Fish Being Attacked And Killed, Guppy In Danger

[zoepiglet]

I have an aqua one 320 tank.............28ltr.

only just set it up and introduced a male and female guppy, 2 platys and 6 neons

everything seemed fine initially but then we started finding dead neons......... missing neons turned up skeletonised!!

we are down to 2 neons after the rest have been attacked and have died. Some we have found dead have had bite wounds.........another skeleton we found one morning.

now the female guppy has a bite wound!!!

How do we help the female guppy does she need removing from the tank?

Which fish is likely to have been attacking, killing and eating the others??

The Ph is sat at 7.4, temp 26degrees c, hardness is appropriate.................. is it just that these 3 species dont mix well? new tank syndrome? over crowding?

they have been fed twice a day with a tropical flake and had live shrimps once.

tank only been set up with fish for 4 days.

Any help would be great

Thanks

Zoe

 

[kribensis12]

Neons are very sensitive. I would suggest taking all those fish out and taking them back adn maybe getting a few dnaios and cycle it ( most people disagree with this method and do fishless cycling), and read up on cycling here: http/www.aquatic-hobbyist.com/profiles/m...ishcycling.html
If you do not cycle, all your fish will die. Your fish are not being attacked per say by fish, but ammonia and nitrite, and possibly nitrate ( chemicals in the water, which are taken care of by cycling. Until you take those fish back, i would recommend frequent 50 percent water changes. Do you dechlorinate your water?

 

[zoepiglet]

Yes the water has been dechlorinated............ you say they arent being attacked by the fish??? ummm surely the ammonia and nitrates wont kill and skeletonise a fish just over night

would that also explain the bite wound in the guppy???

Sorry very new to keeping tropical fish!!

I just assumed that since several have had large bite wounds, one was totally eaten bar the bones and the female guppy has a bite that perhaps it was one of the platys or the male guppy??? I think i read that Guppies will eat fry, same with the platys......could they be attacking and eating the neons simply cos they are smaller fish and are marking there territory??? i'm guessing fish along with any other species can become territorial?

Thanks again and i will read up on cycling.

Zoe

 

[shelaghfishface]

im with KRIB on this one, i added neons to an uncycled tank, and was forever replacing them ( dont know which was more silly)
they will look "ghostly" when dead as the coulor will drain from them, isuspect your other fish have been snacking on them too,
maybe you could return your fish to the store and read about fishless cycling- much less heartache involved

 

[zoepiglet]

Geez so much to learn!! should have stuck with cold water fish!!

The fish dont appear to have changed colour at all but they have defuinately been nibbled on!!! could not believe the one fish had been completely devoured bar the bones in the 7 hrs we were asleep! certainly not hungry after that!! LOL

Can i ask are guppies and platys easier than neons to keep then? any ideas on who may have taken a chunk out of the guppy??? male guppy? or platys?

sorry i know i'm seeming very naive and asking rather silly questions but there is so much conflicting info out there on the internet!

Thanks