# New neon tetras



## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

So we finally got the tank established..we got about 10 neon tetras..Now the thing is they are new to the tank so they are spooking easily even when I go to try to feed them..soo the food is basically just floating to the bottom. or they just kind of pick at it. Suggestions would be fantastic as i do not want this food lingering at floor of the tank creating ammonia. The ammonia jumped to 1.0 overnight so managing that as well. because of this exact issue.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Did you just get them? I don't feed new fish the first day in the tank, I wait a day until they are less stressed. I would keep the lights off until they are comfortable. 

What pellets are you feeding them? Perhaps they are too big.

Get out the Turkey baster and try to get the food out of there if they aren't eating it.


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

Never thought Of using a turkey baster. . . I mean they seem to eat a bit over night. but thanks for the info. should I do another water change if the ammonia keeps creeping up? I am sure it doesn't help that my daughter will sit for hours watching them. Ah yeah it's Tetra Flakes. I crush the flakes. there was some smaller tetra granuals I tried as well. I even tried crushing some brine shrimp to get them to come out. Their school is smaller then what it was at store. so that could be playing a factor.. XD. . I knew i should have gotten cories first LoL.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Yes, I would do another water change. If the ammonia seems to be getting out of control, 2 drops of Prime per gallon daily will keep it in check.

Neons are sensitive little fish. Their main predator in the wild is the leaf fish. They really prefer some open swimming space so try to keep any plants along the back and sides. Some tannins will help them out as well. Try to keep the temperature no more than 77°.


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

Yeah, right now i only have one amazon sword some driftwood and a rock in there to help with the PH balancing. They seem to love hiding behind the amazon sword if anything out of the ordinary happens. Other wise they hover around the driftwood. I fed them a bit tonight they went for a few nibbles each but it only lasted about 30 secs . the ammonia is down to .50 so it's getting better. I was able to get a majority of the food off the bottem. Again thank you for the tips. I would have never guessed x drops of prime per gallon. i was trying to do that math just today.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

You really have to get that ammonia down to 0ppm or they aren't going to last long. I would try a smaller pellet. My tetras love Omega One Color Micro pellets. You could also try grinding up the pellets you have by putting some of them in a Ziploc baggie a kneading them between your fingers.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

When you said you "finally got the tank established" I assumed it was cycled. _Established_ is the term usually used to describe a cycled and mature tank. Your ammonia problems indicate that it is not, or at least it is not a strong enough cycle. Dose Prime @ 2-drops daily until your ammonia and nitrite read 0.0ppm. 

Here's the reference you want: CYCLING: the two-sentence tutorial

As Mike suggest, smaller pellets or ground up ones are better for your water quality than flakes. Besides they're more nutritious.


http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...ssories/cycling-two-sentence-tutorial-555434/


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

Yes thank you . I had been cycling the tank for about 3 weeks before hand with just plants. I'll keep at it, I'm notoriously tenacious when it comes to things I take care of.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Just to be clear. That's 2-drops/gal daily. 

Prime does not remove of ammonia, just makes it safe. Only water changes and a cycled tank can get rid of ammonia.


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

Yup I understand I've actually contacted seachem looks like a couple other posters on their forums went thru this. I switched from stability and moved to their other product seed which is basically the same thing but better. I have noticed a pattern in thier eating. They prefer t pick food off the log rather then swim to the top so I just carefully crumble it really good and drop it over the log. Anything left in there too long gets sucked out. Not optimal but their colors are good. Lost 2 tiny ones though. One got stuck in the filter the other may not been able to handle current conditions were really small. Kh is still at 40. After reading about it I guess plants will leech carbonate hardness if there is not enough C02? Aquavits(seachem) has. Something called carbonate which adds potassium bicarbonate to the water. It says it raises kh but I'm unsure about using it to raise kh. PH is currently at 6.8 GH 120 kh 40 

On a better note I have a couple that seemcto be establishing themselves as boss they chase the others around nipping at them. My wife who said she has no intreset in them has suddenly taken an interest in this hobby and will sit and watch their antics from time to time. Very lively.


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## MikeG14 (May 31, 2014)

Let the fish adapt to your water, it's really what's best for them. A stable environment is more important then a _perfect_ one that has to be maintained by the use of chemicals.


