My Neon Tetra Are Disappearing

I have a 55 gallon freshwater tank 3 bala sharks 4 rainbow sharks two of them albino 3 glow fish to angelfish elephant fish a algae eater and I had four neon tetras and they disappeared.. does anyone have and idea?

 

At one point (when I bought them) I had 6 neons and 4 glo-light tetras. Shortly after I did my first water change with them in there, I found that I could only see 3. I looked and looked for a dead fish but never found it. Now I'm down to two and don't know where the other went. I'm also down to 5 neons but one of them (if I remember correctly) died. the glo0lights are the mystery here. I have a couple ideas for mine. One, it could have been that when I was suctioning the gravel I sucked him up and didn't realize it. The other is that he died somewhere in the tank and I've yet to find him. However, all my water levels are fine so I don't think that is it. However the tetras are very small and I have a really good filter so maybe it wouldn't raise my levels too much...IDK I'm rather new to fishkeeping myself so I'm sure others might have some better ideas. The other thing I would consider if I were you is that it looks like your other fish are a bit larger than the neons and perhaps those neons were lunch for some of them. At the time I didn't have any fish much larger than the tetras (only cherry barbs) but I doubt they could have eaten the tetras. Who knows. I would at least check your water conditions (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) to see if there is any elevation since the fish went missing. Then it might be a good idea to move around some of your decorations to see if they got caught up in or under them. Hope you figure it out.

 

At one point (when I bought them) I had 6 neons and 4 glo-light tetras. Shortly after I did my first water change with them in there, I found that I could only see 3. I looked and looked for a dead fish but never found it. Now I'm down to two and don't know where the other went. I'm also down to 5 neons but one of them (if I remember correctly) died. the glo0lights are the mystery here. I have a couple ideas for mine. One, it could have been that when I was suctioning the gravel I sucked him up and didn't realize it. The other is that he died somewhere in the tank and I've yet to find him. However, all my water levels are fine so I don't think that is it. However the tetras are very small and I have a really good filter so maybe it wouldn't raise my levels too much...IDK I'm rather new to fishkeeping myself so I'm sure others might have some better ideas. The other thing I would consider if I were you is that it looks like your other fish are a bit larger than the neons and perhaps those neons were lunch for some of them. At the time I didn't have any fish much larger than the tetras (only cherry barbs) but I doubt they could have eaten the tetras. Who knows. I would at least check your water conditions (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates) to see if there is any elevation since the fish went missing. Then it might be a good idea to move around some of your decorations to see if they got caught up in or under them. Hope you figure it out.

Thanks you very much Wendy I'm moving around the decorations now

 

You're welcome. Like I said, I'm not sure that is the case, but it's always good to go on the lookout for the missing fish just to make sure you don't upset your water conditions.

I just did a 30% water change, moved a big decor that I hadn't moved during the last WC and viola, there was my missing DEAD fish. Lesson learned, make sure to count all your fish every day...I might have been able to save him if I did that.

 

My neons go missing sporadically but then they always reappear.

 

you have an elephant nose mormyrid,?Fascinating. How is it doing. please give data. water params, food given, behavior, age, whether the tank is well cycled, etc.

as for neons. neons don't do well in small groups. while some folks do keep itty bitty groups of neons the likely hood they will thrive and live for years would be an anomaly, to me 4 neons in a 55 gallon would feel scared and depressed. I personally have more than +40 big fat neons approaching 5 years in age.
neons are spectacular in big groups and are not as skittish when they feel safe in a group. much research has been done on group sizes, neons in particular, if put side by side, a group of 12 or more will always be better than a singly kept neon.

However with your stocking I would not get more neons. If rainbow sharks are anything like redtail sharks then when they reach puberty I would not bet on the neons to survive their aggressive territorial outbursts.

 

With those rainbow sharks it is not a mystery for your neons they make way bigger fish than neons disappeared

 

I think you have stocking issues. Algae eaters should be kept in groups of 6 or more. Same for the glofish (it looks like yours are glofish tetras), same for the neon tetras. And of course, the more the better. With the numbers you have, your fish are stressed, skittish and shy. They'll get sick more easily and die younger.

Additionally, your tank is too small for even a single elephantnose fish. It's also too small for any bala shark. It might be suitable for a single rainbow shark but even this I'm not sure.

I'd like to call in TexasDomer because I do think this is a problem that needs to be addressed with expertise.

 

Bala Sharks are large Pelagic fish. If you have ever seen big Tinfoil Barbs they are essentially slow growing version of that. My opinion is that Balas are sold incorrectly as amateur aquarium fish, they belong in the category of monster fish and should only be kept in big monster tanks.

What kind of Algae Eater, please specify. I don't want to make wild guesses about its nature and needs.

For school building, I think you need to scrap the idea on getting more neons, those poor delicate fish are simply not cut out for a tank stocked like this. have mercy. however if you must since you got glofish tetras( so did I for my Jack Dempsey tank!) you might as well get the White Skirt tetras since they are the same fish just cheaper and not genetically modified, the White Skirt is a natural mutation of the Black Skirt. I would get more of these fish and create a bigger school.

that is a lot of Rainbowfish, when they start to mature and hit puberty it will be like the Highlander, there can be only one. if you know what I mean.

and lastly I worry about the Elephant nose. depending on the personality and disposition of your particular specimen it could have issues with mature rainbow(s) harassing it. it could either kill or be killed since they fill the same niche and similar territorial behaviors.

personally I prefer the elephant nose over the rainbows, they are just like miniature dolphins, if you give them proper love and care you can even hand feed them given time and trust as well. they can grow to 12inches, but they are slow growing and will usually top out at 9in in most aquariums. they also require very clean water, if you think you might have a sick elephant nose then the prognosis is quite grim, since they are a very sensitive fish.