Glo-light Dead

[ostrow]

Second dead tetra in a few weeks. All others (platies, 3 tetras) are in seeming good health. Water levels all in ideal range.

I'm wondering if its overcrowding with all the flourishing plants. I have 5 small platies and, now, 3 tetras (one Black Neon, one Neon, one I forget, yellowish tetra size of the black neon but with different fin shape). All in a 6 gallon tank. My guess is I've been overzealous in stocking.

But I change 20% of water every 2 weeks and don't overfeed.

Not going to replace anything that dies and see what happens.

Well...to a point!!!

 

[William]

tetras like best to be in groups of their own species, perhaps it was getting stressed out on its own and picked on by the platies?

Hopefully other members can be more helpful

 

[ostrow]

hmmm... somewhere else folks said tetras will hang out together regardless of type (glo-lights and neons happy together as these generally seemed to be. i did lose one neon earlier and it was paired)

 

[cichlidmaster]

Could be the Platies got a bit rambuctious and the tetras had no room to get away.

 

[semper fi]

i would increase your water changes to 20% once a week. check your water parameters. if you are afraid that your changing too much water, don't worry. when i am nursing a fish back to health i usually change the water every day atleast 30%.

what kind of plants are you keeping? do you add chemicals into the water for the plants?

were there any marks or missing tissue on the fish?

maggie

 

[Rose]

I have to go with over crowding here. You have a 6g tank with 5 platies (3in full grown =15in) plus 3 tetras (2in full grown =6in) you add 15+6=21in of fish in a 6gal tank. You are WAY over stocked and will probably loose all but maybe 1-2 of those fish. Take them back or get a much bigger tank. As for water changes with that many fish in that small of of a container I would do closer to 80% water changes weekly. The waste will go off the charts otherwise. Rose

 

[Dragonslair]

First of all fishes will find their own species. They rarely interact with other species. In the wild if they had the choice they would probably have their own stretch of water. So although tetras a classified as one species they are several different fish. So glow-lights of which I have 13 don't interact with my neons or cardinals.(28) They shoul together and make a lovely colour but that is as far as it goes.
Rose I do bow down to your experience(nudge nudge wink wink), but taking out 80% of the water weekly will certainly damage the filtration bacteria and disrupt the nitrogen cycle. Ostrow could end up with other problems such as an inrush of ammonia due to the ineffectiveness of the bacteria filtration. This is only a personal view. The max I would do in a small tank is 30%. I would also probably add some ammo-lock also, just in case of spikes.

 

[ostrow]

Thanks for all the advice. I'm comfy on water quality ... check ammo and nitrites every 3 days or so and haven't had a reading over 0 since the 3rd week or so after setting up the tank.

My tetras are hardly 2", nor are my platies 3". I'm overstocked, but I don't think way overstocked. At least, the original advice on this forum (I'd have to go look) was 5-7 platies is fine.

I think though that the tetras were a mistake. I added 2 when a platy died a few months ago and they've been fine. But I hear dragon re: mixing types. The stores (2 that I went to) weren't sure about whether they'd go together or not. Seems more like not.

Thanks, though ... if I lose platies, I'll gravitate towards tetras, if I lose tetras, I'll gravitate towards platies. But I do think I need to choose, or else get a bigger tank.

But I'm handcuffed on that one

 

[Great Lakes]

I think if we boil down all the advice about size of tank and stocking levels,(I beleive Dragon prefers mid thigh), I end up thinking "species tank". IMO with a tank size ten gallons or less, trying to intermingle fish with different needs and demeanors just begs for trouble.

 

[Rose]

Hey Dragon what do you think I've been doing to all my over crowded tanks since they were established? Planted or not I do between 50 and 80% water changes. Otherwise my NitrAtes go awol and I end up having to do larger water changes every couple of days for a good 2 months before the NitrAtes go back to normal. It sucks really. Tell the truth I don't have a prblem with my bio-filters. Maybe I'm just lucky or something. Dunno. Rose

 

[whacky]

I think when you get experienced with your tanks you know what they need and the whole water change argument explodes everyone does it different they all do what works best for them.

 

[ostrow]

I think you are right whacky. I either need half the # of platies I got now and a few tetras, or pick a species as others suggested.

But I think my water changes are fine, or else my water quality would show otherwise.

 

[Dragonslair]

Stocking levels GL-mid thigh,mmmm. Upper thigh maybe, probably 8" up from the knee, with scarlet suspenders with a petite black bow on the side.
What do you think to that?
Rose my dear young lady, I did say I bowed down to your experience,I like an experienced woman, and rumours have it that YOU are that woman.
I don't disagree with you statement point blank, I did just query the fact of taking that amount of water out of the tank at a time may disrupt the cycle. That's all. I wasn't crossing swords or pistols at dawn with you.
It was just another suggestion.

 

[Macquatic]

............................ but taking out 80% of the water weekly will certainly damage the filtration bacteria and disrupt the nitrogen cycle.

Drag, filtration bacteria are attached to surfaces e.g. filter media, glass, rocks etc. not the water, so changing large amounts does not damage them unless chlorine or similar is present. Problems arise when irregular maintenance is carried out. In my breeding tanks 80% is changed dailywhich is a definite plus as far as growth and vigour is concerned. Any tank that is overstocked (and overpolluted!) needs more maintenance more often.
The solution to pollution is dilution Mac.