to get your spiked ammonia levels down to under 1ppm immediately
2. dose Seachem Prime (removes chlorine and makes ammonia and nitrite fish safe while cycling) every 24 hours to detoxify your water
3. get a bigger tank or rehome your neon tetras, as they need 10 (preferably 20 gallons) to form a proper school and feel comfortable

Unfortunately, many LFS employees don't actually keep fish They misinform a lot of hobbyists. Sorry about your cycle crash; the good news is that there are things you can do in the future to prevent this! If you'd like to keep the carbon in your filter, you can consider switching to this setup:

Buy a flat sheet of aquarium sponge and put it in place of the cartridge. This won't fall apart as easily and you won't have to replace it until it is literally crumbling.
For your carbon (often used if you need to remove odors, colors, or medication from aquarium water) you can purchase activated carbon pellets, and place them in a mesh bag in your filter. Carbon will stay good for about a month

 

update
- I changed 50% of the water and added conditioner, plus bacteria started
- Neon's are no longer at the top and are playing (thankfully)
- off to PetSmart to buy Seachem Prime and 10 gallon tank

 

Hello. I have a 5 gallon tank. 1 Betta, 1 snail, 3 neon tetras. Everything was established and running fine until i recently changed out 25% of water AND replaced the filers.

The next day...all 3 neon tetras are at the top with what look like gasping for air.

I checked the water quality (see attached)...and everything seems to be fine.

I confirmed with PetSmart that the water is fine...but the little tetras are still gasping for air at the top. I'm desperate for a solution.

I have attached 2 pics...1) what the neon tetras are doing, 2) results from the water test/strip

Can you please help?

Gas being usually indicates lack of oxygen. Maybe the flow from the filter is less because you filled it up more? Do you have a hang on the back filter? Add an air stone with an air pump and try that. They get oxygen from the water surface agitation. What do you think?

 

Make sure to cycle the tank before you put your fish in

 

Gas being usually indicates lack of oxygen. Maybe the flow from the filter is less because you filled it up more? Do you have a hang on the back filter? Add an air stone with an air pump and try that. They get oxygen from the water surface agitation. What do you think?

Gasping not gas being

 

Hello. I have a 5 gallon tank. 1 Betta, 1 snail, 3 neon tetras. Everything was established and running fine until i recently changed out 25% of water AND replaced the filers.

The next day...all 3 neon tetras are at the top with what look like gasping for air.

I checked the water quality (see attached)...and everything seems to be fine.

I confirmed with PetSmart that the water is fine...but the little tetras are still gasping for air at the top. I'm desperate for a solution.

I have attached 2 pics...1) what the neon tetras are doing, 2) results from the water test/strip

Can you please help?

The one thing not tested is your silent killer. The ammonia is definitely building up and killing your fish. Also, you NEED to move your neons and shrimp because the betta will become or already is very territorial and will probably kill them. I'd recommend at least a 10 gal for the betta if you want other fish too. 3 neons is also too little, they are schooling fish so I'd think about rehoming or getting at least 1 more.

 

The one thing not tested is your silent killer. The ammonia is definitely building up and killing your fish. Also, you NEED to move your neons and shrimp because the betta will become or already is very territorial and will probably kill them. I'd recommend at least a 10 gal for the betta if you want other fish too. 3 neons is also too little, they are schooling fish so I'd think about rehoming or getting at least 1 more.

Adding only one to a school is not a good idea as it makes it difficult for the loner to adjust. The min school number is also 6

 

Unfortunately, your nitrate and nitrite is 0 ppm. This means your ammonia, the only thing not tested by strips, is very high. Ammonia is toxic to fish, causing immediate gill damage. This is why your neon tetra are gasping at the surface. Bettas are also affected by ammonia, but are more hardy and have a labyrinth organ that allows them to breathe surface air.

When you changed your filter media, you lost your cycle. Filter media is the main place to find beneficial bacteria. These bacteria covert ammonia into nitrite, nitrosomanas, then another type of beneficial bacteria, nitrobacter, convert nitrites to nitrates. While ammonia and nitrites are extremely harmful and will kill fish, nitrates are only harmful in concentrations above 20ppm. Both nitrites and ammonia are harmful at any concentration and should be at 0 ppm. The lack of nitrites and nitrates indicate your fish are suffering from ammonia poisoning.

