Neon Tetras from Big Box Store

So I am still a beginner, now approaching my first anniversary of fishkeeping. As all beginners I made my fair share of mistakes and joined this forum with written screams for help, getting the input I needed to get through the obstacle course.
We hear a lot about Petsmart and Petco selling low quality fish, loaded with diseases ready to wipe out our show tanks in a blink of an eye.
Last year I started with the typical beginner fish....Neon Tetras, dumped them into the freshly cycled display tank. I fed a ton of food. They got ich and/or exploded from overfeeding. Not a pretty picture, and I am ashamed about my ignorance and slow learning curve, at that time blaming the perceived low quality for a lot of the deaths.
But unfortunately fish don't come with a user manual.
Fast forward a year. The Neons are adult now, and 14 of them swimming in a 55gl tank is like having no Neons. So I decided to increase the school. The LFS had their Neons in Quarantine, and they did not look so good.
Petsmart at the other hand had a good amount of healthy looking ones. Yes, there was a dead one floating as well and they were all tiny, but hey.
The Associate inquired what I plan to do with them, and after learning that they will go into an established tank he was enthusiastic and miscounted, a lot. I asked for 10, I got 18 Neons. So fully expecting that the weak ones would die.... here I am 5 weeks into the quarantine and they are still all around. It is mesmerizing to watch these little guys grow.
Yes, they had ich, but heat and daily water changes took care of it. Yes, two of them took the joy ride through the syphon... and survived. Yes, my water has a pH of 8, they don't seem to mind. So there are still Neons out there, defending their reputation of being the hardy beginner fish. Or may be I am just lucky.
So I have to put out a cudo and good review for Petsmart.

 

I'm really happy you had a good experience. I want more neons so badly, but right now don't have a QT available and will NOT make that mistake again. I'm down to only 3 because I did what you did the first time.

 

I won't buy from Petsmart but they actually do get in some excellent quality fish. Its too bad their company policy makes them run every tank on the same filtration system. If they did things properly they could be the premier source for this hobby

 

I just got 12 neons, and they’re all still in QT. Fingers crossed! Mine are from a LFS but one I haven’t been to before so I hope they all make it. Is 5 weeks typically a good QT or is it because they had ich? Seems long but I’m impatient,...

 

I'm really happy you had a good experience. I want more neons so badly, but right now don't have a QT available and will NOT make that mistake again. I'm down to only 3 because I did what you did the first time.

I don't really sweat the QT setup. A tub or spare 10gl tank, a sponge filter (can be new) with air pump, a heater. As I fully expect ich, daily waterchanges are necessary to keep ammonia under control. I have 18 Neons in the little tank....not really planned, but it works out.

I won't buy from Petsmart but they actually do get in some excellent quality fish. Its too bad their company policy makes them run every tank on the same filtration system. If they did things properly they could be the premier source for this hobby

I agree, and lot of the fish sales associates have fish (or fish rooms) as well, don't only want to make the sale. It is refreshing. I felt more passion about fish in this one Petsmart guy over the feeling of boredom in some of the LFS guys.

 

So I am still a beginner, now approaching my first anniversary of fishkeeping. As all beginners I made my fair share of mistakes and joined this forum with written screams for help, getting the input I needed to get through the obstacle course.
We hear a lot about Petsmart and Petco selling low quality fish, loaded with diseases ready to wipe out our show tanks in a blink of an eye.
Last year I started with the typical beginner fish....Neon Tetras, dumped them into the freshly cycled display tank. I fed a ton of food. They got ich and/or exploded from overfeeding. Not a pretty picture, and I am ashamed about my ignorance and slow learning curve, at that time blaming the perceived low quality for a lot of the deaths.
But unfortunately fish don't come with a user manual.
Fast forward a year. The Neons are adult now, and 14 of them swimming in a 55gl tank is like having no Neons. So I decided to increase the school. The LFS had their Neons in Quarantine, and they did not look so good.
Petsmart at the other hand had a good amount of healthy looking ones. Yes, there was a dead one floating as well and they were all tiny, but hey.
The Associate inquired what I plan to do with them, and after learning that they will go into an established tank he was enthusiastic and miscounted, a lot. I asked for 10, I got 18 Neons. So fully expecting that the weak ones would die.... here I am 5 weeks into the quarantine and they are still all around. It is mesmerizing to watch these little guys grow.
Yes, they had ich, but heat and daily water changes took care of it. Yes, two of them took the joy ride through the syphon... and survived. Yes, my water has a pH of 8, they don't seem to mind. So there are still Neons out there, defending their reputation of being the hardy beginner fish. Or may be I am just lucky.
So I have to put out a cudo and good review for Petsmart.

Yeah, I had a similar experience with my own Neons at Petsmart for my 29 gallon aquascape about 5 months back. I asked for 12, but there was only 13 left in the tank so the lady just gave me the last little runt for free. I feared myself that some of them or worse yet all would die hearing about their reputation here on Fishlore, but they all miraculously survived just like yours! They also had the start of ick, but the increased temp and daily water changes cured it within a week. They are now healthy and robust little buggers living alongside my 12 Lambchop Rasboras bought from the same Petsmart in ph 8 waters. I think it is crazy how similar our situations sound, but it worked out for both of us in the end so that is what matters.

