Tetra death

[jasrub114]

This past weekend, I bought 6 neon tetra's and they seemed to really enjoy my 55g tank.. That is, until the next day, I noticed that I could only count 5 of them. I figured it was either hiding, or I just couldn't find it. Then on Monday, I noticed I could only see 2 of them swimming around, and realized that 4 of them had been stuck to the intake tube to the power filter. These fish are small, and I assume once they got close to the intake tube, they couldn't swim hard enough to resist the suction. Is there a good way to prevent this?  Thanks in advance.

[Ellen]

Re: Tetra death

The fish were probably sickly when you got them. A healthy neon can easily swim away from an intake tube. When they get sick and are near death, they are very weak and that is when they get sucked up to the filter.

I hope you have better luck!

Ellen

[Mzungu]

Re: Tetra death

I'm with Ellen. However, with fry and such, many people use a pre-filter sponge, which covers the intake tube and dampens the force of the suction.

Do you notice anything strange/wrong with the 2 remaining neons?

[jasrub114]

Re: Tetra death

No, the 2 tetra's that are left seem fine.. But then again, so did the other 4 that died.. At least they seemed fine to me.

[Mzungu]

Re: Tetra death

Have you put any other fish in there yet? Is the tank still cycling? That might be a factor in their deaths.

Hopefully, the two left are in good shape!  :)

[Ellen]

Re: Tetra death

Also, most neon tetras are wild caught and many have trouble adjusting to tank life. It is not uncommon to have such a high mortality rate with these little fish.

Ellen

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Tetra death

Along with what the others said, shipping takes a toll on the little fish as well.

[Brownsnoutuk]

Re: Tetra death

If the neons were the only things in the 55, then it shouldnt have been the non-cycling that killed them in that short of time.

Did you treat the water with Dechlorinator? If you didnt, then you can buy it cheaply from walmart/petco/petsmart.