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## SplashyBetta (Jul 28, 2014)

Don't go messing with the water chemistry. There's a good chance the tank will end up worse than before. Leave it be and the fish will adjust.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Besides, your parameters are nearly ideal for Tetra and Betta and such.


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

Well, Today we saw our first increase of Nitrite..I know this isn't suppose to be a good thing but considering I've been seeing no movement since the start of the tank. It means that I hope the ammonia should be be getting to zero soon. of the 13 neons we only lost 3..they were tiny ones though. 1 to the filter and 2 i think to the stress. 10 are still with us and. I contacted Seachem for a bit more info on their products for support. they said only do water changes during this period if ammonia goes above 5ppm because Prime couldn't' protect the fish at that point. They still won't come to the surface to eat but Again they do prefer to eat off the ground rather then off the surface.. still skittish, but when they think no one is watching they will dart around the tank like normal healthy fish. They are really good at eating the food i do put in there so I think I've gotten a handle on their eating habits. Starting to see some brown algae pop up ..reducing how long the light is on to keep it under control. I've only seen it on the rubber suction cups of the thermometer and I think one leaf of the amazon sword in it. .


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

TheStryyde said:


> ....Seachem ... said only do water changes during this period if ammonia goes above 5ppm because Prime couldn't' protect the fish at that point.


That goes along with their saying that Prime is safe up to 5-times the normal dose of 2-drops/gal. Prime @ 2-drops/gal detoxifies 1.0ppm ammonia. It's still _not_ a good idea to let ammonia build above 0.50ppm with a 2-drop/gal daily dose of Prime.

Of course, a fish-in cycle generates _exactly_ the right ammonia-oxidizing capacity.

A rise in nitrite is a good sign. You're almost cycled.

That brown algae is diatoms, common in a new tank. Keep wiping them off; eventually they go away.


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

Yup even have Nitrate too. So did a water change recently because it all was getting High. . . And suddenly out of nowhere Snails start popping up eating the algae...had the plants in there for a while..so we are definitely seeing life. . I've pulled about 10 of the buggers out. Not sure what type of snails they are , but they are tiny. I do not really want so many in the tank. If I keep seeing them pop up I may invest in a assassin snail.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

Yeah those little pond snails can get to be a nuisance. Before you go for Assassins, try sticking some pellets to the viewing pane just above the water line. The snails will come up to get it, then they're easy to wipe off.

As you've learned, having a few snails is good for controlling algae and diatoms.


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

Thanks for the tip. I've seen a few tricks. Apparenlty there's a Lettuce trick to but first time I've heard of the pellet ..Funny enough the Turky baster is workin really well to snag them out


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

No more snails after the ones I have seen, so I think 1 plant I recently had gotten had some eggs on them. Water is cycled now though 0 ammonia 0 nitrite. and 20 nitrate. Picked up 3 Panda cory's and acclimated them to the water..unlike the tetras the moment they hit the sand they started rooting around and making a mess of the tank. . .I say mess..but I think it's probably a good thing with them rooting around in the substrate. The tetras eyed them a little but now that the corys are kicking stuff up the Tetras go after a bit of it that gets kicked up. Next week is the trying time..good thing I get paid, gonna see how well a betta does. Like you all had mentioned  try it and be ready to separate him from the rest. They don't seem as shy as the tetras either. but with this setup I may be able to get an otto or 2..Maybe...I will have to see how the tank goes because help against algae would be fantastic.


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## Hallyx (Jun 11, 2011)

I like Oto's too. But they're kind of finicky. You might want to expand your Cory shoal as a favor to them. Some keepers say six is a minimum group.


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## TheStryyde (May 30, 2015)

That was the original plan..they are trouble...lots and lots of trouble, energetic hyper and not even close to shy. I was going to get 4. but one of the 4 tried to escape when the store owner was transferring the little guy so he was worried about him. so 3 it is right now. at random one of the 3 will try to hang out with the tetras and the tetras are like ...wtf? They aren't shy at all and chase my finger around the wall..They seem to play with their reflection and they have pretty much confiscated the small current. The more timid neons just don't know what to do with them. One was messing a plant getting whatever algae that had developed on it. then used it as a hammock. I'll give it a week, but with this going on i am anxious to see how the Betta does in the tank and i want to do it on a pay week so most likely I'll do the betta first and then see if I can find 3 more pandas. The panda's don't come in at the petland often so I was lucky to find these guys, Usually they just have peppered and albinos.


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