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Natk87

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Hi all, just a query, we got a 12L tank (looking at a bigger tank atm) got one platy, two guppies, 3 neon tetra and a pleco, found that one of the tetra had been eaten the other day but honestly out it down to maybe it had just died....come home today and find the other two have been devoured today! Really unsure of what has happened has anyone any advice/suggestions as to why this happened? Thanks
 
A 12l tank is far too small for anything other than a betta and thats iffy
Depending on the pleco they can get up to 24 inches. Neons belong in schools of at least 6 and need long tanks of atleast 2 feet. Guppies are hard water fish and neons soft water mollies are hard water and can get above 6 inches.
There are most likely multiple reasons your fish are dying.
First things first is what are your water parameters. GH being the most important in deciding what fish should be kept in your larger tank.
Secondly what are your ammonia nitrite and nitrates to determine if your tank is cycled.
 
Either they died and the pleco ate the bodies or the pleco ate them live which is highly unlikely.
There is a few problems here. Guppies and platies are hard water fish, but neons and places are fairly soft water species.
3 gallons is too small for even a single guppy, let alone all of the fish you have mentioned.
Plecos can get to be 14 inches long depending on the species, do you know which kind you have?
Neon tetras require a shoal of at least 6, with 8-10 being better

What is your ammonia/nitrate/nitrite/PH/GH?

Did the neons show any symptoms of disease before dying?
 
A 12l tank is far too small for anything other than a betta and thats iffy
Depending on the pleco they can get up to 24 inches. Neons belong in schools of at least 6 and need long tanks of atleast 2 feet. Guppies are hard water fish and neons soft water mollies are hard water and can get above 6 inches.
There are most likely multiple reasons your fish are dying.
First things first is what are your water parameters. GH being the most important in deciding what fish should be kept in your larger tank.
Secondly what are your ammonia nitrite and nitrates to determine if your tank is cycled.
We typed at the same time :)
 
12 litres is a very small tank and all the fish you have (or had) need a much bigger tank.

The reason everyone is asking about your ammonia and nitrite readings is because these two are poisonous to fish. Fish excrete ammonia - it is their version of urine. In a mature tank there are bacteria which eat ammonia, but in a brand new tank there are none; we have to grow these bacteria, a process which takes several weeks. Once the ammonia eating bacteria begin to grow, they turn the ammonia into nitrite. Another type of bacteria slowly grow in the tank which eat nitrite and turn it into the much less toxic nitrate. The process of growing these two types of bacteria is called cycling, and it takes several weeks.
It is possible to grow the bacteria by adding ammonia to the tank, waiting till the bacteria have grown and then getting fish. But if this is not done, as soon as fish are put in the tank they begin excreting ammonia which builds up very quickly with a lot of fish in a small tank. It can get high enough to kill them. The way to cope with this is to measure ammonia and nitrite every day, and do a water change whenever there is more than zero.

Hardness is also important. Lakes and rivers have different hardness depending on the type of rock the water flows over. Some types of rock such as chalk and limestone dissolve in the water making it hard. other types of rock do not dissolve in water at all and water flowing over these is soft. Fish have evolved in rivers and lakes with a certain level of hardness and we should keep fish which come from water with the same hardness as our tap water.
Hard water fish have evolved so that their bodies get rid of most of the hardness minerals they take in. If they are kept in soft water, their bodies still excrete these minerals so they suffer from calcium depletion. Soft water fish come from water with hardly any minerals so their bodies evolved to hang on to the minerals. In hard water they still still hang on to the minerals, and there is so much that calcium deposits form in their organs.
This is why everyone asked about the hardness of your water, because you have some hard water fish and some soft water fish. One or other group will not be happy depending on whether your water is soft or hard.
 
Hi all thanks for the replies, it seems to be the one fish that's aggressive, have a girl coming tomorrow to look at everything for me as she knows quite alot compared to me will let you all know what happens tomorrow, as I say we are definately getting a far bigger tank as soon as physically possible in the current climate
 
Hi all thanks for the replies, it seems to be the one fish that's aggressive, have a girl coming tomorrow to look at everything for me as she knows quite alot compared to me will let you all know what happens tomorrow, as I say we are definately getting a far bigger tank as soon as physically possible in the current climate
In a tank that small all the fish are going to be aggressive they have zero room.
If you took 5. Humans and forced them to live in a cardboard box while peeing on eachother they would soon get cranky aggressive and die. Best solution if one cant get them in a bigger tank right away is to do daily water changes and hope they last the week.
 
Either they died and the pleco ate the bodies or the pleco ate them live which is highly unlikely.
There is a few problems here. Guppies and platies are hard water fish, but neons and places are fairly soft water species.
3 gallons is too small for even a single guppy, let alone all of the fish you have mentioned.
Plecos can get to be 14 inches long depending on the species, do you know which kind you have?
Neon tetras require a shoal of at least 6, with 8-10 being better

What is your ammonia/nitrate/nitrite/PH/GH?

Did the neons show any symptoms of disease before dying?
What "places" are fairly soft?
 
Either they died and the pleco ate the bodies or the pleco ate them live which is highly unlikely.
There is a few problems here. Guppies and platies are hard water fish, but neons and places are fairly soft water species.
3 gallons is too small for even a single guppy, let alone all of the fish you have mentioned.
Plecos can get to be 14 inches long depending on the species, do you know which kind you have?
Neon tetras require a shoal of at least 6, with 8-10 being better

What is your ammonia/nitrate/nitrite/PH/GH?

Did the neons show any symptoms of disease before dying?
What "places" are fairly soft? ;) got you back :kana: those darn auto corrects strike again!
 

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