The Neon Tetra murders...

Blaxicanlatino

I have 3 neon tetras along with 3 dwarf platys, 1 female betta and 2 ghost shrimps in my 10 gallon tank. I decided to add another Neon Tetra. I quarintined it, then put it in the main tank.... i watched them for a few hours....then the next day i came back to see how it was doing.... and their it was...floating at the top of the tank with its eyes gone and jags on his body... what the heck just happened? everything seemed fine and then this!

Lupin

How did you acclimate the fish? How long did you quarantine the fish? Normally, quarantine period should last 3-4 weeks, not a mere few hours otherwise it defeats the purpose of actually quarantining the new fish. I suggest you tighten your quarantine procedures further. Many of us take quarantine period for granted and in the end, we learn things the hard way with the end result of losing several fish in the process as a result of introduction of parasites that could fatally destroy the fish.

My second impression here is how did you introduce the fish? Were the tankmates quite inquisitive at the new tankmate? If you introduced the fish in broad daylight, chances are likely that the fish was being harassed by its tankmates prior to its death. By the time the fish dies, its tankmates would naturally eat the eyes first which they normally do when something dies.

If you are not acclimating the fish properly, that would be another possible culprit in its death otherwise it should not have occurred assuming you introduced the fish during the dark where it is given time to adjust itself to the surroundings.

Blaxicanlatino

hmmm.... i did neglect a good amount of time in the quartining process. I only did for a week. When i placed it the tank, the other fish just looked at it. then the betta lurched at once then that was the end of them teasing it. But the new neon did however begin attacking the other 3 neons that were already in the tank. They simply submitted to its biting. Then i came back and yeah...

chadan

Hmm...an odd case.

We have like 16 tetras and 15 guppies...2 angel fish, a golden algae eater and a Flying Fox....we never quarantine our fish when we add a new one...and they all live harmoniously....we recently added 6 new tetras and put them straight in the tank. So hmmm...maybe it was a dud fish. Do you live in the states...because that could be the reason...too much violence on TV...haha

Blaxicanlatino

lol agreed on the violence. I live in Texas. and the LFS i normally go to is petsmart but they usually take better care of the fish then other places and the woman that cares for the fish is passionate about them. Not quaritning fish can be very dangerouse though