 

I just got 12 neons, and they’re all still in QT. Fingers crossed! Mine are from a LFS but one I haven’t been to before so I hope they all make it. Is 5 weeks typically a good QT or is it because they had ich? Seems long but I’m impatient,...

Agreed, it is long. I am a firm believer in quarantine, and even go to the extreme of 8 weeks mandatory. Last year after I brought disease into my brandnew 55gl tank, with the panic and heart ache and medication and stress for fish, for me there is no space for emotional impatience. It is just not worth it. It is so much more relaxing, and I believe it has an impact on the fish as well. While the original batch from last year is skittish, the new ones seem to be more relaxed as well. Yes, they had the run in with the syphon, and they don't like me playing daily tornado in their tank. But after 5 minutes they are at the front glass of the tank again, watching my face as I am watching for white spots.

 

To be honest most chain and big box and even most mom and pop stores get their fish from the same sources. (Segrest, Sunpet being the bigger two for freshwater)
Neons are hit or miss for how healthy they are. I've gotten some were I haven't lost any, and I've also gotten groups were I've had two left out of twenty plus after QT and there was nothing I could have done to stop the sudden deaths of the one group.
If you can find a hobbyist breeding them all the better, but they will be more expensive than if you got them from a chain store, but likely in better health (without parasites or disease).

 

To be honest most chain and big box and even most mom and pop stores get their fish from the same sources. (Segrest, Sunpet being the bigger two for freshwater)
Neons are hit or miss for how healthy they are. I've gotten some were I haven't lost any, and I've also gotten groups were I've had two left out of twenty plus after QT and there was nothing I could have done to stop the sudden deaths of the one group.
If you can find a hobbyist breeding them all the better, but they will be more expensive than if you got them from a chain store, but likely in better health (without parasites or disease).

Yes, I agree. I am a regular surfer on our ksl classified ads, got my Cories and BN from a hobby breeder. They also did their share of suffering under my overfeeding torture, but there is no disease. Normally the classifieds here are offering a lot of Cichlids outgrowing their tanks.

 

ksl also seems to have a lot of assassin snails, shrimp and plecos. So hard, I want a pleco so bad but my tanks aren't big enough.

 

Yeah, I had a similar experience with my own Neons at Petsmart for my 29 gallon aquascape about 5 months back. I asked for 12, but there was only 13 left in the tank so the lady just gave me the last little runt for free. I feared myself that some of them or worse yet all would die hearing about their reputation here on Fishlore, but they all miraculously survived just like yours! They also had the start of ick, but the increased temp and daily water changes cured it within a week. They are now healthy and robust little buggers living alongside my 12 Lambchop Rasboras bought from the same Petsmart in ph 8 waters. I think it is crazy how similar our situations sound, but it worked out for both of us in the end so that is what matters.

Honestly, most people that blame stores is because they would rather blame the tools instead of the carpenter. Not having a name brand hammer isn't going to make you not know how to build a staircase.

 

I've had good experiences getting neons from Petsmart/Petco. Much of my current school is from there, and they are happy little fish...never got sick.

 

What's the deal with neon tetras? Are they fragile?

 

What's the deal with neon tetras? Are they fragile?

They are fairly overbred with pretty much all of the ones currently available being farmed rather than a wild caught or from wild caught parents (several several gens back would have been wild, but they have such a quick lifecycle and very little to no new blood being added to the genepool will make it stagnate). Columnaris and similar disease seems to hit them particularly hard about like farm raised angelfish.

 

There is also the Neon tetra disease, but I don't think it's that big of a deal.

 

Then there goes my plan of adding them to my tank

 

Then there goes my plan of adding them to my tank

Cardinal Tetras are very similar to Neons, you should check those out to see if they are compatible with your setup. My Neons lucked out in the end, but sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry.

 

Cardinal Tetras are very similar to Neons, you should check those out to see if they are compatible with your setup. My Neons lucked out in the end, but sometimes it is better to be safe than sorry.

The local fish store only has neons. I'm not ordering fish from any online store. I got burned twice since March

 

The local fish store only has neons. I'm not ordering fish from any online store. I got burned twice since March

Yeah, better to be safe than sorry in that regard. Maybe you can see if your store has Rasboras, they are a hardy and great family of schooling fishes.

 

Yeah, better to be safe than sorry in that regard. Maybe you can see if your store has Rasboras, they are a hardy and great family of schooling fishes.

They do have some really nice lambchops and I think they're one of the buy one get one fish today

 

I bought 5 neons last year. The last new one died last week. It never put on any weight.

I had dosed entire tank with Artemiss by Microbelift a few months back for cottonmouth on 1 of them ( all other fish were fine).