You should immediately do a 50% water change to manually remove some of the ammonia. You should also restart your cycle. Because you only replaced the filter there should be some beneficial bacteria in your gravel, which you can use to seed your new filter media. However, the colony will take awhile to expand, and until it does, there will be ammonia in your tank, thus killing your fish. You should dose seachem prime. It will detoxify ammonia for 48 hours, giving your tank some time to cycle without harming your fish. Redose seachem prime as needed.

I also recommend you get a larger tank. Neon tetra are schooling fish, meaning they should be kept in groups of six or more. A 5 gallon tank is only enough space for a single betta. It is too small for a school of neon tetra, nor is it large enough to accommodate for the bioload of that many fish without parameter spikes.

If neon tetras are kept in a tank too small, they will become stressed and bully each other periodically. If their group is too small, they will become stressed as they are schooling fish.

What a great answer! I learned a lot. Thank you for taking the time.

update
- I changed 50% of the water and added conditioner, plus bacteria started
- Neon's are no longer at the top and are playing (thankfully)
- off to PetSmart to buy Seachem Prime and 10 gallon tank

Thanks for the update! I'm learning too

 

Another update...

The little guys are fine!

• I added seachem prime and seems to have done the trick
• I added air filter and pump. Was a little strong for the betta so I used a clamp to adjust. He loves it now.
• re: Betta and tetras...they actually play together. I know, crazy. The also eat right beside each other. I mean the Betta could take a bite if he wanted to close. But he either ignores or plays. The tetras have learned this and actually egg him on sometimes.
• He also lets me pet him and actually gets upset when i stop. I'm not crazy. Blew my mind when he let me.
• I actually got the little guy for my daughter. And didn't realize how smart fish are. Now they are mine haha. Until she gets older anyway. I want to teach her to respect all life if you know what I mean.
• And maybe i'm losing it. But i swear he gets excited when i walk in the room.

I'll purchase a 10 gallon this week and cycle before I introduce as suggested. Kind of **** they didn't tell me about the filters. They say to replace every month...that replacing the filters might kill your fish is not in the brochure. Anyway.

Thanks again for everyone's help. Look forward to spending time on the forums. Maybe someone can learn from my mistake.

Shane

p.s. here is a pic of one of the tetras and betta playing. The tetra will try and get the betta to chase him or they will just hangout beside each other...or play with algae if i drop one together.

sooo....the community is back to normal

 

I would just add one more thing. Neon tetras are fin nippers. They came along with my betta just fine but once they became comfortable in the tank they started nipping at betta's tail. They are playing like this with each other but when they will start doing it with betta it's not good, so just keep an eye on them, especially when you get more of them to make them feel more comfortable. I ended up removing betta to avoid stressing him out.

 

The fish are not out of the woods.

When you tossed the cartridges you though away the bacteria.,To say you lost it implies you can just find it again? It will take time for the bacteria numbers to grow back to a number that can consume the daily poop load.
By throwing away the bacteria the tank is going through a mini cycle. It will be necessary to change some water (around 30%) every couple of days for a week or more. Just like a fish in cycle you need to keep the toxic water safe for fish as the bacteria multiply.

Sorry shanefish if it seems like we/ I am ganging up on you that is not my intention.

 

started nipping at betta's tail...so just keep an eye on them
I've been keeping a close eye on this for sure. It's only the one tetra he likes to play with and there is no nipping at all. They both chase each other mostly...or just hangout beside each other. They like playing with algae waffle if i drop one in the tank also.

Sorry shanefish if it seems like we/ I am ganging up on you that is not my intention.
Not at all! Lay it on me. It's the only way I'll learn and I really appreciate the advice. I'm by no means an expert at this stuff...but willing to learn from my mistakes and others. So TY.

It will be necessary to change some water (around 30%) every couple of days for a week or more
- Will do, TY

nipping at betta's tail
Double checked again...I don't want the betta stressed if the tretra is nipping. But all good.

They are playing again with an algae waffle...betta will pick it up and drop...then the tera.

Re: tank... still OK. No signs of stress.