It happens, especially with a fish as small as a neon tetra. Sometimes other fish eat them, sometimes they get sucked up in the filter and sometimes they just eaten by bacteria just like any other bio-waste. Neons are notoriously easy fish to kill because of many years of poor breeding. I would definately keep an eye out for more fish dying though, and watch your tank parameters. If a fish or two did die you may see a spike in ammonia, nitrite or nitrate.
"crapums"?? LOL ;-)
In my tank I started out with 21 cardinals and I'm now done to just 13. The little suckers keep getting sucked up and into the overflow (or into the mouth if my Pictus) they go, only to be sucked up against the prefilter. I've never had a spike in water parameters because of this, they are so little and the tank is a 100. I wouldn't think you'd see a spike either. They are delicate fish, especially when they are new to the tank. If they can make it past the first month or so they generally will live a long time. It's possible the ones you purchased from the LFS weren't incredibly hardy because they were fresh arivals to the store? Typical of neons, cardinals, otos, etc, to be less hardy when they are newly arrived.
No there is no way they will cause an ammonia spike in a tank that big. But I would be willing to bet that they are laying on the bottom of your tank somewhere. When you are looking for them be sure to look from all angles (front, back, sides, and top) and under/around all plants/decorations because the glass and water together distorts your vision and it is very easy to overlook that small of a fish. I have a 55g tank and I spent about 10 minutes trying to find a zebra danio that died the other day. Keep looking and goodluck!
No there is no way they will cause an ammonia spike in a tank that big. But I would be willing to bet that they are laying on the bottom of your tank somewhere. When you are looking for them be sure to look from all angles (front, back, sides, and top) and under/around all plants/decorations because the glass and water together distorts your vision and it is very easy to overlook that small of a fish. I have a 55g tank and I spent about 10 minutes trying to find a zebra danio that died the other day. Keep looking and goodluck!
I had cichlid fry commit mass suicide.. Over 4 days, 14 fish jumped out of the tank. Didn't notice until I looked at the tank and thought it looked empty.
What fish do you have in the tank? Anything large?
Do you have snails?
Fish don't float for long... I believe (depending on what they die of) they either sink for several hours, float for about 8 hours, then sink again, or float first and then sink. (They float because of gas buildup in their tissues due to decomposition, and sometimes their swim bladder as well.)
If you don't have anything too large, I'd get some ghost shrimp.. Awesome little scavengers. If you have snails, they'll do it as well.
considering they're sold as food and are dirt cheap, you could easily do 10-15. They will attack sick/dying fish though... They're carnivorous, but they're also slow.
I like them in my guppy fry tanks for that reason- survival of the fittest. I bet they'd eat fish eggs if something spawned...
I'd also get 5-6 Nerite snails of whatever kind you like. They don't breed in freshwater and are very attractive- perhaps the zebra or corona nerites....
Okay...cool! I Googled them and it said you can put one for every gallon of water. So...I can put 125 of them? LoL! I read that and read that ~ did I read it wrong?
Snails?
They are great in garlic butter at a french eatery but...I had a snail outbreak once in my Discus tank ~ Ka..........zillions of them!!
But you say these don't breed? I know where to find you if they do.:lol: I am going to google the three you mentioned. Aren't they sensitive to meds, though?
I wouldn't. Inverts don't pass their illness/disease to fish or vice versa. At least in terms of everything I've ever read. (Of course, I haven't read EVERYTHING....)
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Related Threads
?
?
?
?
?
Tropical Fish Keeping
597.8K posts
83.7K members
Since 2006
forum community dedicated to tropical fish owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about species,breeding, health, behavior, aquariums, adopting, care, classifieds, and more! Open to fish, plants and reptiles living in freshwater or saltwater environments.