My original 2 neons are nearly 2 years old - fat & happy, big boys. I'll not replace them again to build up numbers. They're just very weak fish here locally.

 

The local fish store only has neons. I'm not ordering fish from any online store. I got burned twice since March

I can understand that. My online experience was a disaster with Cardinals.
It seems to be a hit and miss with Neons, even locally. May be it depends on how long they are exposed to a bad environment at the fishstore.

 

They do have some really nice lambchops and I think they're one of the buy one get one fish today

It's hard to compete with the bright colors of a Neon, however, in keeping 5 different types of small tetras, I have found the similarly sized Rasboras to be much more active and enjoyable to watch...also with better schooling behavior. Feeding my 10 Harlequins in my Hex tank is like watching a bunch of tiny Piranhas...it's a frenzy!

 

It's hard to compete with the bright colors of a Neon, however, in keeping 5 different types of small tetras, I have found the similarly sized Rasboras to be much more active and enjoyable to watch...also with better schooling behavior. Feeding my 10 Harlequins in my Hex tank is like watching a bunch of tiny Piranhas...it's a frenzy!

What would you say is a good school size of lambchops?

 

What would you say is a good school size of lambchops?

I like at least 10 if you can do that many. If you can do more, even better. What size tank do you have and what's in it/planned to be in it??

Eventually, I will be adding probably a few more to my Hex tank once I move some fish out of there who are growing.

 

The local fish store only has neons. I'm not ordering fish from any online store. I got burned twice since March

You could ask if they can order fish for you from their distributor. If you can, get hold of wild-caught Paracheirodon Simulans, aka Green Neon Tetras (sometimes called Blue Neon Tetras or False Neons)

These are very hardy (my Fishy is over 5 1/2 years old) and I think they are a little prettier than regular Neons or Cardinals. But it has to be the wild-caught ones.

 

You could ask if they can order fish for you from their distributor. If you can, get hold of wild-caught Paracheirodon Simulans, aka Green Neon Tetras (sometimes called Blue Neon Tetras or False Neons)

These are very hardy (my Fishy is over 5 1/2 years old) and I think they are a little prettier than regular Neons or Cardinals. But it has to be the wild-caught ones.

It's definitely worth a shot. Thanks

I did have green neons in one of my tanks a few years ago but they all died out. I never really looked into why but that was just before I got involved with a woman that had 4 kids

I like at least 10 if you can do that many. If you can do more, even better. What size tank do you have and what's in it/planned to be in it??

Eventually, I will be adding probably a few more to my Hex tank once I move some fish out of there who are growing.

I have a 29 gallon with some glofish. Plastic decor.

I can easily add 10 but that's the limit

 

The research I have done plus my experiences inform me that Neon Tetras suffer from Columnaris not Neon Tetra Disease.

They are healthy when shipped from the farms but suffer in transit, handling and acclimatisation to their new environment at the retailer / LFS.

The stress brings on the disease.

You need to buy them from an LFS that acclimates them well and has no losses.

I've heard of stores removing hundreds of dead ones each morning before opening for sale.

 

Not sure if it's cus I live in Canada but my PetSmart gets their stock from private farms. I know cus I saw the order come in one day and checked out the supplier. Def different than the mom and pop shops. It's too bad that such nice fish immediately go into dead floating ammonia minestrone

 

The research I have done plus my experiences inform me that Neon Tetras suffer from Columnaris not Neon Tetra Disease.

They are healthy when shipped from the farms but suffer in transit, handling and acclimatisation to their new environment at the retailer / LFS.

The stress brings on the disease.

You need to buy them from an LFS that acclimates them well and has no losses.

I've heard of stores removing hundreds of dead ones each morning before opening for sale.

The good thing with this store is that I never see any dead fish in any of their tanks and I go in there 2 or so times a week.
I looked at the neons last weekend and they were all vibrant and healthy.
I had a change of heart and bought the neons that he had. The Lambchops were nice looking but they weren't part of the weekend sale.

The Neons really did look vibrant and healthy. I spent several minutes watching them.

Not only that but I had store credit and I got 11 neons for the price of two

 

To be honest most chain and big box and even most mom and pop stores get their fish from the same sources. (Segrest, Sunpet being the bigger two for freshwater)
Neons are hit or miss for how healthy they are. I've gotten some were I haven't lost any, and I've also gotten groups were I've had two left out of twenty plus after QT and there was nothing I could have done to stop the sudden deaths of the one group.
If you can find a hobbyist breeding them all the better, but they will be more expensive than if you got them from a chain store, but likely in better health (without parasites or disease).

There are unfortunately not as many hobby breeders left for Neons.
Plecos, Cories, Shrimp, Cichlids are available with a bit of patience. I am watching my local classifieds since I started one year ago, Neons were not available.
On another note, after 8 weeks the 18 little guys moved into the big tank this morning, at this time they are all huddling in the Amazon Sword. I may have pulled too many of the dwarf lettuce during my big cleanup, so there is not as much cover.